ok last night i made a mistake and miss read the driving time on the tacho thought i had over an hour and a half to get to ashford from catford. so had passed the 2 places you can stop on the a/m20 before ashford. As my drop was off junction 10 i went to the truck stop there got told i cant take my break in there. So i pulled up in a safe place on the road to it already being 15 min over my 4.5. was parked up for 17 min and some security bod told me i couldnt park there. I told him i was on my break and out of driving time. he said "go back to the truck stop there is someone there that can sign your card. i went back to the truck stop and was told no-one there that can do it go to vosa round the corner. went to vosa and the first guy tried to help me. but his boss was a grade A moron and didnt want to know. I said well i am over my 4.5 i need soeone to sign my card to allow me to go on the road. was told no sign it your self thats the law i said well i cant otherwide whats to stop someone just signing the thing and carrying on driving for another 4.5 hours. was told i dont care not my job. Went and parked up in the industrial park managed to get 12 mins break again and blow me the first idiots mate came round and told me i couldnt park there i had to move. I explained what had happened and that i was now nearly 30 min over my time and was told you can park over there if anyone says anything tell them to ring mark in security. so over 30 mins of my driving time i finaly managed to get my break.
A few questions arise from this.
- if i am over my 4.5 or going to be dont i need to stop as soon as possible in a safe and legal place.
- Should vosa of signed my tacho or is it not in thier remit.
) of why you exceeded your drive time and then sign it. If it’s a one off (they can and will check) the authorities will mostly turn a blind eye to that as they know that we’re only human and therefore ■■■■ up from time to time. Do a printout when you next get in any vehicle as I said above, learn from it and move on.