Just been reading the VOSA website and they say on there that the max duty time you can do is 11 hours in any one day.
Have they altered this as i thought you could do 15 hours of duty time in any one day?
no changes as far as I know !
where did you read this ?
you weren’t reading domestic hours rules instead of EU ? that’s a maximum of 11 hours duty 
Yep your right.
I was reading the wrong one. 
There are no duty limits.
Shame .Mximum of 11 hours would be lovely .
For those that are interested, here’s a link to the second edition of the Drivers’ Hours and Tachograph Rules for Goods Vehicles in the UK and Europe.
It’s also got a list of the changes taking effect on 11/04/07.
Note that if you want to save it, you’ll have to add .pdf to the end of the filename
Found out today they are sending me on a course so that i know what i am doing.
Where do they draw the line with no duty limits, could you be on duty for 24 hours? Surely there has to be an upper limit?
Silver_Surfer:
Where do they draw the line with no duty limits, could you be on duty for 24 hours? Surely there has to be an upper limit?
They draw the line by specifying the amount of rest required in a 24-hour period, that begins when you resume work after a daily or weekly rest. As you know the minimum amount of rest specified is 9 hours therefore you would have a potential duty time of 15 hours.
It’s about time they got rid of 15 hours . What a ridiculous amount of time to be at work . 12 hours should be the max and thats it .
Don’t get me wrong i’ve done 15 hour shifts loads of times in the past , hate it , i hate going past 12 hours . I reckon it is time to get drivers working hours out of the stoneage . Sure 15 hours can be handy if it benefits the driver , but since when has 15 hours ever done that with greedy employers and greedy planners .
Ironic isn’t it , the matrix sign "Don’t drive tired " Lorry drivers up and down the country on a 15 spread
Now i’ll get behind the sand bags when the hourly paid people read that .
got to agree with you…i hate doing 12hrs never mind 15hrs
Horses for courses, I wouldn’t want them to take away the 15 hour ‘spread’, to my mind it’s bad enough they are making the split shift less flexible in April. At least with the 15 there those who want to do it have the option, just as those who don’t can stop after 11, 12 or whatever.
Admittedly my view is tinted by having been an OD and now hourly paid, both of which benefit from the 15. It’s not just the employed driver paid by the hour who can gain from it though, I can think of at least one person on here who is paid by a different method and who benefits from it as well
Just had an hour in the classroom last night with regards to the new regs in April . The most shocking one i have found is that weekly rest has to be 45 hrs but spread over a two week period , the minimum rest at the weekend is 24 hrs 
. Talk about nonsense . What a massive wedge that has driven in for less than desirable employers to abuse .
Anyone tells me i have only 24 hours off at a weekend will get laughed at or told to ■■■■■■■■ !
It’s shame really some drivers because of there character and nature which is no fault of there own are going to get trodden on big time ,
Remember : “Dont drive tired”
Now i’ll get behind the sand bags when the hourly paid people read that .
I am hourly paid and hate going past 12 myself… .BUT if the choice was work 14 hours and get home or 12 and night out then I would rather sleep in my own bed !!!
G
Whats the point? 1/2hr drive home, half hour drive to work, 1/2hr to have breakfast. Leaves 8 1/2 hrs to get a decent kip, have your tea, get a bath and see the wife/kids.
paul@midway:
Just had an hour in the classroom last night with regards to the new regs in April . The most shocking one i have found is that weekly rest has to be 45 hrs but spread over a two week period , the minimum rest at the weekend is 24 hrs
If that was true it might be a massive wedge, but it isn’t. 
The 45 hours weekly rest cannot be spread out over two weeks. What the new regulations actually say is that a driver must take a full, uninterrupted 45 hour weekly rest at least every fortnight. The ability to reduce down to 24 hours of weekly rest only away from the drivers or vehicles base has been removed and you can now do that at base if you desire. However if you did reduce down to 24 hours the other 21 hours will still need to be compensated for, potentially meaning a weekly rest of 66 hours.
So you can take 24 hours, or an amount between 24 and 45 one week but the next week you will have to take at least a full 45 hour rest. The compensation for the reduction will have to be taken by the end of the third week following the reduction.
Thanks for clarifying that .My bullet point handout is rubbish , or just worded very badly which still makes it rubbish .
Here’s a story for ya.
I started work for a guy yesterday, driving containers and tankers. I met him at 6.15 and we went off to get a rental unit from bridgewater. I drove it back to the yard (tiverton), and hooked up to an empty tank, which I then had to take over to Wincanton to get washed out. After that, I had to take the tank up to Shepton Mallet to pick up a full one. Ok, got the full tank, had to wait a half hour for the weighbridge, then drive up to bristol to meet the boss and another driver so that I could switch trailers to an empty 20’ container and the other guy took the cider up north. I had to take the container to southampton. Go into roadways first and get them to sort out a slot. Anyway, for one reason and another, I don’t get to roadways until about 5.45pm, and the guy on the desk suggests I go down to get the empty taken off at Pentalvers and he’ll give me a ring when he’s got me a slot.
So off I go, never been to southampton docks before, and eventually find pentalvas inside gate 10. Go in, the guy on the gate says they’re just changing shifts, so it will be a while, but he’ll do the paperwork anyway. So he does that and disappears. Then the Roadway guy phones up and says I have a slot. After about 20 minutes, one of the crane drivers turns up and tells me I’m in the wrong yard ! Ok, where do I go ? Over the roundabout keep going and it’s on your left. Fine, so off I go, and end up in a queue of about 6 trucks at the other yard. Eventually get to the window, and they say, you guessed it, you’re in the wrong yard ! And next time if you’re already booked in you can jump the queue. 
So out of that yard, and into the one across the road. Great, no-one here except a working crane/lift. He takes the box off, and I drive back down to gate 10 and ask the security guy, where’s transfer point 3 ? Oh. back there where you just came from. Grrreat. (can you tell I’m starting to get wound up here). Anyway, go back, up to the gate on transfer point 3 and put my reg in. It’s expired.
Anyway, use the intercom and get in anyway (luckily) stop on 95 and get loaded. Excellent. I’m outa here. The time now is about 8.10 pm.
So back up to roadways and have a night out in their yard.
Anyway, the reason I put all this down in this thread is -
the 40’ I picked up last night , my boss expected me to get it to the other side of bodmin for 6.30 am. I said you can’t be serious. I have got about 2 hours driving left if I do a 10 and then at the very least I have to have 9 hours rest. I didn’t say “do the maths” but I thought it quite loudly.
He sounded quite ■■■■■■ off that this box wasn’t going to get there for 6.30, but said he would “see what he could do”. Anyway, he came back and said I could have my nine hours rest, and get down there as soon as. Good, ok.
So I was off at 5.30 and straight down to bodmin. Eventually got there after a scenic route to avoid the low bridge, and made my way to the customers place.
Went into the office, "Oh it’s been cancelled. As you couldn’t be here for 6.30 this morning we sent the blokes home and it will have to be delivered next week. Didn’t anybody tell you ? "
No they 'kin didn’t. ( another loud thought).
So I have a break, phone the boss, and he sounds quite “quiet” about it. I don’t know whether I’m to blame in his mind for not getting it there for 6.30, but either way, it wasn’t going to happen.
Anyway, the truck with container is now back at tiverton and I’m mulling my future as one of his employees. I understand the need to make money in a transport firm, but not at the expense of my licence and probably my life after falling asleep at the wheel.
Could be my shortest job ever !