Thanks for that Shep, and my EXPERTS comment was very much tongue in cheek!
A bit more info.
Yes I had a single bunk, but also had a passenger (not double manned) so not sure how that works…
I couldn’t stay in the unit when the mechanic was fitting a new starter motor, as the cab was tipped.
I wasn’t going to run out of hours, as the breakdown happened quite early in the shift.
When the unit was fixed, I drove it back to the yard that evening, effectively resumed that shift for the day. This obviously makes everything else hypothetical, but if I hadn’t had a passenger and had sat there for 9 hours, I just wanted to know whether I could have started a new shift, and where that left me legally… For example, the boss may have asked me to start a new shift (24 hour period), but if DVSA had spotted me sat there with a mechanic working on the truck, I wondered what their view would have been if I’d done that? Personally I wouldn’t have wanted to start a new shift, as I certainly didn’t feel like I’d had a rest, and was interested to know what ammunition I had to push back against a boss that tried to pressure me into one.
Evil, you have all the ammunition you need in any scenario by a polite “sorry boss, I’m not rested and in my opinion I could well be a danger to myself and or other road users if I drive a lorry”. Of course in the ideal world that would work but I could concede that if a driver were agency he/she could very well feel pressured into driving whilst not rested.
Evil8Beezle:
Thanks for that Shep, and my EXPERTS comment was very much tongue in cheek!
A bit more info.
Yes I had a single bunk, but also had a passenger (not double manned) so not sure how that works…
I couldn’t stay in the unit when the mechanic was fitting a new starter motor, as the cab was tipped.
I wasn’t going to run out of hours, as the breakdown happened quite early in the shift.
When the unit was fixed, I drove it back to the yard that evening, effectively resumed that shift for the day. This obviously makes everything else hypothetical, but if I hadn’t had a passenger and had sat there for 9 hours, I just wanted to know whether I could have started a new shift, and where that left me legally… For example, the boss may have asked me to start a new shift (24 hour period), but if DVSA had spotted me sat there with a mechanic working on the truck, I wondered what their view would have been if I’d done that? Personally I wouldn’t have wanted to start a new shift, as I certainly didn’t feel like I’d had a rest, and was interested to know what ammunition I had to push back against a boss that tried to pressure me into one.
Thanks!
Ahhh now you’re throwing spanners in the works A second person■■? Nothing says you can’t share the bunk - or even that you have to use it
I worked on the principle that the mechanic wasn’t there yet. Now you are saying he had the cab tipped.
As it is - what you did was correct. Record break (except for maybe a few periods where you may have helped the mechanic) then continued the current shift.
But lets face it. What are the chances of DVSA seeing you sitting there while a mechanic does his stuff etc etc etc … In the real world you could have recorded ‘bed’ for 9 hours and started a new shift. If stopped by DVSA the tacho does not report cab tilting or starter changing. OK he may have disconnected the battery (!) and that would be recorded - so you could have ejected your card and put it back in 9 hours later manually inputting a reduced rest.
Its all a load of if’s and but’s … DVSA are not mind readers nor do they have extra senses allowing them to see what happened in the past.
In the words of somebody else lets keep it real … what the law says and what we actually do just may be two different things. if you know the law/rules/regulations and how enforcement works, then you know what can and can’t be ‘got away with’
I’ve a good TM where I currently limp, so purely hypothetical for the moment…
Personally, I’m more than happy to say no, and have done so once to my TM who was absolutely fine about it!
But I’m guessing not all TM’s are so good, and wondered if I worked elsewhere, what the exact legal situation would be. It’s all very well saying no, but even better if you can quote the rules on why you’re saying no. And in the situation I proposed, there isn’t one! Which was the whole reason for my question…
It’s a bit of a freak scenario I know, and the chance of DVSA being aware of the details are infinitesimal, but you just never know. Yes the power was cut when the starter was changed, so questions could have been asked, and I could drop myself in the crap if I started a new shift, so food for thought…
Ta very much people!
As for my passenger, he wasn’t my type!
But the worse part was that we didn’t have a radio afterward, as we didn’t have the code!
A second person■■? Nothing says you can’t share the bunk - or even that you have to use it 
Which was the whole reason for my question…
