My boyfriend passed his Class 2 liscence a few months ago and has finally got his first job. His first shift was on Saturday, and already we have a VOSA problem
Driving past a spot check area on the A556 (does anyone know the exact location of the one Iām talking about?), he got pulled over and handed over his two tacograph discs from the two shifts he had worked. They asked if this was the only work he had done this week and my boyfriend told them he had also done three hours van driving one day. They said this should have been manually recorded too and now want his work to fax them the hours he has worked by 1pm today. They said if they donāt then he will get a 24 hr ban starting from 1pm today.
If they donāt fax his hours, is thie 24hr ban the only thing that will happen? Ie. is that the āpunishmentā (for being honest about 3 hours van work ) and then itās over and done with?
If they donāt fax his hours, is thie 24hr ban the only thing that will happen? Ie. is that the āpunishmentā (for being honest about 3 hours van work ) and then itās over and done with?
I would say YES as he was honest - if they had checked with āotherā govt depts and found otherwise, then they may have gone for a fine.
Iām not the āexpertā on these matters but it does seem reasonable.
PS - VOSA seem to realise that he has ālearntā from this and has not ādeliberatelyā done it
Has he actually done anything wrong though Heās not gone even close to his weekly driving hours even with the three hours van work on Wed?
Also another quick question while Iām here. If you are driving and would get back within your daily driving hours and then there is a road traffic accident on the motorway that causes you to be stuck in almost standstill traffic for a long time then is it okay to go over your driving hours if you note on the back of the tachograph that it is? We have been told that this is okay but obviously would rather make sure. If not, what are you supposed to do in this situation?
I donāt think it likely they will take it any further. Heās a new driver lacking in experience and he answered the question honestly, so there was no intention to deceive.
missixty:
Has he actually done anything wrong though Heās not gone even close to his weekly driving hours even with the three hours van work on Wed? YES - he did not show āother workā which is needed to work out rest periods
Also another quick question while Iām here. If you are driving and would get back within your daily driving hours and then there is a road traffic accident on the motorway that causes you to be stuck in almost standstill traffic for a long time then is it okay to go over your driving hours if you note on the back of the tachograph that it is? We have been told that this is okay but obviously would rather make sure. If not, what are you supposed to do in this situation?
A lot would depend on whether it just affected driving hours or the maximum daily work hours IMO. If close to home but needed to overdo driving hours then a note on tacho would usually be acceptable. If going over total max duty hours then Iām not too sure but I think he would have to stop at the nearest safe placeā¦ An expert on these matters is sure to be along soon
missixty:
Also another quick question while Iām here. If you are driving and would get back within your daily driving hours and then there is a road traffic accident on the motorway that causes you to be stuck in almost standstill traffic for a long time then is it okay to go over your driving hours if you note on the back of the tachograph that it is? We have been told that this is okay but obviously would rather make sure. If not, what are you supposed to do in this situation?
In such circumstances youāre only meant to go over for a time period which allows you to get somewhere safe to stop and take the required break, not complete your journey.
missixty:
Also another quick question while Iām here. If you are driving and would get back within your daily driving hours and then there is a road traffic accident on the motorway that causes you to be stuck in almost standstill traffic for a long time then is it okay to go over your driving hours if you note on the back of the tachograph that it is? We have been told that this is okay but obviously would rather make sure. If not, what are you supposed to do in this situation?
In such circumstances youāre only meant to go over for a time period which allows you to get somewhere safe to stop and take the required break, not complete your journey.
I think she may have meant going over the daily max driving hours a little, say, 15 to 30 minsā¦
missixty:
Also another quick question while Iām here. If you are driving and would get back within your daily driving hours and then there is a road traffic accident on the motorway that causes you to be stuck in almost standstill traffic for a long time then is it okay to go over your driving hours if you note on the back of the tachograph that it is? We have been told that this is okay but obviously would rather make sure. If not, what are you supposed to do in this situation?
In such circumstances youāre only meant to go over for a time period which allows you to get somewhere safe to stop and take the required break, not complete your journey.
Iāve gone over my hours by 5 hours before,as long as you write the reason why on the back and stop as soon as is safe and secure to do so and report it to the company,then there shouldānt be a problem.
ALSO
as far as im aware if you do ANY kind of other work even driving a van for a few hours,then it has to be recorded cause its just not driving hours to consider there is also daily and weekly rest periods to be adhered to.
I know the laws are there for a reason but they all seem very black and white with no room for what actually can happen on a day to day basis. Itās all very confusing!
I know the laws are there for a reason but they all seem very black and white with no room for what actually can happen on a day to day basis. Itās all very confusing!
THIS FORUM may help you to understand a little better
try not to worry too much. all the horror stories you hear are mostly about people that have been doing it for years and, to be honest, should know better.
i made a bit of a mess of my charts for the first couple of weeks doing this job ( i was doing a full time job and working the weekends) but got pointed in the right direction by people on here and now i can honestly say i stay well within the law (luckily i have a very understanding boss at work who lets me have loads of time off to get my weekly rests in during the week so i can work weekends). once i found out i was driving outside of the law i was kacking myself in case i got a tug, now i stay well within the law because you just donāt know what will happen.
Iām sure your fella will be OK. there are loads of people on here that will advise and help as much as they can, but hours are a bit of a mine field if you are just setting out in the world of trucking. it just takes time to get your head around them, once you do understand it, it is easy but very hard to explain to someone else.
Iām glad Iāve found this forum, weāve so many things weāre not sure on and it looks like this will be a great place to find things out and everyone here seems to nice.
It is stressful, worrying about doing something wrong genuinely by just not knowing and the repercusions you can get. I myself thought it is mainly to discourage people who are knowingly breaking the laws rather than people just starting out and a bit confused but itās still worrying(!)
Also can I just ask, I was reading up on here about this but have only served to confuse myself more
We went to two service stations on one of his shifts for his breaks. In the first one it had a bit that said truck park which it directed LGVS too and a sign up saying something likeā¦Ā£20 mon-fri, Ā£16 sat, Ā£10 sun, food voucher includedā¦
We were a bit like surely we donāt have to pay everytime we have to take a 45 minute break?? So we parked in the normal car park and stayed in the truck
On the way back we went to a different one, and there was a seperate LGV bit that seemed to have a sign up saying 2 hours free parking - although it was far away so couldnāt read anything other than that. The area was coned off, so we again ended up sat in the truck in the normal car park
Then I came on here and put āfree parkingā in the search, hoping to hear of places that donāt charge to park and read a whole load of posts about having to pay etc but then someone at my boyfriends work said no all of them are free for two hours. Re read the post and now Iām not sure whether the post was referring to if you have to stay longer than that (it doesnt say)ā¦
Anywayā¦lolā¦in short, do you get 2 hours free at a service station, or do you really have to pay everytime youāre on a break
We went to two service stations on one of his shifts for his breaks. In the first one it had a bit that said truck park which it directed LGVS too and a sign up saying something likeā¦Ā£20 mon-fri, Ā£16 sat, Ā£10 sun, food voucher includedā¦
missisxty.
as a driver with over30 yrs experience.
i am irish but i think we know vosa better than some of the english seeing as they build checkpoints just for us.nice of them isint it.
your boyfriend in his ignorance told the vosa gang about his van driving.
that was his mistake.
say nothing to them.they are a bunch of egoists,they love themselves and the power they have.if they had to work for a living they would probably die from heart failure.
theres no where in law it says you have to tell them the truth.
they take the disc off you and start asking questions.you are not obliged to say anything to them.just tell them to look at the disc and thats all.
do not ever mention other work,and before the legal eagles come at my protest about the ministry.this guy was just trying to earn a living and hes threatened with a 24 hr ban.who do these vosa [zb] think they are.if that happened me,i would chase after him and find where he or she lives.
i might end up in jail,but he or she would be in a wheel chair.
my advise misssixty.
never tell vosa anything whatsoever.they will keep asking,but remember you dont have to answer and they have no arresting powers.
remember at all times that it is low life scum you are dealing with.
i dont really hate them,i despise them with all my heart. and would not stop if one was knocked down in a road accident.
i would say drive over him and make sure the job is done right,.
If it needs stars to get it past the word censor itās not allowed. L.
) and then itās over and done with?
Heās not gone even close to his weekly driving hours even with the three hours van work on Wed?
