I have just completed my first two weeks working for an agency as an HGV driver. I have made a mistake with the digital tacho on two occasions were I did not set it to break and left it on POA in error which resulted in it being recorded that I have gone over my driving hours. The tacho I was using was a Stoneridge and I got confused as I did not realise that it counted POA as breaks, the driver hours reset back to the full 4.5 hours so I thought I was OK to drive. I have taken print outs and made notes on the back stating when the error occurred and when I took my breaks - is there anything else I can do?
How long are the records valid for? Do I have to worry about them being picked up for the next 28 days, 6 months or longer?
How much should I worry about this?
Would the fact that I am a new driver be taken into consideration if the infringements came to light?
Am I correct thinking that the penalties are based on a sliding scale e.g. 1 hour = £100, 2 hours = £200, 3 hours = £300.
I am still trying to get my head around the different units, I am finding it difficult going from Stoneridge to Siemens 1.3 to Siemens 1.4 and back to analogue.
Any advise greatly appreciated.
MickyB666:
I have just completed my first two weeks working for an agency as an HGV driver. I have made a mistake with the digital tacho on two occasions were I did not set it to break and left it on POA in error which resulted in it being recorded that I have gone over my driving hours. The tacho I was using was a Stoneridge and I got confused as I did not realise that it counted POA as breaks, the driver hours reset back to the full 4.5 hours so I thought I was OK to drive. I have taken print outs and made notes on the back stating when the error occurred and when I took my breaks - is there anything else I can do?
How long are the records valid for? Do I have to worry about them being picked up for the next 28 days, 6 months or longer?
How much should I worry about this?
Would the fact that I am a new driver be taken into consideration if the infringements came to light?
Am I correct thinking that the penalties are based on a sliding scale e.g. 1 hour = £100, 2 hours = £200, 3 hours = £300.
I am still trying to get my head around the different units, I am finding it difficult going from Stoneridge to Siemens 1.3 to Siemens 1.4 and back to analogue.
Any advise greatly appreciated.
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You’ve done printouts, any printout you do to make written entries you need 2 copies, one for the office and 1 for your own records.
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The records are there for all to see , don’t think by burning your card will disguise your mistakes as the record is also on the tachograph which will be eventually downloaded onto a computer somewhere.
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I wouldn’t stress out too much and put it down to rapid learning since the industry is so crappy about teaching drivers the basic rules of drivers hours etc .
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If you use POA (and there will be a lot on here that will throw daggers and all in-sundry at you for doing so and tell you to use break. ', please don’t listen to them) use it wisely and just use a bit of paper to note your hours down.
POA can be better than break if used correctly
Just to add do any printouts as soon as you realise your mistake don’t leave it till the end of the shift.
MickyB666:
I have just completed my first two weeks working for an agency as an HGV driver. I have made a mistake with the digital tacho on two occasions were I did not set it to break and left it on POA in error which resulted in it being recorded that I have gone over my driving hours. The tacho I was using was a Stoneridge and I got confused as I did not realise that it counted POA as breaks, the driver hours reset back to the full 4.5 hours so I thought I was OK to drive. I have taken print outs and made notes on the back stating when the error occurred and when I took my breaks - is there anything else I can do?
As you need to carry one printout with you I would do two printouts and hand one in when your card is downloaded then keep the other with you.
(if you’re working at diferent companies all the time it may not be practical to hand in a printout now so don’t worry about it)
How long are the records valid for? Do I have to worry about them being picked up for the next 28 days, 6 months or longer?
You don’t have to worry at-all, it’s a genuine mistake and that can be seen from your card and the printouts.
How much should I worry about this?
Try to learn from the mistake but don’t worry about it.
Would the fact that I am a new driver be taken into consideration if the infringements came to light?
Yes, if you’re working at the same company all the time you will probably get an infringement from the operator but it’s part of the learning curve, at a road-side check I imagine you could get advised to be more careful but that should be about all.
Am I correct thinking that the penalties are based on a sliding scale e.g. 1 hour = £100, 2 hours = £200, 3 hours = £300.
You won’t receive any financial penalty so stop worrying 
As you’ve now learned, unless you need to use POA for any reason it’s best to use break, it will cause you less problems, there are times when POA is useful but unless using break is going to cost you money it’s best to only use POA when you need to.
Thank you for putting my mind at rest. 
I am working for an agency, I have only took a print out for myself, as a rule do the agencies require printouts?
The scenario behind the reason why I have been using POA… … …
If I have driven for a total of 2.5 hours and during this time I have made two drops which resulted in me waiting to be tipped for 30 minutes on each occasion and for those 30 minutes periods I selected rest, do my driving hours reset back to 4.5 hours and therefore in effect do I lose 2.0 hours of my available driving time?
tachograph:
… For instance if you drive for 2½ hours then have a 45 minute break you still have 6½ hours daily driving time left (7½ hours on an extended driving shift). No matter when you have breaks or how many breaks you have you don’t lose anything from the daily driving time.
I think I understand - I can drive for 2½ hours, take a 45 minute break, drive for 4 hours take a 45 minute break then drive for another 2½ hours (or 3½ hours twice a week on extended driving hours) if I wish, whatever hours I have left after the first break period get added on after the second break period.
MickyB666:
tachograph:
… For instance if you drive for 2½ hours then have a 45 minute break you still have 6½ hours daily driving time left (7½ hours on an extended driving shift). No matter when you have breaks or how many breaks you have you don’t lose anything from the daily driving time.
I think I understand - I can drive for 2½ hours, take a 45 minute break, drive for 4 hours take a 45 minute break then drive for another 2½ hours (or 3½ hours twice a week on extended driving hours) if I wish, whatever hours I have left after the first break period get added on after the second break period.
You’ve got it, you can reset the driving time by having 45 minutes breaks as many times as you like and you never lose any of the daily driving time.
For instance if you drove for two hours then had a 45 minute break, drove another two hours then had another 45 minute break, then drove another two hours then had another 45 minute break, you’d still have three hours driving time left (four hours on extended driving day), … whether or not you’d still have a job is another matter but you would have three hours driving time left