Well this is my 1st post (hopefully of many) so hi guys n gals if there any on here 
Over the past 8 years of working for the same company, working out of 3 seperate depots doin multi drops and hearing different answers to the same questions i just need a little help… To either shut up my traffic controller (who has never driven a truck or filled out a tacho) or to put me right and eat humble pie.
Firstly driving hours, i know about them, daily allowance, weekly allowance, what you can do when double manned etc but i was told by a trunker driver a few years back that if i was NO more than 5 minutes away from my depot but had just hit my 4.5 hours driving then i could proceed to my final destination but my traffic controller said no i can’t and must take a 30 minute break to get me back to the depot legally… Who is right a class 1 driver who is also the TGWU guy at an old depot or the TC at my present controller.
Secondly, WTD i have been told by another truck driver that the second 6 hour stint doesn’t matter and i can work over it unlike the 1st 6 hours… Even an Ops manager (who has also never driven a truck) said it doesn’t, i think it does and the TC says it does but would just love it cleared up.
Thirdly (and finally with a huge sigh of relief from all of you… lol) i do a lot of driving 7.5t, bit of an odd jobber within the firm, we have a mismash of 7.5 ranging from 12 plate DAF 45.160, which are a god send to drive through to 05 plate MAN 8.150 with 500,000+ kms on the clock which are shagged… And have to drive a lot but as i’m 6’6" and anyone who has had the unfortunate pleasure of driving one will know how cramped the cabs are, i can’t get comfy and am forever bangin my head on the cab ceiling on bumpy roads and by the end of the day my back and neck have had it. I have complained to the boss that the cabs are way too small for me and his reply is let all the air out of the seat… Which screws me up even more with back pain… Surely there must be a law that if you can’t find a comfortable driving position then you should not be driving the truck… Any ideas guys■■?
Any help will be greatly appreciated… Happy truckin
NigeMac:
Firstly driving hours, i know about them, daily allowance, weekly allowance, what you can do when double manned etc but i was told by a trunker driver a few years back that if i was NO more than 5 minutes away from my depot but had just hit my 4.5 hours driving then i could proceed to my final destination but my traffic controller said no i can’t and must take a 30 minute break to get me back to the depot legally… Who is right a class 1 driver who is also the TGWU guy at an old depot or the TC at my present controller.
By the letter of the law you must take a break. In practice almost all of us would drive to the yard and as long as you weren’t doing it every day VOSA would turn a blind eye to it.
NigeMac:
Secondly, WTD i have been told by another truck driver that the second 6 hour stint doesn’t matter and i can work over it unlike the 1st 6 hours… Even an Ops manager (who has also never driven a truck) said it doesn’t, i think it does and the TC says it does but would just love it cleared up.
The other driver is wrong. You must not work more than 6 hours without a break. This counts for any 6 hours in the shift, not just the first 6.
NigeMac:
Surely there must be a law that if you can’t find a comfortable driving position then you should not be driving the truck… Any ideas guys■■?
No idea on that one.
HTH,
Paul
NigeMac:
i was told by a trunker driver a few years back that if i was NO more than 5 minutes away from my depot but had just hit my 4.5 hours driving then i could proceed to my final destination but my traffic controller said no i can’t and must take a 30 minute break to get me back to the depot legally… Who is right a class 1 driver who is also the TGWU guy at an old depot or the TC at my present controller.
Stricly speaking you’re committing an offence. Your hours up, end of. In real terms no one is going to park up 5 minutes from their yard and you’re always going to chance it but that’s got to be on the understanding that if you get pulled you’re bang to rights. The driver telling you that you’re allowed is dead wrong.
repton:
NigeMac:
Firstly driving hours, i know about them, daily allowance, weekly allowance, what you can do when double manned etc but i was told by a trunker driver a few years back that if i was NO more than 5 minutes away from my depot but had just hit my 4.5 hours driving then i could proceed to my final destination but my traffic controller said no i can’t and must take a 30 minute break to get me back to the depot legally… Who is right a class 1 driver who is also the TGWU guy at an old depot or the TC at my present controller.
By the letter of the law you must take a break. In practice almost all of us would drive to the yard and as long as you weren’t doing it every day VOSA would turn a blind eye to it.
NigeMac:
Secondly, WTD i have been told by another truck driver that the second 6 hour stint doesn’t matter and i can work over it unlike the 1st 6 hours… Even an Ops manager (who has also never driven a truck) said it doesn’t, i think it does and the TC says it does but would just love it cleared up.
The other driver is wrong. You must not work more than 6 hours without a break. This counts for any 6 hours in the shift, not just the first 6.
NigeMac:
Surely there must be a law that if you can’t find a comfortable driving position then you should not be driving the truck… Any ideas guys■■?
No idea on that one.
HTH,
Paul
I think that depends on your nationality surely??
I mean, I’m sure I’ve seen it written that after your first break, if you’re of Eastern European origin, you can work as long as you want 
I honestly can’t believe a professional driver has to ask some of these questions, and most of the daft questions on here are asked by employed drivers, yet I can’t get a job 
mick.mh2racing:
NigeMac:
i was told by a trunker driver a few years back that if i was NO more than 5 minutes away from my depot but had just hit my 4.5 hours driving then i could proceed to my final destination but my traffic controller said no i can’t and must take a 30 minute break to get me back to the depot legally… Who is right a class 1 driver who is also the TGWU guy at an old depot or the TC at my present controller.
Stricly speaking you’re committing an offence. Your hours up, end of. In real terms no one is going to park up 5 minutes from their yard and you’re always going to chance it but that’s got to be on the understanding that if you get pulled you’re bang to rights. The driver telling you that you’re allowed is dead wrong.
And so is the TC. It should be a minimum of 45 minutes unless you have already recorded 15 minutes since you last period of resetting break or rest.
nigeMac:
Secondly, WTD i have been told by another truck driver that the second 6 hour stint doesn’t matter and i can work over it unlike the 1st 6 hours… Even an Ops manager (who has also never driven a truck) said it doesn’t, i think it does and the TC says it does but would just love it cleared up.
You should have had another 15 minutes by 9 hours. That would have also had the effect of resetting the 6 hour clock. In any case you cannot work for more than 6 hours without a break at any time during your shift.
in answer to your first question, they are both wrong.
the break you need is 45 minutes. and no you can’t drive after your 4.5 hours is up.
docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=ca … NIEImiFXdg
as for the WTD. we are obliged to obey the “Road transport (working time) regulations”, aka Road transport directive.
however, theses regulations don’t mean a great deal to anyone in transport. we already have the tachograph regs, and if you are obeying them, then you be fine.
docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=ca … 35Glc4dYhQ
There is a workplace optout that allows drivers to drive 4.35 hours if their depot is within 5 miles of a trunk road. All the drivers must agree to it though.
You mention the second 6hr working time section and not needing another break.
You have taken 15 minutes before 6 hours, you need another 15 minutes before 9 hours work and then another 15 minutes if you work over 9 hours.
I reckon what your pal really means is that you will not need another break after the 45 minutes as that would mean you were working more than 15 hours.
The law is badly written which causes confusion to most.
You must not work over 6 hours without a break of 30 minutes (TRUE)
You must take another break before reaching 9 hours.
Breaks must be a minimum of 15 minutes long
When you find the law about the minimum size of the cab, post it on here 
I am a bit of a porker and struggle to get behind the steering wheel without wearing a hole in my T shirt. I want to tell my boss he has to buy me a longline cab. Its the law!
Wiretwister:
You should have had another 15 minutes by 9 hours. That would have also had the effect of resetting the 6 hour clock. In any case you cannot work for more than 6 hours without a break at any time during your shift.
No you shouldn’t. There is no requirement to take any more break “by 9 hours”.
For example:
work 6h
break 15min
work 4h
break 30min
work 1h
Is a perfectly legal shift.
Paul
Wheel Nut:
You must not work over 6 hours without a break of 30 minutes (TRUE)
No it isn’t true.
The rules say “you must not work more than 6 hours without a break”. They don’t say it must be 30 minutes. 15minutes is enough.
The rules do also say “if your shift is over 6 hours working time you must have breaks or breaks totalling 30 minutes” but they specifically do not say that the entire of those breaks must be at (or before) the 6h point.
Paul
repton:
Wheel Nut:
You must not work over 6 hours without a break of 30 minutes (TRUE)
No it isn’t true.
The rules say “you must not work more than 6 hours without a break”. They don’t say it must be 30 minutes. 15minutes is enough.
The rules do also say “if your shift is over 6 hours working time you must have breaks or breaks totalling 30 minutes” but they specifically do not say that the entire of those breaks must be at (or before) the 6h point.
Paul
Paul I told you it confuses most.
Article 5 of DIRECTIVE 2002/15/EC
- Member States shall take the measures necessary to
ensure that, without prejudice to the level of protection
provided by Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 or, failing that, by
the AETR Agreement, persons performing mobile road transport
activities, without prejudice to Article 2(1), in no circumstances
work for more than six consecutive hours without a
break. Working time shall be interrupted by a break of at least
30 minutes, if working hours total between six and nine hours,
and of at least 45 minutes, if working hours total more than
nine hours.
Paul. Those are exact quotes from official information on the web, as I said it confuses most, and is the reason why so many “clued up” managers insist on 30 minutes, it is the reason expensive analysis software is being dumped because it cannot do the job.
I have always known it was 15 minutes since before the thing came into existence.
The way the rule is written is akin to the early analogue tachograph rules when people were given infringements for putting their Christian name before their Surname. Again, people could not understand what was written in front of there eyes.
- Your name (surname and first name). Filled in before driving.
- The place where you started work. Filled in before driving.
- The place where you finished work. Filled in after driving.
- Start date. Fill in today’s date before you start driving.
- Finish date. Fill in after you finish driving.
- The registration number of your vehicle. Filled in before driving.
- The odometer reading at the end of the day.
- The odometer reading at the start of the day.
- Opening reading subtracted from closing reading equals total daily kilometres travelled.
some companies even embellished these instructions by issuing infringements for not doing the subtraction at the end of the day.
Drivers have lost their jobs for racking up too many infringements, when there are none.
I will even go as far to say that because of the confusion with the 15 minutes break, some drivers take 30 in the morning and then find they haven’t time to take another 30 for their driving breaks
is this a good time to mention the Driver CPC ? 
Wheel Nut:
Those are exact quotes from official information on the web, as I said it confuses most, and is the reason why so many “clued up” managers insist on 30 minutes, it is the reason expensive analysis software is being dumped because it cannot do the job.
Another reason a lot of people have it wrong is because some of the early guidance notes from VOSA had it wrong and some of those are still pinned up on traffic office walls around the country…
Paul
shep532:
is this a good time to mention the Driver CPC ?
No, many of us are sick to death of it being mentioned every time someone asks a question about driver’s hours
It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that most of the questions start with “I was told on my CPC course” and then continue with some lie they have been told about the rules.
Paul
Well i reckon more start with “A driver told me …”
