Tacho/breaks

Mattblues90:
Hi all

I put my card in at 0430hrs this morning. Had a 30min break at 0630 and a 15 at 0900 and then another 15 10:10 I got back in the yard at 1300hrs.

Have I messed up on my working hours and my driving time… I’m really confused by this and don’t understand tbh.

Perhaps this will help to keep you straight. It doesn’t matter whether you are doing deliveries or long distance. Think on working time then driving time - that’s the way I’ve always done it.

I always jot down the time I start and mileage in my notebook (Reg as well if one uses different trucks… just in case one leaves the tacho card in or a charger and need to retrieve it). [Time as you say 0430].

Write 1, 2, 3, 4 down the LH side. Against 1 write 0730 (when you take your 15 min break but not critical as its flexible, 15 min break every 3 hours), 2 write 1030 (critical after 6 hours work). Same for the 3 and 4. Note driving hours from tacho at 2 and 4 to add to your driving hours for the week. If you have a smartphone there is an excellent app called ‘TimeCalc’ for adding up hr:min:sec (there are several but this is a free one with no adverts).

More likely you would have started at about 0445 as you would have done a vehicle check. For break times I round back to a 1/2 or whole hour. I note the actual break times against the planned times, along with the arrival and departure times at each delivery. Most jobs I’ve had one has to enter driving and working times on the timesheet. If break 2 is 30 min then my 3 and 4 are 1/2 an hour early (or I’ve had to forget the 15 and take a 45 instead). So I keep 1/2 an hour spare… and sometimes it’s needed. No employer has questioned my ‘reserve 1/2 hour’.

These are your break times which you plan with your deliveries. BUT watch your driving hours on the tacho if you do longer trips and are going to do 4.5 hours inside the 6 hours working time. If you need to do the driving time break then adjust the following break times for the journey.

I find jotting down the break times very useful as I have a variable work load, some days short distance and some days long distance. When you get tired it is so easy to forget and this works for me. I did try the apps Tachoguard and TruckTimer only to find that the auto switch on GPS is unreliable (gets confused in queues) - great idea but easier to use a pen I’ve found and Truck Timer does not do split breaks.

I’ve always preferred split break to a 45 for the flexibility - I find 45 a bit long unless I need a nap.

hth