At both my previous and current employer, I’ve been regarded as the ‘go to’ guy if anyone has questions on drivers’ hours or tachographs but, the other day, someone threw a question at me which I’m struggling with…
So now I’m going to throw it open to you lot… !
Right then, so the facts.
We know that the law dictates that, after 4.5 hours of driving you are required to have a 45 minute continuous break. That’s a given.
We also know that you are allowed to ‘split’ your break into 15 minutes and 30 minutes; provided that the ‘second’ break is the 30.
So far so good. Now for the question:
Is there a limit on the maximum allowed time between breaks?
For example: You drive for 30 minutes then take a 15 minute break. You then drive for a further 3 hours twenty five minutes.
Do you now — legally — only have to take a 30 on the grounds that you’ve had 15 minutes earlier or would VOSA argue that the 15 is too long ago and you should have a 45?
You only need to take 30, second driving period could have been up to 4 hours.
If you have 30 then next break would need to be after another 1hr 5mins driving
wing-nut:
You only need to take 30, second driving period could have been up to 4 hours.
If you have 30 then next break would need to be after another 1hr 5mins driving
No, if he takes a 30 the clock resets and he has four and a half available again.
wing-nut:
You only need to take 30, second driving period could have been up to 4 hours.
If you have 30 then next break would need to be after another 1hr 5mins driving
wing-nut:
You only need to take 30, second driving period could have been up to 4 hours.
If you have 30 then next break would need to be after another 1hr 5mins driving
No, if he takes a 30 the clock resets and he has four and a half available again.
So if he drives for 3hrs 25 mins, has a 30 min break, then drives for 4 1/2 hrs that’s a total of 7hrs 55mins with only 30 min break.
This was brought up on my recent Dcpc and I disagreed with trainer because I’ve always been convinced it’s illegal
wing-nut:
You only need to take 30, second driving period could have been up to 4 hours.
If you have 30 then next break would need to be after another 1hr 5mins driving
No, if he takes a 30 the clock resets and he has four and a half available again.
So if he drives for 3hrs 25 mins, has a 30 min break, then drives for 4 1/2 hrs that’s a total of 7hrs 55mins with only 30 min break.
This was brought up on my recent Dcpc and I disagreed with trainer because I’ve always been convinced it’s illegal
Once an accumulated break of 45 mins is complete, it “wipes the slate clean” and the driver has a full four and a half hours available. This has been the way for some time.
wing-nut:
You only need to take 30, second driving period could have been up to 4 hours.
If you have 30 then next break would need to be after another 1hr 5mins driving
No, if he takes a 30 the clock resets and he has four and a half available again.
So if he drives for 3hrs 25 mins, has a 30 min break, then drives for 4 1/2 hrs that’s a total of 7hrs 55mins with only 30 min break.
This was brought up on my recent Dcpc and I disagreed with trainer because I’ve always been convinced it’s illegal
No its not because he drove for 30 mins had a 15 then drove for 3.25 total driving 3.55, after the 30 min break having a 45 break altogether, means he can drive for another 4.30 REALLY
wing-nut:
You only need to take 30, second driving period could have been up to 4 hours.
If you have 30 then next break would need to be after another 1hr 5mins driving
No, if he takes a 30 the clock resets and he has four and a half available again.
So if he drives for 3hrs 25 mins, has a 30 min break, then drives for 4 1/2 hrs that’s a total of 7hrs 55mins with only 30 min break.
This was brought up on my recent Dcpc and I disagreed with trainer because I’ve always been convinced it’s illegal
No its not because he drove for 30 mins had a 15 then drove for 3.25 total driving 3.55, after the 30 min break having a 45 break altogether, means he can drive for another 4.30 REALLY
Then after that 4.30 is up if he has another 45, or a 15 then a 30 along the way he can drive the last 1.35.
tango boy:
No its not because he drove for 30 mins had a 15 then drove for 3.25 total driving 3.55, after the 30 min break having a 45 break altogether, means he can drive for another 4.30 REALLY
I can see what you mean but I’m not convinced you’re right.
Let’s take a hypothetical situation: You drive for 15 minutes then take a 15 break. You then drive for 4 hours and 10. By your reasoning you only need a 30 to reset all the clocks and stay legal.
tango boy:
No its not because he drove for 30 mins had a 15 then drove for 3.25 total driving 3.55, after the 30 min break having a 45 break altogether, means he can drive for another 4.30 REALLY
I can see what you mean but I’m not convinced you’re right.
Let’s take a hypothetical situation: You drive for 15 minutes then take a 15 break. You then drive for 4 hours and 10. By your reasoning you only need a 30 to reset all the clocks and stay legal.
The only rules that govern the amount of time between breaks would be the WTD where you must have a break before completing 6 hours of work.
You can legally do 1 minute of driving followed by a 15. Then you can do 4:29 followed by a 30 min break and then another 4:30 before a break. Thats 8:59 minutes with only a 30 minute break if you want.
m1cks:
The only rules that govern the amount of time between breaks would be the WTD where you must have a break before completing 6 hours of work.
You can legally do 1 minute of driving followed by a 15. Then you can do 4:29 followed by a 30 min break and then another 4:30 before a break. Thats 8:59 minutes with only a 30 minute break if you want.
tango boy:
No its not because he drove for 30 mins had a 15 then drove for 3.25 total driving 3.55, after the 30 min break having a 45 break altogether, means he can drive for another 4.30 REALLY
I can see what you mean but I’m not convinced you’re right.
Let’s take a hypothetical situation: You drive for 15 minutes then take a 15 break. You then drive for 4 hours and 10. By your reasoning you only need a 30 to reset all the clocks and stay legal.
Really?
Really??
D =15
B = 15
D = 4.10 = TOT = 4.25
B = 30 = TOT = 45 = RESET 4.5 MAX DRIVE OR LESS DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF DRIVING COMPLEATED UP TO THIS POINT
