Neil’s hit the nail on the head. We’re not all lucky enough to live in areas where the wages are high enough to be able to be home every night, and splitting shifts quite often gets me home on a Friday rather than Saturday morning.
Well, AIUI, they’re not removing split shifts entirely - you will still be able to split the shift, but you can only reduce down to 9 hours, and therefore it only gives you the benefit of not counting as a reduced rest.
MrFlibble:
Well, AIUI, they’re not removing split shifts entirely - you will still be able to split the shift,
But only into 2 rather than the current 3 and one must be of 3 hours and one of 9. So those periods of between 1 and 3 hours will be no use after April. You have more chance of getting a couple of 2 hour periods, or some other combination, during the day rather than a single unbroken 3 hour period. It will be nowhere near as easy to split the rest as it is now. So rather than jammy celebrating spending more time with his family a lot of drivers could find themselves spending less.
Coffeeholic:
Here’s a question for you in return. The drivers who are operating this way, why have they decided to do a 15 hour duty and then take an 11 hour rest? Why do they not do 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 or more hours and then take the rest? What has made them settle on 15 hours? OK, that was three questions disguised as one but they are connected
*MTMM = My Mate Told Me
From the conversations ive had with work colleages i think they genuinely believe they are on the right side of the law and they always say the same thing “Well the office hasnt pulled me up on it yet and ive been doing it for as long as ive been driving”
The thing is if they did 16, 17, 18,19 and so on hr spreads then…
A) they know they are definatly infringing
and
B) the office would pull them up on it pretty sharpish too.
Its like once not so long ago i had to sign off an infringement sheet that said i failed to take insufficient driving break … (i only took 44 mins ffs) 
But you’ve hit the nail on the head Neil so far as M,M,T,M syndrom go’s
Well its all pretty academic for me now as i am coming off the driving soon anyway…And will i go back to it…
Well its like they say…
“Driving is in the blood”…But then so is sceptisemia doesnt mean i’d want that back in a hurry either. 
Thank you, Brussells, The EEC, Foreign influx of drivers, South Wales hauliers poor pay, Speed Scameras and anyone else who have made a once proud and honourable profession the pile of dog dirt that the job now is today…Thank you all for spoiling a childhood ambition and an adult goal…
Am i disheartened…Maybe just a little…( wonder if thats anything to do with my impending pre Christmas redundancy due in a couple of weeks hmmm )
God im meladramatic tonight eh? 
Coffeeholic:
So rather than jammy celebrating spending more time with his family a lot of drivers could find themselves spending less.
That will be me then 
I wouldn’t of made it home for the last 3 weekends if i wasn’t allowed to legally do 16hrs.
Maybe it’s time to look at becoming a white van man 
Reef:
Coffeeholic:
Here’s a question for you in return. The drivers who are operating this way, why have they decided to do a 15 hour duty and then take an 11 hour rest? Why do they not do 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 or more hours and then take the rest? What has made them settle on 15 hours? OK, that was three questions disguised as one but they are connected*MTMM = My Mate Told Me
From the conversations ive had with work colleages i think they genuinely believe they are on the right side of the law and they always say the same thing “Well the office hasnt pulled me up on it yet and ive been doing it for as long as ive been driving”
The office aren’t doing their job properly and are also not having the discs analysed, or it would be pulled.
Reef:
The thing is if they did 16, 17, 18,19 and so on hr spreads then…
A) they know they are definatly infringing
That’s what I’m getting at, why would they know they were infringing? They are saying they are not infringing by doing more that 13 hours duty after already using their 3 allowed daily rest reductions but why would they know they were infringing by exceeding 15 hours?
Reef:
B) the office would pull them up on it pretty sharpish too.
The above applies to the office as well, they let the 15 hours go but would pull them for 15 1/4? That just shows that the people in the office have zero grasp of the rules.
Reef:
But you’ve hit the nail on the head Neil so far as M,M,T,M syndrom go’s
Even more so when you consider that since I posted the link to the PDF document on the VOSA site which clearly states that you can only exceed 13 hours duty, 3 times a week (split shifts excepted, but your question wasn’t about split shifts) 5 people, about 20% of those voting, have opted for the 5 x 15 choice in your poll. 
At the time I posted the link no one had voted for that option, so they voted for that option even with evidence that proves they are wrong…
I wish you lot would stop talking about drivers hours it’s doing my head in
you know the best way about tacho rules is to stop having tachos in the first give each driver 4 or5 logbooks so they can work around the clock in the supposed good old days.No really i think people make the rules difficult no one really understands them your inturpation is different to other peoples,my thought is why do myself out of money do 13 hrs and get a night out,why work for 6 or 7 pds an hr when you can get 16 or what ever your nightout money is.
i tried to explain to a Calor Gas driver that less than 11 was a 9 he wernt having it
nor did he accept when double manned you could habe a 45 on the move