By the way I’m an oldie too, but a newbie trucker
(Birthday today, won’t see 59 again)
A couple of years ago I met this very experienced HGV/PSV driver while on holiday. We happened to be on a coach in the Pyrenees and he was sitting opposite me and we got talking about how good our Spanish coach driver was. Turned out the fellow holidaymaker was an ex RAF driver and although not in the first flush of youth, still did the odd coach driving job. I told him about my plans for doing my HGV when I took early retirement from offshore. He was a fount of knowledge and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to him. One of his tips was about keeping a diary of all the days work in case it had to be presented to traffic commissioners. What I am doing at the moment is noting the company I work for, (I’m doing agency work), type and registration of vehicle, mileage, area of work, hours of work, (just the total). Is there anything else I should do? I’m also keeping a hard copy of the tacho chart.
One more question. If you foget to leave the truck keys at the base and forget to take the tacho chart out twice are you safe on the road?
Gordy
I work for a variety of companies. I do a variety of jobs both HGV & PSV & I keep a diary.
I keep a cheap, properly bound diary, not a loose leaf one which can have pages added or removed.
I then make a note with a number beside it, of each company I do some driving for with address, phone number & who to contact & then I keep a diary record of number (company) reg & hours started & finished & if domestic or EU regs.
The VOSA (& you) can request copy’s of any tachos required,
I have found the VOSA do not look past your weeks tacho’s & diary as they can see you are trying to do things right & in keeping a full checkable work history with you, you are exceeding your legal requirements.
Watch the leaving the charts in bit, it’s human error & would not normally be prosecuted, but if you are making other errors, it could possibly result in a warning or prosecution.
Keys… I was driving buses for a friend a few years back & having spent the previous two weeks on high value multi drop loads, well that was my excuse anyhow, I was so use to keeping the vehicle keys with me all the time I took his bus keys home two nights out of three.
I dont keep paper records. I have a database/spreadsheet that i keep records of start times, finish, breaks, holiday etc… This also works out what I should be paid which is very usefull. Also scan all my tachographs onto computer so I have a record of what hours Ive driven & so if anything happens to a disc there is always a copy to fall back on.
I also have an Hour Guard to keep track of hours etc…
Watch the leaving the charts in bit, it’s human error & would not normally be prosecuted
beg to differ here…if you leave the tacho in over night and provided that no one else has moved the truck,then it will show (if stopped) the authorities that you had your x amount of time off.
Watch the leaving the charts in bit, it’s human error & would not normally be prosecuted
beg to differ here…if you leave the tacho in over night and provided that no one else has moved the truck,then it will show (if stopped) the authorities that you had your x amount of time off.
Agreed! I always left my chart in! …its just the type of guy I am!
Strictly speaking you should leave the chart in, but only if you’re sure you wont overun the trace in the morning. That is the offence.
As you can’t be 100% sure that you wont oversleep, the best thing to do is take it out. The perfect defence, you can’t be sure.
I always leave my chart in. However if I am going to be starting later that I did the previous day and the trace would overrun I change the disc when I park and use another to record the overnight break before changing it again in the morning, keeps the Gendarmes and the BAG happy that way.
Watch the leaving the charts in bit, it’s human error & would not normally be prosecuted, but if you are making other errors, it could possibly result in a warning or prosecution.
I often leave the tacho in, or insert a second chart if I know what time I am going to be driving & that it will be the same vehicle, however as an agency driver its always safer, unless you are tramping, where you are with the vehicle, to play safe.
I sleep in my truck all week,and I have varying start times depending where I am,I always write SDD,(start of daily duties)and the time on a clear part of my tacho(in the speed trace part) i.e if I start at 4 I write SDD 04.00 at about the 02.00 part of my tacho,then when I finish at night I write EDD 19.00 (end daily duties)at the 21.00 part of tacho and take it out,as long as your mileages and your times all add up with timesheets,you should nt have a problem.and It also stops the risk of the trace overwriting itself should I forget to take it out in time.you should always have the previous days tacho with you anyway so you can prove that you have had the right daily rest should anyone from the ministry decide to pull you in.I always usually add 5-10 mins on to times from when tacho removed to cover me for filling in tacho ,timesheets,paperwork e.t.c. as this is still work.even in the morning if I put tacho in at 06.00 I write SDD 05.50 as this is the start of my day once tacho/time sheets filled in.
you should always have the previous days tacho with you anyway so you can prove that you have had the right daily rest should anyone from the ministry decide to pull you in.
By law, you must carry with you all the current week’s tachos, plus the last one from the previous week…or previous day’s driving, if it was further back than that. Only hand in your last tacho once you need to comply with returning them to the O-licence holder (TM or whatever) within 21 days.
you should always have the previous days tacho with you anyway so you can prove that you have had the right daily rest should anyone from the ministry decide to pull you in.
By law, you must carry with you all the current week’s tachos, plus the last one from the previous week…or previous day’s driving, if it was further back than that. Only hand in your last tacho once you need to comply with returning them to the O-licence holder (TM or whatever) within 21 days.
I know that but someone wrote that they left their tacho in overnight to show that they had taken their correct daily rest,by it being shown on tacho,what I was trying to say was that your previous days tacho will show that you have taken the correct daily rest without having to leave it in overnight. e.g if you finish yesterday at 9 pm take tacho out put in new one for next day at 6 am by lookin at the 2 tachos I will show a 9 hour break.
e.g if you finish yesterday at 9 pm take tacho out put in new one for next day at 6 am by lookin at the 2 tachos I will show a 9 hour break.
