Just out of curiosity if you were to get a phone call from home saying someone close had been in an accident and you had to get home now,
Is there any kind of leeway in tacho rules for emergency situations?
That subject has been covered several times to which I’m sure someone will be able to post links. In short the first thing to do is contact your company and explain the situation, a plan to get you home should develop. The overriding consideration is that you do NOT pull the card because that is falsifying records, which is a much more serious offence than running over permitted hours.
cav551:
That subject has been covered several times to which I’m sure someone will be able to post links. In short the first thing to do is contact your company and explain the situation, a plan to get you home should develop. The overriding consideration is that you do NOT pull the card because that is falsifying records, which is a much more serious offence than running over permitted hours.
It’s not falsifying records, its failure to keep records. Falsifying records is using a different name, date, location or winding the clock on. In which case you’re better to not have a card in, as failure to keep records is a single offence, where as the others can stack up
If its a true emergency I’d consider getting a taxi to the nearest station. Not worth the price of a train ticket? Not a true emergency.
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OVLOV JAY:
cav551:
That subject has been covered several times to which I’m sure someone will be able to post links. In short the first thing to do is contact your company and explain the situation, a plan to get you home should develop. The overriding consideration is that you do NOT pull the card because that is falsifying records, which is a much more serious offence than running over permitted hours.It’s not falsifying records, its failure to keep records. Falsifying records is using a different name, date, location or winding the clock on. In which case you’re better to not have a card in, as failure to keep records is a single offence, where as the others can stack up
It is…ask dozy 
TruckerAds:
mrginge:
OK, I’m guessing now you left you are thinking of making a phone call to the DVSA?If they download the tacho head they will figure it out.
No im keeping well out of it, im just curious of how they are getting away with it as it seems its being going on a while.
They will get away with it until they are caught at a checkpoint and it seems that you are very very unlucky if you get stopped at one, my last pull by vosa or the ministry back then was the late 90s, obviously the company is either turning a blind eye or are ignorant to the practice, as long as this isn’t under instruction by your employer and they have not asked you to do it I would not worry about it.
i’ve worked at a place where this may have been going on but never been asked to do the same, so I assume that it is the driver thinking he is a hero because he can do the job quicker than anyone else, but in reality he is a mug because he was on a salary and was not getting rewarded financially for it.
As much as I dislike the way things are run at our place, they are extremely hot on tacho stuff. They make no quibbles about firing someone for doing it. Hell, I know two that were given the boot over the two years I’ve worked for them.
What’s the situation if the wagons are sometimes shunted about in a smallish yard with no card in by the loaders etc? Obviously not whacking up a great mileage but wondered if dvsa will give you grief at a roadside check on the tacho unit?
andy_s:
What’s the situation if the wagons are sometimes shunted about in a smallish yard with no card in by the loaders etc? Obviously not whacking up a great mileage but wondered if dvsa will give you grief at a roadside check on the tacho unit?
Thats obvious to see. The system will show when a card to pulled last then they can see that the truck was moved again 24+ hours later on a Saturday. It doesn’t take a genius to work out whats happening when a card is pulled then the truck starts moving the instant after it.
andy_s:
What’s the situation if the wagons are sometimes shunted about in a smallish yard with no card in by the loaders etc? Obviously not whacking up a great mileage but wondered if dvsa will give you grief at a roadside check on the tacho unit?
I doubt they care about the odd couple of k’s here and there, but it’s hard to explain away anything more than that.
Our units get moved around the yard without cards, and nothing was said when I got a tug a few months back.
(The officer got me to place his control card in the head unit, so I assume he checked that…)
… Pulling your card out…
Is done by two types of people… Those looking to cheat the system, and those that don’t know any better.
Don’t be either. If you go over your time, do so on card, and do two print outs explaining why. Don’t be like Dozy and end up in court for something pathetic.
andy_s:
What’s the situation if the wagons are sometimes shunted about in a smallish yard with no card in by the loaders etc? Obviously not whacking up a great mileage but wondered if dvsa will give you grief at a roadside check on the tacho unit?
I believe that companies are granted an “unallocated mileage allowance” to allow for shunting around yards. I’m not sure if it has to be asked for nor how large it is, but I’m led to believe it’s not a huge amount.
Cheers. Place I’m currently working for are a 24 hour operation so have shunters moving about in the yard to laod and drivers hot swapping seats day and night and I often get in a wagon start of my shift and the Tacho is flashing ‘No Card!’ I just ok that before I put my card in.
Captain Caveman 76:
andy_s:
What’s the situation if the wagons are sometimes shunted about in a smallish yard with no card in by the loaders etc? Obviously not whacking up a great mileage but wondered if dvsa will give you grief at a roadside check on the tacho unit?I believe that companies are granted an “unallocated mileage allowance” to allow for shunting around yards. I’m not sure if it has to be asked for nor how large it is, but I’m led to believe it’s not a huge amount.
So you mean if missing mileage is found but it’s not over whatever limit is set for this purpose then it won’t be investigated further, but if there is missing mileage and it’s over the allowance then they will come digging deeper?
Having seen the printout from a tacho head, it shows the exact time a card was pulled and the exact time the head unit detected the truck moving again. The VOSA man will see that the driver ejected his card on the Friday around 1600ish then the next time the truck moved was Saturday lunchtime where it was only driven without a card for say 40 seconds as would be expected of a shunter moving it inside a warehouse. The next time the truck moved was 35 minutes later for another 40 seconds or so which would correspond to the truck being returned to the standing area.
That pattern is obvious especially as it would appear every weekend without fail. Pulling the card then instantly moving off for another 100Km’s with no card would stick out so much even Stevie Wonder could see it.
Captain Caveman 76:
andy_s:
What’s the situation if the wagons are sometimes shunted about in a smallish yard with no card in by the loaders etc? Obviously not whacking up a great mileage but wondered if dvsa will give you grief at a roadside check on the tacho unit?I believe that companies are granted an “unallocated mileage allowance” to allow for shunting around yards. I’m not sure if it has to be asked for nor how large it is, but I’m led to believe it’s not a huge amount.
Lenham storage are one of these. During the night the rigids are loaded/part loaded. They are taken from the park to the bays by the loaders, then back again, maybe a couple of times depending on what goods have arrived on the trunks. All without any cards.
As AndrewG brought up. If done for financial benefit you weigh it up at the time risk/reward. When I was new to this I was at a company where they didn’t keep records of my driving other then when a digi card was in, so I did double shifts sometimes. Start work at 4pm in a paper disc lorry, back in yard for 1am then jump into digi lorry and work till 10am, obviously the paper disc was lost and they never did drivers packs for me or had me on the computer showing the routes.
I was 21yrs old and made 33k which to me was loads so worked 6 days every week and sometimes did a seventh day so did 13 days straight. My worse shift was 27 hrs long and I was paid hourly.
Lucky for me that company went into administration 6yrs ago now so I’m guessing the records or lack of are gone forever. Now I’m at a place where I don’t need to do any of that sort of stuff and it’s definitely healthier as I felt like a zombie most of the time there and sometimes slept there as I didn’t think I could manage another 20min drive home after a ‘shift’.
It happens all the time at our yard (O/D and employed) when its busy and theres trailers to get loaded and not enough shunters we move/ strip/ rebuild tilts and take trailers down to the workshop (1/2km) ect without a card in. I personally do it to save driving time as i max out every day+ 2x10hrs a week as do many others here as its generally big distance work. Co. i sub for obviously dont care what i do and turn a blind eye to their employed drivers vehicle movements, however, as its all off road ie the yard or the very same ind estate its not harming anyone and their own drivers get paid for it anyway…
Evil8Beezle:
andy_s:
What’s the situation if the wagons are sometimes shunted about in a smallish yard with no card in by the loaders etc? Obviously not whacking up a great mileage but wondered if dvsa will give you grief at a roadside check on the tacho unit?I doubt they care about the odd couple of k’s here and there, but it’s hard to explain away anything more than that.
Our units get moved around the yard without cards, and nothing was said when I got a tug a few months back.
(The officer got me to place his control card in the head unit, so I assume he checked that…)
A few Mondays ago I was down for a 6am start but went in at about half five to put my quilt etc into the motor ready for the week, as it was ■■■■■■■ down I didn’t fancy carrying it across the yard so drove the unit about 400 metres (still within our yard) without the card in, put my gear in the wagon, put the card in and booked on at six. Less than a week later the office were on my case about driving without the card in and how it was unacceptable. I suppose that was them marking my card. Or not as this case may be!