Does anyone know how far in advance you must be notified of delays?.
E.G. is it before leaving the yard or can you be told 2 minutes before you are at a drop?.
I also have been informed that we will have to use the crossed hammer symbol to show poa is this right??.
I havn’t heard that the crossedhammer symbol was to be used to show POA, I would have thought that the BED symbol would cover it quite adequately anyway. It is a period of time when you are free to do as you wish, like eat, sleep, shower or read for eg, very similar to rest.
As I understand it. If you arrive at an RDC and you are informed that, “there is a 2 hour wait driver”. That is sufficient notice of a POA.
The difficulty is if they cannot inform you the length of time you have to wait. Even though you then wait for 2 hours, it is not a POA, because you have not been able to freely dispose of your time, because you couldn’t leave your vehicle, to be available at any time to move it.
The cross hammers being used for POA is just something that i think it was ASDA RDC were using to see how much time there drivers were spending doing nothing but available, there was a press article on it and all your wincantons and exels jumped on it plus the unions to to get some kind of idea.
So its not an official thing, just some firms are doing it for there own research reasons.
Simon:
The difficulty is if they cannot inform you the length of time you have to wait. Even though you then wait for 2 hours, it is not a POA, because you have not been able to freely dispose of your time, because you couldn’t leave your vehicle, to be available at any time to move it.
That isn’t quite correct Simon. The Regulations state that you don’t always have to be told how long your wait will be because If you know from past experience how long things usually take at a particular delivery or loading point then that is enough to be able to count the time as a POA. For example you turn up at a delivery, one you you have been to several times before and it always takes them at least three hours to tip you then based on that past experience you can count those three hours as a POA.
The accompanying notes with the WTD (Draft) recommends that the square is used for Driving + POA and that Crossed Hammers is used for “Other Work”.
Using “Bed” creates difficulties where a ‘split’ break is taken. i.e. 15-44 minutes after an initial period of driving followed by another not <15 minute break after subsequent driving.
I’ve always used the square for periods of passive other work, as sod showing a break for what amounts to other work.
I only show break for periods where I choose to take a break.
I normally turn my engine off & show break for periods where I am stuck in stationary traffic, even if it starts moving again after a few minutes nothing is lost & it’s still legal & I have taken a full 45 on more than one occasion.