EU drivers rules are a joke, look at domestic rules! 10 hours drive a day, 7days per week! No set rules on breaks or time off, fair enough you can only do 11 hours in total that includes other work(don’t think it includes breaks either, just driving and duty time). So if thats considered ok why do we need the EU crap? I want a break for a kip when I want one, not when someone else tells me I’m tired!
Conor:
I’ve never ever been done for tacho offences and neither have many drivers so its not a very good tool for revenue raising is it?
Well done Conor for not been done yourself, but I reckon your point about not many other drivers is way off the mark, I would say many have, and it’s an excellent revenue raiser. ( Resisted asking you if you have ever actually driven a truck so 10points for that I reckon 
) (…private joke )
Many probably have but I don’t reckon its the majority.
gezt:
1969 was when i got my first licence and we did what the boss said, our’s was a decent bloke,paid ok and paid for xmas booze up with sarnies etc .Looked after us so we looked after him.we did our job and we talked/met other drivers.
into the late 70’s early 90’s worked for a number of firms doing different sort of stuff, some gaffers looked after you but needed the full monty some didn’t care but demanded the full monty.we tried to do our job. most towns had a lorry park where we would meet other drivers and go an eat/drink together
90 to 2000 bosses were getting a tad worried an so was we,tacho’s were in full swing/d.o.t. (vosa) were flexing their muscles, plod was doing the sweeny thing.we were hammered for doin our job. less towns had a lorry park so we didn’t meet up os often.
2001 to date. vosa is god apart from h&s overlord who is equal.Bosses can’t pay cos overhead on their house is to the extreme so we have to work harder but no overtime, the corporate companies don’t care anyway cos we is a number/commodity ,nothing more nothing less.The public don’t like us big lorry drivers and lorries,(our fault cos we let it get that way) few towns have a lorry park ,so we park anywhere and close our curtains.
We don’t like each other in most cases so we don’t stick together. (God help uk plc if ever we did).
In an ideal world we would all stand as one and get better treated as in
better wages
conditions
safe parking
safe loads
respect from the public
self esteem
more towns would have a lorry park.
glad i have only 5 years to go cos by that time the only places to park will be in a pi k y camp and there will be less facilities than now.
I really do not envy you new guys,fancy motors etc /v8’s etc…nah the best days of lorry driving in this country are long gone i’m afraid.
You new guys will be steering wheel attendants thats all, will park up ,close curtains and never realise there is another world out there that had died.
Couldn’t put it better myself mate, a lot of drivers know nothing else, through no fault of their own, because they weren’t in the job when it was worth doing, ( even if bent running was the done thing then, but I for one would not want to go back to that aspect of it) so they settle for all the crap today thinking it’s normal, the problem is that today it has actually became just that… normal.
robroy:
Conor:
I’ve never ever been done for tacho offences and neither have many drivers so its not a very good tool for revenue raising is it?Well done Conor for not been done yourself, but I reckon your point about not many other drivers is way off the mark, I would say many have, and it’s an excellent revenue raiser. ( Resisted asking you if you have ever actually driven a truck so 10points for that I reckon
I haven’t been done. Been pulled in with a few infringements found. Few minutes here and there wrong mode. But only odd one over a period of time always been polite with vosa or police bod and just a keep an eye on it.
delboytwo:
I would say that running bent is a driver that as no regards to his or hers safety or other road users.My point is why would you want to do it you’ll never be thanked for it.There are driver that make mistakes but are not running bent that’s life, we have all made the odd mistake.
But then there driver that put magnets on there truck pull the fuse add a wire, have 20 plus infringement’s per week these are the ones that are running bent.
there a big difference with someone trying to get home on a Friday and going over by 10 minutes and someone that drives for 20 hours without stopping.
If he’s running bent he’ll have no infringements as the wire and magnet will have hidden them which is the whole purpose of using them
mazzer:
delboytwo:
I would say that running bent is a driver that as no regards to his or hers safety or other road users.My point is why would you want to do it you’ll never be thanked for it.There are driver that make mistakes but are not running bent that’s life, we have all made the odd mistake.
But then there driver that put magnets on there truck pull the fuse add a wire, have 20 plus infringement’s per week these are the ones that are running bent.
there a big difference with someone trying to get home on a Friday and going over by 10 minutes and someone that drives for 20 hours without stopping.
If he’s running bent he’ll have no infringements as the wire and magnet will have hidden them which is the whole purpose of using them
Well spotted.
If i ran bent i’d always make sure there was the odd thing for them to pick up on. An ultra clean card would be very suspicious.
The only part of the rules I dont agree with is the stupid 90hour a fortnight driving. I think the daily limits are spot on but should be allowed to drive UP TO your 56 hours every week if need be. Weekend breaks are spot on as well, we all need away from our work.
i have met drivers that would go to Gibraltar and back without stopping, the Spanish fridge drivers would drive from the South Coast of Spain, throw the tacho out then put a new one in from Pamplona then one hit to the ferry in France.
You could drive a few kilometres from when you put the card in, then wait around all night to load at a pack house, your duty time would have been up, but the manager would tell his client that you left and get you booked in from that time for a delivery in the Uk or Europe, and not take in to account the time you started your shift.
They did not care about the driver.
scottishcruiser:
The only part of the rules I dont agree with is the stupid 90hour a fortnight driving. I think the daily limits are spot on but should be allowed to drive UP TO your 56 hours every week if need be. Weekend breaks are spot on as well, we all need away from our work.
With you on that!
When I’m elected European transport minister I’m gonna overhaul the ridiculously complicated tacho rules;
You’re going to have a 12 hour day max (card goes in at 6am, you’re finished no later than 6pm), for example
A 1 hour break (no split breaks) to be taken before 5 hours driving time accumulated,
All HGV’s to be parked up by noon Saturday until 6 am Monday, (this will exclude emergency services, but will include frozen/ chill deliveries) if the supermarkets can’t sort their act out that’s their problem, not a drivers!
Minimum rest between weekday shifts will be no less than 12 hours.
I look forward to your votes and support.
And something needs to be done for drivers that have to commute to the truck each day or for part of the week, what i mean is if you have a 9 or 11 daily rest, it is not enough time to travel in the car, make a meal, have some social life, see a film or whatever, shower/bath then get a full nights sleep in that time.
Has anyone pulled by VOSA ever been asked how tired they are? or how much sleep youve had?
Ive never found them that concerned with my well being, just how many infringments they can find.
Coming off a ferry i would feel tired and just park up for half an hour before setting off down the road, the movement on the ship would affect my ears and make me dizzy, if it was a rough crossing then that would affect my driving if i had been sick on board.