I have all my licences (class 2) , cpc and tachograph. Im currently applying for jobs and need some help about the tachograph. Firstly say i do 4.5 hours and need my 45 minute break, how do i stop and take a break. Because at the 4.5 hour time what if there is no where suitable to stop? Also what if there was an accident and im stuck in a load of traffic and once ive cleared it there wouldn’t be enough legal time to get to the drop or back to the depot? Im sure its probably simple i just would like to know before i get into a job. Any help will be a appreciated.
Jflowers:
I have all my licences (class 2) , cpc and tachograph. Im currently applying for jobs and need some help about the tachograph. Firstly say i do 4.5 hours and need my 45 minute break, how do i stop and take a break. Because at the 4.5 hour time what if there is no where suitable to stop? Also what if there was an accident and im stuck in a load of traffic and once ive cleared it there wouldn’t be enough legal time to get to the drop or back to the depot? Im sure its probably simple i just would like to know before i get into a job. Any help will be a appreciated.
Thanks. Jonathan.
Take the break before the 4.5 hours - there is no rule which says you have to do the full 4.5 hours before having a break
You do not lose driving time by having the break early
The rules state that a maximum of 4.5 hours driving CAN be done without having a 45 break or split break of 15 + 30
There are not that many drivers who have a break at exactly 4.5 hours driving time
Lets say you have already used both 9+ hours (10 max) driving days in the week and only have a 9 left
Drive 3 hours
break 45 mins
drive 3 hours
break 45 mins
drive 3 hours
or
drive 4.5 hours
break 45 mins
drive 4.5 hours
or
drive 2 hours
break 15 mins
drive 2 hours
break 30 mins
drive 3 hours
break 45 mins
drive 2 hours
You need to plan your break stop(s) in advance. If you know the area, 15 minutes in advance may well do.
If you are unexpectedly held-up (traffic, accident, etc) and go over your 4.5 hours you MUST stop at the first available safe place, take your break and make a manual record of why this happened.
Getting back to the depot, etc is not an excuse for going over your driving hours.
It is all about planning.
Remember, you do not need to take your break exactly on 4.5 hours you just must not go over 4.5 hours. If you are driving 8 hours you could take your break at 4 hours, 3.75 hours, 4.25 hours, etc.
I may still be a bit wet round the ears but in general i aim to get my break in at around 4.15. I keep tabs on the driving time on the tacho and when i reach 4hrs thats when I’m looking for a suitable place to park up for a 45.
The reason I personally go to 4.15 is because i learned a lesson early on. I took a break earlier (3.55 or something but i was nowhere near 6hr WTD yet) and in my second stint going back to base I ran up to 4.25 and had to stop again for another 45 barely 7 miles from home. My trip back to base was just 16mins including a mile detour to re-fuel and if i’d used that extra time up in my first stint i wouldn’t have run out of hours on the second.
Personly if I do a run ive not done before and not sure what driving time gonna need I take a 15 min about a couple of hours in to shift in case I forget about the wtd hours, then start looking for somewhere around the 4 hr drive mark as lr18 says that 30 mins will give you enough time to find somewhere to park up and takes the pressure off u by not taking it to far to 4 1/2 to start panicking
you will very soon get used to working out your times its just that it is new to you , if you do end up going over by a min or two just take a printout and write the reason down , just make sure you dont make a habit of it as one mistake might be overlooked but if it keeps reoccuring then thats not looked very favourably on
I would just add, if you have a digital tacho (card) you can check how long you have been driving on it. If you have an analogue one (paper disc) buy yourself a kitchen timer (under a fiver) and stop/start it as you drive/stop to keep track of your driving hours.
Alan
