Just a quick one guys, what is POA ?
Rewmer:
Just a quick one guys, what is POA ?
Period Of Availability 
time when you’re at work, but not actually driving, doing other work or taking a break.
ie. waiting at a depot for a bay to become clear or parked at a port waiting for a ferry to berth.
Cheers Tops, another quick one… what is Period Of Availability.
Dont mean to be a pain, up until now all my time and effort has gone into making things go backwards in the right direction. I am still finding out all the other little things that go to make a good trucker…
POA = Period of availibility = “These periods are not working time and do not count as such, nor are they breaks or daily or weekly rest periods. They could include waiting time (for example, to load or unload or while waiting for a ferry) if the driver is free to dispose of his [or her] time during that period of waiting, but not, for example, if he has to remain with his [or her] vehicle in a queue - this would be working time.” D. Lowe, The Transport Manager’s & Operators Handbook 2006.
Apparently the key to knowing whether the time is POA is if you know in advance of the time how long you will have to wait for e.g. You go to tip and are told it will be an hour till empty and your not needed.
Hope that explains
You can find a full explanation of the Road Transport Directive/Working Time Directive HERE
It was written when the Draft Legislation came out, but is still applicable today. 