Drivers rest/Breaks

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

just got the fta news in my e-mail
the following is culled from it
it seems that the euro-prats after telling me you cant work more to support my family now want to tell me how to have my breaks :imp: :imp:

Breaks from driving

A 45 minute break continues to be required after a maximum of four and a half hours driving. However, the pattern for spreading breaks over the driving period has changed. The three minimum 15 minute breaks have been replaced by two breaks, the first of which must be a minimum of 15 minutes with the second break being a minimum of 30 minutes.

2

I bet thereā€™s a lot of drivers out there not aware of that one.

3

This might have something to do with the requiment to have a 30 minute break in 6 hours work under the WTD. There are some new tachograph regulations coming in soon, but Iā€™m not sure when.

considering weā€™ve had at least one reference period under the WTD, how many hours did you have to have off to bring yourself within the average?

4

i generally find that a break of less than an hour is useless anyway, there just aint enough time to eat then have a sleep! :wink:

5

Mal:
i generally find that a break of less than an hour is useless anyway, there just aint enough time to eat then have a sleep! :wink:

What do you think of the news adjustment to tacho law coming out whenever regarding the replacement of the 4.5hr driving period and .45 rest with the 3hr driving period and 30 min rest then?

6

muckles:
This might have something to do with the requiment to have a 30 minute break in 6 hours work under the WTD. There are some new tachograph regulations coming in soon, but Iā€™m not sure when.

I expect itā€™s the long awaited drivers hours rules :wink:

The European Parliament and the Council agreed yesterday on the draft European legislation to improve driving times and rest periods for professional drivers and step up checks on lorries.

EU Press Release

7

Denis your link is to the insider NOT to an EU Press release does anyone actually know the link to the official site.

Not being funny but if i print that off and takeit in to work they will say wtf is the insider?.

8

Iā€™m not quite sure what their justificaton could be for that.

What does it matter whether we take a 15 + 30 or a 20 +25? Or whatever. Weā€™re still getting the rest arenā€™t we?

Jackasses.

9

robinhood_1984:

Mal:
i generally find that a break of less than an hour is useless anyway, there just aint enough time to eat then have a sleep! :wink:

What do you think of the news adjustment to tacho law coming out whenever regarding the replacement of the 4.5hr driving period and .45 rest with the 3hr driving period and 30 min rest then?

I try to do me own thing as a rule, if the firm will wear it, I dont usually work very long for firms that are red hot on time e.g where were you here, or there ect, because itā€™s a drag! It seems to me like then in 6 hours, you get an hours rest? Thatd be easy to turn into and hour and a half by having two 45ā€™s, as the 30 mins will be a minimum, and Iā€™d likely extend that as I allways extended the 45 min break to an hour anyway, Over 9 hours you get an hour and a half, so maybe itā€™ll be better (for the likes of me) but weā€™ll have to see!

10

Dapper Scavenger:
Iā€™m not quite sure what their justificaton could be for that.

What does it matter whether we take a 15 + 30 or a 20 +25? Or whatever. Weā€™re still getting the rest arenā€™t we?

Jackasses.

Since when has anything the EU done with regards transport ever made sense? Its generally all total b/s thats so over-complicated and only understandable by lawyers and even then it takes years for everybody to decide what the law actually is because everybody bickers because its never clear and open to all sorts of perceptions of what it says or might imply. Like this WTD lark, Iā€™ve never met two transport managers who come out with the same thing in regards to how this actually works, every one of them swears on the bible that he is right and my head is left spinning because none of it ultimately makes any sense at all and it just works out as yet another thing that I can be done for when I undoubtedly mess up on it, which I will because no company does it to the book, they all do it their own little way and its just a chaotic mess and will I actually be at work any less time? Will I eckers like! Iā€™ll still be in my truck for 70odd hours a week even though Iā€™m showing 48 or less hours per week ā€˜workingā€™ time.

11

OOPS.

12

The WTD is not complicated. If Transport managers canā€™t understand it then it just confirms the poor quality of most transport mangers, but we knew that anyway.
And back to my original question.
After at least one reference period, how many have found themselves over their average 48 working hours?

13

jammymutt:
Denis your link is to the insider NOT to an EU Press release does anyone actually know the link to the official site.

Not being funny but if i print that off and takeit in to work they will say [zb] is the insider?.

CLICK HERE for the original

according to the FTA press release it comes into force in Spring 2007

14

What about the other week then?.

Therefore a full 45 hours weekly rest must be taken in any two weeks - effectively meaning that drivers will be restricted to a five day working week on alternate weeks.

Why dont these ā– ā– ā– ā– ā– ā– ā–  boringcrats just sort it out once and for all and say 50 hours a week, 45 driving max ,12 hours off every night and 48 hours off every week.

In stead of changing things every couple of years just lay it down once and leave it alone.

15

I agree with you for the most part Jammy, but I think the reason they put so many exceptions/variables in is to try & give the guys who do long distance continental runs a chance of keeping working & getting home then having a ā€œcatch upā€ rest.
Thus removing the requirement to be parked up for (as in your suggestion) 48 hours maybe only a day from home.
Though its still 36? as it is, but i think youā€™ll follow what iā€™m getting at.

16

I am always in favour of legislation that supports the driverā€¦what gets my goat is after sitting at loading/unloading places where there are no facilities for drivers, especially food, and then after pulling out and heading for the nearest cafe, my boss phones and asks where i amā€¦when i tell him im having a lunch break..and then he rants and raves about me having just sat at (eg tesco) for the past 2 hours..so i always ask did you enjoy your lunch...cos i havntā€¦and now i can`
I wonder how many of you guys out there fall into the same trapā€¦but are afraid to tell the boss the truthā€¦
There was a time years agoā€¦when in the same situationā€¦and the boss went ballisticā€¦he went even crazier when i deliberately ran the truck out of fuelā€¦and told him that my body is the same as a truck engineā€¦it needs fuelā€¦and this is what you get when you dont allow drivers to eatā€¦of course i was sackedā€¦and expected itā€¦but it made him thinkā€¦i always stop for food and drinkā€¦no matter how late i am runningā€¦my health comes firstā€¦

17

here is the full body of fta news

New driversā€™ hours rules
There have been many years of difficult debate on amendments to EU driversā€™ hours regulations. The conciliation process, between the European Parliament and the Transport Council of Ministers, resulted in a final agreement and ended on 6 December. From its Brussels office FTA has fought to offset the worst of the damaging proposals and can report success on a substantial number of issues for the road freight industry. However, while FTA convinced the Parliament that industry needed the flexibility to reduce weekly rest on consecutive weeks MEPs failed to convince the Transport Council of this.

FTA is currently undertaking a full analysis of the changes. In the meantime, the following is a breakdown of some of the main rules that will take effect in Spring 2007:

Weekly rest

The requirement for a full 45 hours weekly rest remains. However, while rest can continue to be reduced provided compensation is made, there is a new requirement to take a regular full 45 hours weekly rest in any two weeks. This effectively means a five day working week on alternate weeks.

Daily rest

The 11 hour daily rest requirement remains. This can be reduced to a minimum of 9 hours three times per week. Compensation for reductions in daily rest is no longer required.

Weekly driving

A new 56 hour driving limit is formally introduced. However, this should not impact on the freight industry as in practice driving is already limited to 56 hours per week because of the daily driving limits.

Weekly rest taken in cab

Currently, drivers may take daily rest in a stationary vehicle provided it is fitted with a bunk. This provision has been extended to allow a ā€˜reducedā€™ weekly rest to also be taken in a vehicle fitted with a bunk.

Breaks from driving

A 45 minute break continues to be required after a maximum of four and a half hours driving. However, the pattern for spreading breaks over the driving period has changed. The three minimum 15 minute breaks have been replaced by two breaks, the first of which must be a minimum of 15 minutes with the second break being a minimum of 30 minutes.

Exemptions/derogations

A number of exemptions and derogations were under threat. However, FTA successfully argued the case to retain at least some of these essential concessions. In particular, the exemption for transport of milk has been retained and the national exemption for essential services such as gas, electricity and telecommunications and a limited postal services derogation have also been saved. DfT will be responsible for decisions on implementing national derogations.

Liability

Contractual responsibility for compliance has been extended to include consignors, freight forwarders, goods vehicle operators and their sub-contractors.

Timing

The conciliation agreement will be ratified by the Parliament and Transport Council in January and changes will take effect 12 months following publication in the EU Official Journal. This means that drivers will require training on new driversā€™ hours rules before May 2007.

18

Mal:
i generally find that a break of less than an hour is useless anyway, there just aint enough time to eat then have a sleep! :wink:

Everybodyā€™s metabolism is different Mal, I have always been able to benefit from as little as 10 or 15 minutes sleep never mind rest. I often would pull up, set the alarm for 10 minutes, dive on the bunk, fall instantly asleep and awake refreshed.

Truckyboy:
my boss phones and asks where i amā€¦when i tell him i`m having a lunch break

Never happened to me. If I am in the resto, the phone is in the cab. If I am in the cab, the phone is silenced. I can see if theyā€™ve rung and ring back afterwards. We had a new traffic operator on Gauthierā€™s who parked me up at 9 in the morning (after only 3 hours work) to start again at 9 that night and run in. Was back in the yard next day and she was going mad because I silenced the phone when I was asleep :open_mouth: . She was treated to a rich lesson in on duty and off duty definitions, in English accented French but with the full gallic shoulder shrugging, arm waving, forehead slapping, eye rolling gestures in my repertoire :laughing: .

Bunkslug:
the exemption for transport of milk has been retained and the national exemption for essential services such as gas, electricity and telecommunications and a limited postal services derogation have also been saved

Always wondered what magical powers milk, gas and electricity had which makes driving what are, we are told, unsafe hours - safe. And as for letters, well, we all know how recuperative they are to the system :unamused:

Salut, David.

19

And as for letters, well, we all know how recuperative they are to the system

Yes and while RM are exempt those of us who do the self same job for parcel carriers such as DHL arent! :confused:

20

truckyboy:
.i always stop for food and drinkā€¦no matter how late i am runningā€¦my health comes firstā€¦

well said bob, ā– ā– ā– ā–  em, you need to eat, any firm that wont wear that aint worth working for. Ive had the same meself on boxes with long tip times, if I can eat on site, I will because im not a militant, but if there is bugger all facilities, i make time to eat and whatever, and itā€™s tough ā– ā– ā– ā– ā–  im afraid!