As above +1 oh and it has nothing to do with the DCPC it’s purely upto the driver to read up on the regulations that affect your job. Therefore it’s no good reading this little nit then that little bit you need to read all of it.
Rjan:
The rule of thumb that a driver can drive 10 hours a day with two breaks, provided no period between breaks exceeds 4.5 hours, falls down in at least the following cases where 10 hours would mean:
he has reduced his rest below 9 hours that 24-hour period (or below 11 hours, if he has already reduced his rest three times that week).
You sure about that? How do you reduce below 9? If you reduce (take between 9 and 10.59 off) how does that affect your ability to do a 10 hour drive?
Baggie:
mac12:
CPC working well againIf in doubt…ASK …that’s what this forum is for, is it not
You would have thought so, but it’s like any primary school…
Plambert:
The basics being that if you aren’t aware of what you can do how can you know what you can’t do. It’s incumbent on you to know at least the essentials as a driver. Take an hour to read the basic stuff on the internet from DVSA. It’s very simple to understand. Also, within that hour have a play with the tacho it gives you all the required info about breaks, driving, etc., without the need to do a print out. Even if you have to do a print out a couple of times a day, so what, it’s worth it if you’re not sure.
Please show me to the part of the rules called “essentials”. I’ve spent a lot more than one hour studying them!
Another thing I know from experience is that a lot of people who think they know the rules, don’t - especially when it comes to applying the rules. That is, they can state the rules correctly when asked to declare them, but then apply the rules incorrectly when given a scenario and asked a specific question like “how much longer can I drive?”.
I think that is where guys struggle most - in translating from the declaration of the rules to their application.
You mention doing printouts to get a driving time total. I’ve learned to do this because I drive in the day. I believe the total stated on the printout is a fixed day (i.e. 24-hour period from 0000 to 2359) total, not a shift total. So a night driver whose shift straddles midnight has to print two days worth, and then manually add up the individual driving periods listed on them both for the current shift (he can’t just add the totals).
So I’ve already identified a subtle defect in how I have hitherto been applying the rules - the way I have been applying them, by looking at the driving total on the printout after the second break, is only correct when a certain assumption holds true: neither your current shift, nor the previous day’s shift, crossed midnight.
By contrast, the OP’s rule of thumb is failsafe, simple, and consistent to apply in a much broader range of circumstances - whether day or night, digital or analogue tacho, etc.
The trucks I’ve driven in the last ten or so years have had an option to display acumulated driving hours on the dashboard . Volvo does, MAN does, from memory Merc does but, but resets when a 45 is completed. The DAF gives current driving time since last stop, accumulated driving time (for your 4.5 hours) since last break (or start of the day), and total driving time for the day. It also warns you if you have 15 minutes left before you need a break or daily rest.
Modern trucks are about more than automatic gearboxes you know 
the nodding donkey:
The trucks I’ve driven in the last ten or so years have had an option to display acumulated driving hours on the dashboard . Volvo does, MAN does, from memory Merc does but, but resets when a 45 is completed. The DAF gives current driving time since last stop, accumulated driving time (for your 4.5 hours) since last break (or start of the day), and total driving time for the day. It also warns you if you have 15 minutes left before you need a break or daily rest.Modern trucks are about more than automatic gearboxes you know
My firms new MAN’s have a full daily driving countdown as they’ve got Stone ridge tacos
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Baggie:
mac12:
CPC working well againIf in doubt…ASK …that’s what this forum is for,is it not
Yes that’s is what the forum is for, but every driver should no something as basic as this