maybe this has been talked about here before. but i’d like to know if i can use my truck as a means of transport while taking my daily rest to go and from a eating house, toilets ect. i sometimes do trips for a fella. i finish in crick anytime from 7am to 10am and load again across the motorway in nft daventry after midnight(5 mins from crick) could i use the truck to go up to the local town to get dinner or truck stop for a wash
no !
I think if that were the case we would see thousands of trucks driving bobtail around the country, at maccies car parks at night having a ‘race’ meet, in supermarket carparks etc. Not to mention the cost of fueling one, the employer wouldnt foot the bill thats for sure lol.
Although, correct me if I’m wrong it may be different for owner drivers?
I know you can drive a truck without a tacho for domestic purposes for example.
I remember when we were parked up over the weekend, at a routier in France, we would bobtail down to some lakes nearby on the Sunday if the weather was nice, for a bit of swimming, maybe a BBQ and total chillout time. No tachos used, then run back to collect the trailers, bit of sleep and off at 22.00.
Probably wasn’t legal, but never had any trouble off the Gendarmes.
Unfortunately the EU rule changes that came into force in April 2007 mean that you cannot use a vehicle with a plated weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes for ‘private use.’
I think coaches you can, thats why my step dad refuses to be a limited company.
milkchurns:
maybe this has been talked about here before. but i’d like to know if i can use my truck as a means of transport while taking my daily rest to go and from a eating house, toilets ect. i sometimes do trips for a fella. i finish in crick anytime from 7am to 10am and load again across the motorway in nft daventry after midnight(5 mins from crick) could i use the truck to go up to the local town to get dinner or truck stop for a wash
Not unless you get a magnet, or If your driving a Scania it comes with one, failing that eBay is good a place as any to purchase one.
Not in Europe once you’re out of hours, then you’re a prisoner to the vehicle with serious consequences for violation. Here in North America we are treat a little more like human beings with needs such as eating and releasing said food from the other end so are not locked up on the spot and forced to crap under the trailer or in a hedge. In Canada we can bobtail 75km per day while off duty, wether thats to go home or just to go in search of food etc. I wish the shirt and tie wallahs who come up with the rules in Europe were forced to adhere to drivers hours rules in their cars and be forced to camp in a layby 5 miles from home if they get caught in traffic etc. I think its barbaric that we can’t move off card for food, toilets and the like, I’d have no problem with making up the time with extra time off to compensate for the driving done off duty. A bit like the ferry movement scenario.
robinhood_1984:
Not in Europe once you’re out of hours, then you’re a prisoner to the vehicle with serious consequences for violation. Here in North America we are treat a little more like human beings with needs such as eating and releasing said food from the other end so are not locked up on the spot and forced to crap under the trailer or in a hedge. In Canada we can bobtail 75km per day while off duty, wether thats to go home or just to go in search of food etc. I wish the shirt and tie wallahs who come up with the rules in Europe were forced to adhere to drivers hours rules in their cars and be forced to camp in a layby 5 miles from home if they get caught in traffic etc. I think its barbaric that we can’t move off card for food, toilets and the like, I’d have no problem with making up the time with extra time off to compensate for the driving done off duty. A bit like the ferry movement scenario.
Mite be different over there, but it would get abused from the word go over here.
i dont have nights out anymore but when i did if the chippy was more than 10 mins walk away then i wasnt , well…walking
Saaamon:
Mite be different over there, but it would get abused from the word go over here.
So we treat drivers like convicted criminals and confine them to a spot without a toilet, something which would actually be against their human rights in any western country. Just so we dont run the risk of “running bent” and doing something as petty as tipping off card. Yes it is certainly different over here. We may tip off card now and then, we may go 30-60 minutes over our time now and then to park in a proper place, but whereas in England you are often confined by law to a dangerous layby or industrial estate to use a bottle to urinate in, a hedge to crap in and wet wipes to make yourself smell less with, here in Canada/USA we have the liberty of running to a proper truckstop with toilets, state of the art modern showers and as much food as you can eat. To the British mentality of doing everything by the book and the absolute obsession of staying still for 9-11 hours at all costs, it probably sounds dangerous and reckless to allow drivers to live by the same rules as the rest of society. But as someone who has done both, I can say that far from feeling abused to do things off card, it gives me a far higher quality of life while off duty than I could ever dream of in the police state of Europe. Making a human being stay still in a tin coffin for 11 hours with no facilities is no more natural than holding your breath for 1, 2 or 3 minutes at a time for no apparent reason. It could easily be worked into the already over-zealous regulations in the same way that ferry movements are. You compensate for it and you only use driving time that would already have been available. No problem at all.
ahh, you seem to have forgoten the basic fact of life in the UK. If you are a white hetrosexual with a job you will be hounded by the state.
geebee45:
Unfortunately the EU rule changes that came into force in April 2007 mean that you cannot use a vehicle with a plated weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes for ‘private use.’
How does it work for ‘Truck Shows’ then?
You ‘pay’ to show/go, not ‘paid’ to show/go… 
robinhood_1984:
Saaamon:
Mite be different over there, but it would get abused from the word go over here.So we treat drivers like convicted criminals and confine them to a spot without a toilet, something which would actually be against their human rights in any western country. Just so we dont run the risk of “running bent” and doing something as petty as tipping off card. Yes it is certainly different over here. We may tip off card now and then, we may go 30-60 minutes over our time now and then to park in a proper place, but whereas in England you are often confined by law to a dangerous layby or industrial estate to use a bottle to urinate in, a hedge to crap in and wet wipes to make yourself smell less with, here in Canada/USA we have the liberty of running to a proper truckstop with toilets, state of the art modern showers and as much food as you can eat. To the British mentality of doing everything by the book and the absolute obsession of staying still for 9-11 hours at all costs, it probably sounds dangerous and reckless to allow drivers to live by the same rules as the rest of society. But as someone who has done both, I can say that far from feeling abused to do things off card, it gives me a far higher quality of life while off duty than I could ever dream of in the police state of Europe. Making a human being stay still in a tin coffin for 11 hours with no facilities is no more natural than holding your breath for 1, 2 or 3 minutes at a time for no apparent reason. It could easily be worked into the already over-zealous regulations in the same way that ferry movements are. You compensate for it and you only use driving time that would already have been available. No problem at all.
I agree with Robin. I had 2 collections in California at the weekend first one no worries done and dusted drove across LA to Oxnard for my 2nd to find out it not be ready for till late in the day, ended up dropping trailer and bobtail down to the local marina for best part of the day and walked down to the beach was a cracking afternoon but no working time from my day lost and 100% legal long as its logged for personal miles so what if go little bit over in order to get somewhere to park up for the night where you can have a clean hot shower and a loo to use. Tbh I feel safer driving over here even though there are those that run a couple log books a day then I ever did in europe other drivers pay a lot more attention to others going down the road and treat each other with the respect deserved driving a CDL (class 1)
Goldfinger:
geebee45:
Unfortunately the EU rule changes that came into force in April 2007 mean that you cannot use a vehicle with a plated weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes for ‘private use.’How does it work for ‘Truck Shows’ then?
You ‘pay’ to show/go, not ‘paid’ to show/go…
no different than any other day, turn up pull your card and get drunk 
have your X hours weekly break and start again, not a problem. if there was i am sure mr vosa would have something to say and considering they nearly always have a stand at the shows, they can’t have a problem with it 
mutly75:
I think coaches you can, thats why my step dad refuses to be a limited company.
I cannot see why that would make any difference, limited or not. coach or not.
Wheel Nut:
mutly75:
I think coaches you can, thats why my step dad refuses to be a limited company.I cannot see why that would make any difference, limited or not. coach or not.
It doesn’t. You can use a vehicle with up to 17 seats on an exclusively non commercial basis and it will fall outside EU rules. Start taking money or use a bigger vehicles and you’re back into EU rules. There has been a series of court cases starting with a simple conviction and going through several appeals from both sides. The driver has finally lost - although I guess somebody could take it to the Euro Courts if they wished. Effectively he was trying to claim that driving the minibus didn’t count as ‘work.’
Forgot to add that this only works in the UK. If you take a 10 or more seater abroad then it’s EU rules whether the journey is commercial or not.
i’ve done it regular. been shopping, picked the kids up from school, been to get photos done for the local newspaper.
and i’ve often thought, “if i get caught, then what jury will convict me of an offence?”.
i’d go all the way with it.
Its would be for personal use not for hire or reward so its a kinda grey area for you guys over there after all the taco is there to keep track of your work not what you do in your own time
We live in a strange world when VOSA has more power than the police!