I was talking to a former lithuanian work colleague recently,he told me he got fined by the gendarmes in france 156 euros for taking a 9 hour reduced daily rest after driving almost 10 hours in his previous shift-he was told that in france if he did a shift where he extended his daily driving of 9 hours to a maximum of 10 hours that he must take a minimum of 11 hours daily rest.
Please correct me if i am wrong but am i right in saying its perfectly legal to take a 9 hour reduced daily rest after a shift where a 10 hour driving day has been done?
What is the best way to challenge a fine like this? Is it true that a driver can request the c.r.s. in france to attend when a gendarme has wrongly fined a driver?
CALUM:
I was talking to a former lithuanian work colleague recently,he told me he got fined by the gendarmes in france 156 euros for taking a 9 hour reduced daily rest after driving almost 10 hours in his previous shift-he was told that in france if he did a shift where he extended his daily driving of 9 hours to a maximum of 10 hours that he must take a minimum of 11 hours daily rest.
Please correct me if i am wrong but am i right in saying its perfectly legal to take a 9 hour reduced daily rest after a shift where a 10 hour driving day has been done?
What is the best way to challenge a fine like this? Is it true that a driver can request the c.r.s. in france to attend when a gendarme has wrongly fined a driver?
You are right in assuming that a reduced rest may be taken after a 10 hour drive. I am not sure about calling the CRS, but I would certainly call their bluff and demand to see a superior.
However in 561/2006 there is this paragraph under Article 11 Exemptions
A Member State may provide for longer minimum breaks and
rest periods or shorter maximum driving times than those laid
down in Articles 6 to 9 in the case of carriage by road
undertaken wholly within its territory. In so doing, Member
States shall take account of relevant collective or other
agreements between the social partners. Nevertheless, this
Regulation 561/2006 shall remain applicable to drivers engaged in international transport operations.
I would want to see what this means, it could be argued that it is applicable only in France. The red text is mine. The blue text says to me, only if you are on French soil for the whole of the shift.
I will check back and see if a legal mind has looked at it 
CALUM:
I was talking to a former lithuanian work colleague recently,he told me he got fined by the gendarmes in france 156 euros for taking a 9 hour reduced daily rest after driving almost 10 hours in his previous shift-he was told that in france if he did a shift where he extended his daily driving of 9 hours to a maximum of 10 hours that he must take a minimum of 11 hours daily rest.
Please correct me if i am wrong but am i right in saying its perfectly legal to take a 9 hour reduced daily rest after a shift where a 10 hour driving day has been done?
What is the best way to challenge a fine like this? Is it true that a driver can request the c.r.s. in france to attend when a gendarme has wrongly fined a driver?
The European Tacho etc rules say in 1 rule, something like - the maximum is 9 hours driving in a day, which may be extended to 10 hours twice in a week.
In another, totally separate rule, they say something like - you should take an 11 hour rest period every day, but this may be reduced to 9 hours three times between weekly rest periods.
There is absolutely no tie in, between the two rules. They are two totally separate rules, so your colleague was totally legal. There is an appeals procedure, but how you do that I’ve no idea.
About demanding the CRS , to check on a Gendarme, I’d be dubious about how wise that would be.
The CRS are usually riot police, who tend to go into that wing because they have the right ‘mentality’ for the job. Thats what I’ve been led to understand anyway.
I understood that, in France, you demanded the Gendarmes if you got pulled and fined by the local bobby for an invented offence.
In Italy you’d demand the Carabineare (sp?) to back you against the Policia Civil.
In both cases you’d better be right. If not, start praying for help, because your God is the only one who can help you then.
Maybe not much help, but a starting point…