As you all know i aint been driving that long in class 1 so would
appreciate some comments on this situation which happened
to me yesterday.
I did a run which was to enfield and then a drop at dartford
I clocked on at 03.50 in the morning then by the time all the
truck checks were made i left at 04.40 this is when i put the tacho in.
As you are all aware the traffic and weather was a nightmare yesterday
so i was expecting a long shift.I drove 3 hours solid till me first drop
enfield where i had a hour and half wait tilli got tipped,at this time i did
not put tacho on break ,i had a 15 min break when i got unloaded
which only took 25 mins.I then carried on down the m25 to dartford
when i had to pull in to the services as time was up and i had the
30 min break.Now i have had 45 min break.I set off again driving for
another hour till i reach my final drop,i did not have any break on tacho
as i pretty much got unloaded straight away.I set off now at 13.00
for the journey home which should take me 3 hours 15 mins on a good
day knowing i have 3 hours 30 mins driving time left yea?
It takes me 3 hours to get off the m25 onto the m4 i then pull into the
services in reading for a second break ,I also drove 12 mins over the
4 and half hours. By now i have been working since 03.50 i am wacked.
I get back to base in newport at 19 .20
that was a 15 hour and 40 mins working time
then the company go ape with me as they say i have exceded the duty time
which began at 03.50 in the morning !!!
As i am agency driver i tell them would you prefer me to have a nite out
which i would want paying for or drive back !!! they just mumbled something
which i could not understand… am i in the wrong or what??
your thoughts on this would be gratefully received thanks …vig
Wheel Nut:
You have made this very hard on yourself by taking breaks you didnt need,
I thought the same - if the break had been taken when waiting on POA? then the rest would have been avoided. Try to avoid starting before 4am as this puts you into the 10 hour night regs
Wheel Nut:
You have made this very hard on yourself by taking breaks you didnt need,
I thought the same - if the break had been taken when waiting on POA? then the rest would have been avoided. Try to avoid starting before 4am as this puts you into the 10 hour night regs
Rog, Can I stand behind you when the gun goes off?
vigfanbke:
I clocked on at 03.50 in the morning then by the time all the truck checks were made i left at 04.40 this is when i put the tacho in.
You need to put the tacho in BEFORE you do your checks - if you are asked to produce your tacho and you don’t have any ‘other work’ shown for doing the vehicle checks - how are you going to argue that you did any? Also, as has been said - try not to start before 4am to avoid the 10 hour limit.
vigfanbke:
I get back to base in newport at 19 .20
that was a 15 hour and 40 mins working time
then the company go ape with me as they say i have exceded the duty time
which began at 03.50 in the morning !!!
As i am agency driver i tell them would you prefer me to have a nite out
which i would want paying for or drive back !!! they just mumbled something
which i could not understand… am i in the wrong or what??
Yes, your duty time DID begin at 03.50 - vehicle checks are part of your duty. The company can be held responsible, as well as yourself, so it’s understandable that they weren’t happy.
It isn’t the company that created the regulations - so talking to them as if it’s their fault is going to make no difference. As the driver, you are responsible for organising your working day as regards to driving time etc. As the company, they have a responsibility to ensure that they make the work given legally viable, and to inform drivers of infringements. They tried to do this. As for the traffic situation - sometimes driving over time cannot be avoided, but you need to explain this on the back of your tacho or printout.
I know it’s difficult at first as you are trying to make a good impression and have a lot to think about - but remember that it is your licence, and you should do whatever you can to protect it.
You dug yourself into this situation by not making the best use of the break opportunities, presuming you wanted to try to get back and not have a night out.
Seems like you have a couple of infringements which VOSA would not look too kindly on. Insufficient daily rest, you have only had 8 hours and 30 minutes where 9 hours is the minimum required. Also, from reading the various times you have posted I’m thinking you also exceeded 10 hours driving for the day.
If this is discovered in a check the worst case scenario could be this.
Penalties for infringements of the drivers’ hours rules in Great Britain Maximum fines
As contained within Part VI of the Transport Act 1968 (as amended), the maximum fines that can be imposed by a court of law on conviction are as follows:
failure to observe driving time, break or rest period rules: fine of up to £2,500 (Level 4);
BTW the 10 hour night limit mentioned by Wheel Nut, ROG and Grumpybum may not apply in this case if an opt out agreement is in place.
Not sure where you are getting the 15 hours 40 minute duty time from? 04:40 - 19:20 is 14 hours 40 minutes while the real shift time of 03:50 - 19:20 is 15 hours 30 minutes. One saving grace may be if only the tacho is checked it will show a duty time of less than 15 hours although the driving time may still be a problem but I can’t quite work out if you went over the 10 hours or not, although by your own admission you did exceed 4.5 hours without the proper breaks.
You dug yourself into this situation by not making the best use of the break opportunities, presuming you wanted to try to get back and not have a night out.
Seems like you have a couple of infringements which VOSA would not look too kindly on. Insufficient daily rest, you have only had 8 hours and 30 minutes and from reading the various times you have posted I’m thinking you also exceeded 10 hours driving for the day.
If this is discovered in a check the worst case scenario could be this.
Penalties for infringements of the drivers’ hours rules in Great Britain Maximum fines
As contained within Part VI of the Transport Act 1968 (as amended), the maximum fines that can be imposed by a court of law on conviction are as follows:
failure to observe driving time, break or rest period rules: fine of up to £2,500 (Level 4);
BTW the 10 hour night limit mentioned by Wheel Nut and ROG may not apply in this case if an opt out agreement is in place.
I aint no expert but Coffee is and I guess what he says above is about bang on …I kinda think you may have just got caught out by a chain of events that over took your plans that day…you say you aint been class 1 long …but one thing most folks will tell yer is always plan for the unexpected because in this game if it can happen m8 it surely will.
Wheel Nut:
You have made this very hard on yourself by taking breaks you didnt need,
I thought the same - if the break had been taken when waiting on POA? then the rest would have been avoided. Try to avoid starting before 4am as this puts you into the 10 hour night regs
Rog, Can I stand behind you when the gun goes off?
thecoder0 wrote:
I aint no expert but Coffee is and I guess what he says above is about bang on
OI Careful what you say when Coffeeholic is around an I am in the vacinity
Wheel Nut:
You have made this very hard on yourself by taking breaks you didnt need,
I thought the same - if the break had been taken when waiting on POA? then the rest would have been avoided. Try to avoid starting before 4am as this puts you into the 10 hour night regs
Rog, Can I stand behind you when the gun goes off?
thecoder0 wrote
I aint no expert but Coffee is and I guess what he says above is about bang on
OI Careful what you say when Coffeeholic is around an I am in the vacinity
Love him or hate him ROG what you can’t fault is that the Coffee man has in my Experience always provided me and others with info that is BANG ON ROG mi old M8.
So sorry buddy but he is a top banana in thecodero’s book.
vigfanbke:
where do the 8 hours and 30 mins daily rest come into this?
i have not done any work prior to this since the previous weekend !!
A driver must take a daily rest period in each period of 24 hours which commences when he resumes work at the end of the previous weekly or daily rest period. In your case the 24 hour period began when you started work at 03:50 Sunday, so by 03:50 Monday you must have taken either a regular daily rest period of at least 11 hours or a reduced daily rest period of between 9 and 11 hours. You finished at 19:20 on Sunday which only leaves 8 hours and 30 minutes until 03:50 Monday. It doesn’t matter how much rest you actually took only 8 hours and 30 minutes fall within the 24 hour period so you have taken insufficient daily rest.
vigfanbke:
where do the 8 hours and 30 mins daily rest come into this?
i have not done any work prior to this since the previous weekend !!
A driver must take a daily rest period in each period of 24 hours which commences when he resumes work at the end of the previous weekly or daily rest period. In your case the 24 hour period began when you started work at 03:50 Sunday, so by 03:50 Monday you must have taken either a regular daily rest period of 11 hours or a reduced daily rest period of between 9 and 11 hours. You finished at 19:20 on Sunday which only leaves 8 hours and 30 minutes until 03:50 Monday. It doesn’t matter how much rest you actually took only 8 hours and 30 minutes fall within the 24 hour period so you have taken insufficient daily rest.
Coffee forgive them m8 for they know not what the bloody hell they are talking about
i only did that one shift this weekend i had no other work today
surley that does not come into it ?
Its a lot to take in all this driving hours,poa ect especially
when its not part of the test,i will be waiting for a letter
either from the agency about the infrindgements
or from vosa !!! … thats put me off me turkey now …
ta …
vigfanbke:
where do the 8 hours and 30 mins daily rest come into this?
i have not done any work prior to this since the previous weekend !!
Spread-over isn’t mentioned anywhere in the regs.
What the regs say is that you have to complete your time on duty and your daily rest, within 24 hours of starting your shift…
They also say that the minimum daily rest is 9 hours.
As you say that you where on duty for more than 15 hours, it is impossible for you to have 9 hours rest within that 24 hours (15 + 9 = 24).
I am not doing any work for 2 weeks so how the hell does this affect me , the next time i drive i would of had 2 weeks off…thats plenty of rest aint it ?
vigfanbke:
i only did that one shift this weekend i had no other work today
surley that does not come into it ?
Its a lot to take in all this driving hours,poa ect especially
when its not part of the test,i will be waiting for a letter
either from the agency about the infrindgements
or from vosa !!! … thats put me off me turkey now …
ta …
vigfanbke … chill out m8 Coffee was only pointing out what COULD happen just learn from it m8 and move on …Coffee and ROG are talking from years and years of Eperience you just need to plan a bit better we have all had times when things go pear shaped…grab a beer and put it behind you …
vigfanbke:
i only did that one shift this weekend i had no other work today
surley that does not come into it ?
I’m afraid it does. Under the tacho rules you have one period of 24 hours from 03:50 Sunday through to 03:50 Monday and in that time you required a break of no less than 9 continuous hours and you only had 8.5 hours. The fact you haven’t worked since last weekend or you may not work again until next makes no difference to the daily rest requirements.
Your post was titled what happens in this situation and I was supplying the worst case scenario answer so please don’t shoot the messenger.
Have a look at THIS publication which explains the regulations in a clear and easy to understand manner, with diagrams to explain how rest periods etc must fall.
Careful what you say when Coffeeholic is around an I am in the vacinity 
