Been driving artics now for just over 3 years but only recently started running legal on tacho and as a result am a bit green regarding what counts toward driving time.
I know about the 45 min break after 4.5 hours but what counts toward this 4.5 hours?
I.E.
If I drive for 1.5 hours then spend 10 mins hooking up/sorting paperwork then drive for 3 hours to drop, does this put my tacho 10 mins over limit, or is that 10 mins classed as other work?
Lorry has a clock that counts up breaks [over 15mins] and time spent with wheels turning, but should I rely on it for working out my breaks?
Also I’ve been told just to leave tacho set to the rest symbol all the time, is this legal?
I would suggest a stop start timer for simple 4.5 hour calculations, or maybe sometihng a bit more complicated to do daily, weekly driving & rest.
In your examples:
f I drive for 1.5 hours then spend 10 mins hooking up/sorting paperwork then drive for 3 hours to drop, does this put my tacho 10 mins over limit, or is that 10 mins classed as other work?
other work
Lorry has a clock that counts up breaks [over 15mins] and time spent with wheels turning, but should I rely on it for working out my breaks?
No idea what this is, sorry
Also I’ve been told just to leave tacho set to the rest symbol all the time, is this legal?
Illegal. Set the mode for rest or other work as required.
Be lucky to get 2 hours tipping time hook into 5 or 6 trailers during a 10 hour shift and wasn’t sure what the 5 or 10 mins taken with each trailer counted toward.
Be lucky to get 2 hours tipping time hook into 5 or 6 trailers during a 10 hour shift and wasn’t sure what the 5 or 10 mins taken with each trailer counted toward.
Also I’ve been told just to leave tacho set to the rest symbol all the time, is this legal?
Illegal. Set the mode for rest or other work as required.
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I find this a bit of a grey one to be honest.
A few years ago I started with Puritan Maid[ now part of Brake Bros], and because of an incident a few years earlier involving the Ministry, 10 of us new starters were sent to a hotel for a meeting with an ex ministry inspector.
Someone did ask the question with regards running on break all the time and his reply was “Only if you are trunking, but not with multidrop or deliveries that include alternative work”.
Ive been night trunking for the past 6 years and because I accused my manager of “being in breach of his operators license” , he decided to do the usual management textbook trick of finding fault with my work so’s to give me a disciplinary.
Running on break was one of the things he pulled me on, so I phoned VOSA at Chadderton, spoke to the man in charge, and he wouldnt confirm as to whether I was doing anything wrong, as I wasnt deemed to be doing anything other than driving and sitting in the cab, He just suggested that I follow the companies rules to keep the peace.
I did find out from the girl who answered my call, that my manager had actually phoned them himself the day before and asked the same question. Just goes to show he didnt know the answer either.
When I eventually went for my disciplinary investigation hearing [ there were other menial things they tried to pull me up on] I asked if they could prove Id done something wrong. They couldnt, so I bid them good day and walked out the room.
I never did get disciplined, and nothing has been said since.
Have a read of this, its a PDF of the DofT’s manual. There are further explanations here.
Between those two documents there should be the answer to almost any questions about tacho rules.
Put them into your favourites for future reference. The first link at least is regularly updated. The second one probably is too, but I only just found that from a link supplied by Repton.
Buttyman:
I find this a bit of a grey one to be honest.
Running on break was one of the things he pulled me on, so I phoned VOSA at Chadderton, spoke to the man in charge, and he wouldnt confirm as to whether I was doing anything wrong, as I wasnt deemed to be doing anything other than driving and sitting in the cab, He just suggested that I follow the companies rules to keep the peace.
Lets put it this way, do you do any paperwork at the start or end of the journey or at the destinations of the night trunk? Do you fill up the vehicle with diesel at any point? Do you do your daily walk round check? Do you have to get anything from the office such as paperwork, vehicle keys? Do you have to hitch up or unhitch a trailer or mount/demount a box/container?
If the answer to any of the above is yes, your tacho should be on other work. Unless you jump in the wagon and immediately set off, parking up immediately at the other end where you do nothing but get out of the cab, have your 45, get back in and immediately set off and once back at base get straight out of the cab and go home without so much as even taking keys back to the office then you can leave it on rest.
Conor:
Lets put it this way, do you do any paperwork at the start or end of the journey or at the destinations of the night trunk? Do you fill up the vehicle with diesel at any point? Do you do your daily walk round check? Do you have to get anything from the office such as paperwork, vehicle keys? Do you have to hitch up or unhitch a trailer or mount/demount a box/container?
If the answer to any of the above is yes, your tacho should be on other work. Unless you jump in the wagon and immediately set off, parking up immediately at the other end where you do nothing but get out of the cab, have your 45, get back in and immediately set off and once back at base get straight out of the cab and go home without so much as even taking keys back to the office then you can leave it on rest.
Your statement above is missing one vital point Conor
If these combined tasks above each take less than 15 minutes the time would not be classed as Break anyway as it does not qualify as a rest period, therefore it makes no difference how it is recorded, its only when you take 15 minutes or more of other work and record it as a break that your in the wrong
hook into 5 or 6 trailers during a 10 hour shift and wasn’t sure what the 5 or 10 mins taken with each trailer counted toward.