even after the revolutionary wtd that changed all our lives for the better 
meaning we all had a better work life balance 
why were the daily rest periods not looked at 15 hours on 9 off 15 on no other employee apart from a driver would accept this anybody think its worth a visit to there MP to petition a change in the rules or did they change them and forget to tell me 
I hate that one. I agree, everyone just uses it up now like a target. It should be reduced to twice a week and only when away from base. Thats my opinion If anyone wants to argue the toss then iâd say scrap it altogether, this is the year 2007 !!! We aint interested in hauliers who have to scrape a living together, we just want a regulated day and wage !! There ya go, hows that !!!
i personally think that yes, the wtd was a good thing that never turned out to be as promised, what with poa (cop out clauses etc) , but that would all depend on a individuals perspective, job, ways of getting paid etc.
now 15 on 9 off and 15 on to a lot of people is the only way they can earn half decent money and get in plenty of overtime hours in. and if that works for them, then good.
in a ideal world every driver would work a 40 hour hour week and earn 35 grand. but its not an ideal world.
no the nine hour rule should be scrapped and ive done haulage most of my life met a agencey driver a week ago he looked worse than me he was home evrey nit but 9 hour off wouldnt like to meet him at end off the week on a country road
scania245:
no the nine hour rule should be scrapped and ive done haulage most of my life met a agencey driver a week ago he looked worse than me he was home evrey nit but 9 hour off wouldnt like to meet him at end off the week on a country road
totally agree, i think it should be banned. but thats me. i personally dont do the 9 hour thing. its also our company policy that we have 11 hours of minimum, and thats even if we have a night out. sometimes that can be annoying especially on a friday night/ saturday morning when you want to run in and go home.
but as i said if i lived in the middle of knowhere and the only job paid a pittance but there was a good overtime rate then i would be more interested in the 15 hour shifts than ever before
9 hour rule is tip of the ice berg and i know that this site is about addressing driver issues and is getting there but can only speak for drivers if the drivers speak for themselves
I have 9 off most nights,used to have 8 off before the â â â â â â â scrapped that.I work 65-75 hrs a week (or on duty for)
I need money that is the bottom line,I have a house mortgage and 2 kids and a missus who stays at home and looks after my kids.
I have always worked long hours for the simple fact that I get paid for long hours.I am away all week so I might as well be working and I will work to earn myself and my company as much money as I can.
The WTD has affected my job in no way whatsoever and im glad of that,I feel that I should be able to work as many hours as I want to.
9 hrs off to me is fine,Im not going home so it gives me enough time to eat,chill out and sleep.Iâd prefer 11 off but the nature of the business doesânt seem to allow for this (blame timed deliveries)
The current tacho laws suit me fine and I certainly dont think the 9 off should be scrapped.
After all if some of you dont like doing it ,tell your boss you only do 11 off and while your there tell him this and that and something else, like i hear from drivers all the time. 
theyâll just get someone in who will.
Come on now ,the job aint exactly hard Its the easiest job Iâve ever had
Completely agree that it is a nonsense in this day and age to permit a man to drive a 44 tonne vehicle on the road after only 9 hours off.
The question is âWould you let you family get onto an aeroplane if the pilot felt as tired as you do?â
Having said that, I very rarely have a 9 hour break myself, 12 or 13 is more common.
bikemonkey:
I have 9 off most nights,used to have 8 off before the [zb] scrapped that.I work 65-75 hrs a week (or on duty for)
I need money that is the bottom line,I have a house mortgage and 2 kids and a missus who stays at home and looks after my kids.
Good for you. Would your kids look suprised if you had tea with them and put them to bed? I suppose you canât put in what God left out. But you keep it up, youâre doing a good job. I suppose its all you know .
9 hour should be scrapped. Whenever i do this i am always knackered the next day.
avg 11hrs per night if possible but can cope with 9 if needed,but if you think this 9 is short try the taxi/chauffeur trade ,there is no minimum break,you can finish at midnight and still take a car worth 70 grand out at 6 in the morning and work seven days a week.
have been up at 02.30 to heathrow and still been working come teatime,and gone to bed at 9 and still got up at 3 and done the runs to airports.
it does need sorting out as (i believe)its the last unregulated trade out there,as far a new forest are concerned they hope you use some common sense and dont work 18 - 20 hrs.some do.
I personally dont like or hate the 9 hr break in all honesty as there are times when its very handy to be honest.
Too Fat To Fly:
I personally dont like or hate the 9 hr break in all honesty as there are times when its very handy to be honest.
Another interesting topic.
I neither like nor hate the 9 hour break, but I do find it handy sometimes, as Too Fat To Fly said. Looks like Iâm confused?? Not really.
I agree with Mike-Câs âwhen away from base,â then just 9 hours can be very handy. Look at it this way: youâre already in the truck. You stop and after a while you go to sleep. You get up, then carry on. Personally, I found 9 hours off was ok for me when away from base.
I donât like it from an agency driverâs point of view though, so I also agree with Lucyâs point in the topic âlooking at it from a different perspectiveâ and scania245âs point above. You might drive an hour to work, have a long hard day and drive an hour home. 9 hours off in those circumstancesâ â ? To be followed by the same again the next dayâ â ? Yes, itâs the letter of the law twice a week etc etc, but the spirit of the law is that a driver should have sufficient rest. Good job that 9s and 11s are minimums and not maximums, because I need my kip these days!
IMHO, 9 hours off and âsufficientâ arenât always the same thing.
Having thought about it (which I try and do now and again)if I was a day/night driver like many of you are, I would NOT be happy with 9 off,I was gonna apply for a night position with Page Group near to me but the hours were 6pm - 9am meaning by the time I got home it would be 10am got sorted etc got to sleep around 11 maybe up at 4.30 to get myself sorted for the next shift
â â â â that !!!
I tramp,so 9 off to me makes no difference,if I was doing 15 hrs on a day/night run there would be no point,as I would see the family as much as I do now.
So yes I see the point,I think if you are employed as a Day/night driver you should have minimum 11 off.
dieseldave:
âŚGood job that 9s and 11s are minimums and not maximumsâŚ
Guess that depends on who you are driving for DD, dont think the Dutch, Irish etc would entirely agree with you there!!! 
Pretty sure they would see it as the other way round, maximumâs and not minimumâs!! 
i regularly have 9 hours off,to the maximum im allowed of course.i prefer it when im away tho,who wants to sit in a truck wiggling their thumbs for 11 hours? or anything else you might choose to do i get paid by the hour tho,none of this salary nonsense,and i like to earn the money.thats why i took the job,it has great earning potential.occasionally im on day work,then 9hrs â â â â â .a round trip from my house to the yard can take an hour and a half! its hardly worth going home.i have been known to kip in my truck in the yard,its quiet overnight and saves me a bunch of petrol in my car 
bullitt:
Guess that depends on who you are driving for DD, dont think the Dutch, Irish etc would entirely agree with you there!!!Pretty sure they would see it as the other way round, maximumâs and not minimumâs!!
Spot-on bullitt, to be sure, to be sure.
R.D:
a round trip from my house to the yard can take an hour and a half! its hardly worth going home.i have been known to kip in my truck in the yard,its quiet overnight and saves me a bunch of petrol in my car
Mine was a bit worse than that. The yard was in Camberley and I live in Ellesmere Port, so it was often that it wasnât worth going home, even for a weekend. I was on international in those days, but itâs an extension of the very good point you made. 4.5 hrs X2 worth of car driving time and fuel also helped the decision.
Interesting post thisâŚbegs the question âWhat do you think ought to be the minimum rest period between shiftsâ - for me it would be 12 hours with no exeptions.