yesterday we were stoped at work and ask to provide tachos …
we were told from our work we were exempt as we were under the new rules
we have 90 drivers where i work and we dont drive for more than say 2hrs a day the company has said we ware exempt they also used to issue our tachos they are sayin the company solictors say we are should we have a certificate ■■?
the police man from the cvs said we were not and he said he was sure
he also asked how could we prove that we had had a break in the last 6hrs and we said we had but he was not buying that
i was not driving but the other driver was but they also said i should have a tacho in as i was also a driver so here was the upshot
they gave us a ticket and said they were goin to report us for the following
failing to use a tacho
failing to keep records
failing to provide records of work and breaks
so we are worried and they have just given us a letter/papperwork from the internet saying we should be would we have a certificate if they are wrong they gonna have major greif for this 90 driver 90 days no tachos x3 for the other offences is over 2400 ofences any help advice would be helpful
fatjay_uk:
we were told from our work we were exempt as we were under the new rules
what makes you think you are exempt? the new rules have reduced the amount of unrecorded driving, not increased it even if you spend most of the day off the public roads, it all has to be recorded
this is what i seem to think and they still arent sayin alot
we work airside in an airport and use roads that belong to baa also used by the public
Vehicles used exclusively on roads inside hub facilities such as ports, into ports, and railway terminals. vehicles used exclusively on roads inside hub facilities such as ports, interports and railway terminals
they are also sayin that because we dont drive for more than 4hrs a day wew have no need to keep records
fatjay_uk:
they are also sayin that because we dont drive for more than 4hrs a day wew have no need to keep records
i would ask for this one in black and white mate. you are leaving yourself wide open to prosecution. you could only drive for half an hour a day and you still need to keep records.
as for where you drive, ROG?
i dont fall into any exemptions so i dont bother taking an interest in what exactly IS exempt. if im driving, i need a tacho
now im not exactley sure now,but wasnt there always an exception under 50kms and driving not being your main duty ie.road-gangs,now for all i know that might have changed recently?maybe these guys are under that impression too,like i say im probably wrong but i know that used to be an exception
Bit unsure on the information given but I’ll take a stab at it.
The only exemption I can find that might apply is the following.
Vehicles used by harbour or airport authorities if the vehicles remain wholly within the confines of ports or airports.
However that seems to say that the vehicle must be operated by the airport authority for the exemption to be valid, I don’t know who operates your vehicles so don’t know if this applies to you or not. If it is BAA then you might be Ok, if not…
Normally if you are exempt from the tacho rules you would fall under the domestic rules and normally there is a need to keep records for those regulations. However, in the domestic rules there is an exemption as follows.
Drivers of goods vehicles on any day when they drive for 4 hours or less and keep within 50 kilometres of base.
Now that exemption would seem to apply to you but this only applies to domestic rules, not EC…
The way I see it is, if you are indeed exempt from the tacho rules you don’t have to keep any records as you are exempt under domestic as well. so I think you would be OK. You also wouldn’t fall under the WTD as a mobile worker so the break before 6 hour thing the copper asked you about wouldn’t apply.
If however you are not exempt then I think you are screwed.
well we do use the same road as the public and we the drivers are not sure if this road is wholey in the confinds of the airport the police man seems to say its not they have quoted the same regs as coffee has but would we have some sort of proof of this■■?
i think this one is goona come down to where the boundrys are and if baa own the road does there have to be some sort of notice sayin the road is private??the public use this road so im still unsure where we stand i think im going to use my smart card what can they say??
So not the actual airport authority? That might be the sticking point, along with whether the road is regarded as being within the confines of the airport.
You say you were told you didn’t need to use tachos because of new rules, does this mean you used to use tachos? I don’t think there was anything in the recent rule changes that would mean you no longer had to use them, I could be wrong though as I don’t know that much about exemptions as all the driving I’ve done has come under EU rules.
are you a works contracter?i worked at heathrow for 2 and half years for taylor woodrow a few years ago,the roads are not private they are public as i seem to re-member,i wasnt working as a driver at the time though,but i have worked on civils,eg road-works in the past on 7.5tonners,and was tacho excempt under the 50km domestic rules,but this was about 4 years ago
fatjay_uk:
no im not a works contractor i work for the company we use red diesel and no road tax and they are very large fleet of maybe 100 class 2
Gets more and more confusing. The red diesel and no RFL would suggest you aren’t on public roads. I can’t think of any transport operation that can use red diesel and be RFL exempt yet fall under the EU regulations. I think these two things would be the strongest indicator that you are exempt.
so the roads must be private then not public,well if your company has told 90 drivers that they are all now tacho-excempt and it turns out your not,then if the authorities decide to prosecute you all,as your companies supposed to provide you with tachos,and they havent! id say they will be in bigger trouble at a guess,but as they providied you with log-books and you say you havent used them,then i think that will be your main problem,as even when your tacho-excempt your supposed to keep a daily log,of all duties driving and non-driving,dont quote me but thats just my take on things,maybe some-one else on the forum knows better,GOOD-LUCK
even if you spend most of the day off the public roads, it all has to be recorded
I’ve worked for a few like that over the years 
