Hey all. I’m really getting confused with the drivers hours. Can someone explain it in simple terms for me. Thanks
ajames10:
Hey all. I’m really getting confused with the drivers hours. Can someone explain it in simple terms for me. Thanks
Google - EU 561/2006 and GV262-03 for the written regs but as for simplifying them … we could try but the legal meaning might be lost
Perhaps the best idea is for you to ask specific questions or maybe post a few senarios and ask if they are legal and if not why not
Under EU rules;
You can drive ten hours twice a week.
The rest of the week is nine hours.
For daily rest you can have nine hours only three times a week.
Other times it is eleven hours daily rest.
Only six shifts allowed per week.
Weekly rest is 45 hours then 24 the next weekend then 45 hours.
If you do a 15 hour duty the daily rest can not be 11 hours off as it does not in a 24 hour period as add them together it is 26 hours.
So the daily rest only becomes 9 hours off even though you may have rested fir 11 hours.
When diving only 4.30 hours maximum then a 45 minute break is due but you can have a 15 minute break followed by a 30 minute break.
toby1234abc:
Under EU rules;
You can drive ten hours twice a week.
The rest of the week is nine hours.
For daily rest you can have nine hours only three times a week.
Other times it is eleven hours daily rest.
Only six shifts allowed per week.
Weekly rest is 45 hours then 24 the next weekend then 45 hours.
If you do a 15 hour duty the daily rest can not be 11 hours off as it does not in a 24 hour period as add them together it is 26 hours.
So the daily rest only becomes 9 hours off even though you may have rested fir 11 hours.
When diving only 4.30 hours maximum then a 45 minute break is due but you can have a 15 minute break followed by a 30 minute break.
Thank you, that’s a bit easier to understand. Once I get my head around it fully then I’ll be fine. Thanks again
For daily rest you can have nine hours only three times a week.
three times between weekly rests which is not the same as three times a week
Cannot blame many newbies for that because the DSA questions and answers in the theory test have got that wrong !
They are quite tricky and I’m afraid one of the best ways to learn is by your mistakes. Most are aware of the nine hours driving which can be increased to ten hours driving twice per week but when you start to get into the realms of reduced weekly rest and pay back, it really does become quite involved.
As has been said before, try posting a specific schedule and see what others think about it.
ajames10:
toby1234abc:
Under EU rules;
You can drive ten hours twice a week.
The rest of the week is nine hours.
For daily rest you can have nine hours only three times a week.
Other times it is eleven hours daily rest.
Only six shifts allowed per week.
Weekly rest is 45 hours then 24 the next weekend then 45 hours.
If you do a 15 hour duty the daily rest can not be 11 hours off as it does not in a 24 hour period as add them together it is 26 hours.
So the daily rest only becomes 9 hours off even though you may have rested fir 11 hours.
When diving only 4.30 hours maximum then a 45 minute break is due but you can have a 15 minute break followed by a 30 minute break.Thank you, that’s a bit easier to understand. Once I get my head around it fully then I’ll be fine. Thanks again
Hi ajames10,
Those are the rules in Tobyland. 
For the rest of mankind on EU drivers’ hours, the red parts are incorrect.
A daily rest period may be reduced to nine hours three times between weekly rest periods, which IS NOT the same as three times per week.
There is no limit to the number of shifts per week, provided that all driving/rest/breaks limits are adhered to.
Lusk:
… but when you start to get into the realms of reduced weekly rest and pay back, it really does become quite involved.
Hi Lusk,
The ‘payback’ rule is fairly straightforward…
‘Borrowed’ rest has to be paid back (compensated) before the end of the third week following the week in which the reduction took place. Here’s what the Regs say about it:
…the reduction shall be compensated by an equivalent period of rest taken en bloc before the end of the third week following the week in question … Any rest taken as compensation for a reduced weekly rest period shall be attached to another rest period of at least nine hours.
It gets complicated by those who translate clear Regs into nonsense, such as ‘within three weeks,’ which isn’t the same thing at all.
My wording was poor there…I should have said recalling what you have done. Those, like me, who have the memory of a goldfish 
can sometimes have difficulty remembering where you are in relation to weekly rest pay back etc.
Lusk:
My wording was poor there…I should have said recalling what you have done. Those, like me, who have the memory of a goldfish
Hi Lusk,
That’s oh so true mate!! 
For old school guys (such as me 
) we wrote down stuff like that on paper, or in a diary to allow us to keep track of it all, but these days it can be done much more efficiently on a mobile 'phone. (Once you know how they work )
I’m all for technology but I think youre right about recording it via pen and paper.
Many drivers use a simple kitchen timer.
You can set it to ten hours or nine.
Or even 4.30 hours driving.
It can be used to count down daily rest.
All hardware shops sell them and cooking utensil shops.
They are ideal for analogue or paper disc tachos but on digi when the truck stops the tacho adds two minutes.
To get over this go through the digi menu to find driving time than adjust the kitchen timer.
But give it a minute as it will not be accurate to obtain driving time as soon as you stop.
If you have a break of three hours in the shift you can have nine hours off.Nothing in the rules to say you can not do this all week.
I use my say nav for driving time because it calculates time actually driving and shows time stopped as well. So you have an actual driving time it tallies with the tacho with about a five minute under registration on the tacho so I have a buffer.
I’ve been told I have to write it down in a diary because my boss is ■■■■ scared of technology but I don’t bother and I’m never over my driving time. Use whatever method works for you but try to keep within the 4.5 by at least 10 minutes to allow for unforeseen issues x
I set the timer gizzmo (analogue tacho on my truck) to 4 hours for the alarm and have the 30 minutes as a buffer if I am caught out not finding a suitable parking place.