Hi everyone,
only just registered on the site (which is great by the way 
) I am a newbie, 5 weeks into my first class 2 driving job. I passed my class 2 in February and failed my class 1 a couple of months ago 
the company I now work for have said they will pay for my retest and ADR training after I have been there 6 months so allās good there, because if I am being honest we are completely skint after forking out for all the training and tests etcā¦ Anyway to get to the point although I love the job itself I have to admit I am struggling to grasp certain aspects and would appreciate any advice and words of wisdom that can be thrown my way
My main worry is staying legal I have got to grips with my drivers hours, I am making sure that I have a 45 minute break before I reach 4.5 hours of driving (in fact I make it 50 mins as I have been told that the analogue tachograph can be slightly out) I also use this break to cover my half hour for the WTD break. If I work late I make sure that I have another 45 min break before my next 4.5 hours driving or my next 6 hours working I think I am doing this correctly? What I cant get to grips with or understand is the averaging out over 17 or 26 weeks to make it a 48 hour working week what is the point of this? I need to work overtime as I have taken a pay cut to get on the first rung of the ladder to gain experience. I am currently working about 50-56 hours a week how can I possibly average this out without taking time off? And what is the point of a job if you cant better yourself by working overtime? Will I get fined for this? I have asked many different people (transport,drivers etcā¦) but it seems to be a very grey area most drivers work a lot more than 48 hours each week can anybody please help clarify this and are there any other things I should be watching out for as regards staying legal as I am dreading the thought of getting infringements and fines I really want to be as professional as I can be and be a good driver but have to be honest and say that it seems ridiculously overly complicated as there is so much to remember as well as doing your job itself.
Sorry for the long post, any help and advice really would be appreciated as it might help me to stop worrying so much!
Thank you
Hiya
Dont worry about average hours over 26 weeks its your employers job to monitor your weekly hours as for doing the hours you do its fine keep at it.
Where I am at the mo some weeks its 64 hours then the next its 50 ish so swings and roundabouts really I take it its overtime after 48 hours where you are?
Jeff
Donāt worry to much about the 17 weeks and 26 weeks, just make sure you get your daily rest breaks and donāt do more than 90 in 2 weeks and youāll be fine 
Hi Mate it sounds to me like you have pretty much got things sorted as you really care about your hours and you are doing things right.
As for the 48hr WTD rules - Donāt stress about this. You cannot be fined by VOSA for WTD hours 
Remember that this rule is spread over many weeks and does not include breaks or POA. I canāt say as I loose any sleep over it and you shouldnāt either. Just stay legal on your driving hours
Hi all,
Thanks for replies much appreciated. I donāt get paid for the first hour of breaks and I donāt get paid overtime itās the same hourly rate no matter how long you work (so no overtime as such after 48 hours) So you guyās think that I shouldnāt worry too much about WTD and the hourās Iām working? As long as Iām watching my drivers hours? Thatās a relief! It can be quite daunting taking everything on board at first as well as doing your job (which can be quite stressful and frenetic somedayās anyway!) Are there any other things that I should watch as regards staying legal? Should I bother using POA to claw back some of my WTD time? or is there no need to bother? Doing that would just seem to complicate things further and I dont know if my brain would handle it at the moment!! LOL 
The only other thing that I was worried about but it seems relatively minor is how you go about filling in the back of your tachograph when changing vehicles or recording a break manually, I had to do it last week and when I asked I got told 3 different ways to do it and being a newbie didnāt have a clue which (if any) was the right way (at a guess Iād say there was an infringement on that chart coz Iām guessing I cocked it up!! lol) I cant understand why you donāt have a test on drivers hours and tachograph rules instead of the silly multiple choice questions you get on your theory test. I also signed an opt out form for the WTD but Iāve since read that it doesnāt apply to drivers anyway. Iām guessing Iāll get there in the end and as the old saying goes ānothing counts quite like experienceā Iām just glad i stumbled across this site as it seems like it will be a godsend to somebody like myself!
Thanks for taking the time to post your replies I really do appreciate it
Does your 56 hour weeks also include your breaks? if so and you take 2 50 min breaks per day thatās 8 hours. The WTD is regarding working hours so you would still meet that without your breaks?
I donāt bother with POA - I always use rest as it amounts to the same thing anyway regarding both drivers hours and the WTD.
If Iām being tipped and I am genuinely having nothing to do with the load I will usually put the tacho on rest and put my feet up. Same again if I am waiting for the office to sort out another job and Iāve got nothing to do for 30 minutes.
Itās your weekly and fortnightly driving thatās more important really
Iāve got an app called truckertimer I think it cost me about 2pound Iāve got andriod ,works out everything for you driving rest daily rest weekly rest 26 week etc