Why do I need it? Is it ever checked on, or enforced? Any prosecutions for infringing it,s rules?
Example I had a 2 hour wait at a factory, done the paperwork, handed the sample in, nothing to do for 2 hours plus. Why can’t I just put on break for 2 hours?
Why do I want to do this? Just to cover my ■■■ if things go wrong with my day. I had only driven 2 hours to get to the factory, if I had a break there it gives me options instead of requiring a break in 2.5 hours I have 4.5 hours to play with.
Am not some eager beaver fresh faced kid, I never work more than 5 days, 4 days this week, 3 days last week, never take rest reductions, and the thought of driving 90 hours in a 2 week period gives me a cold sweat!!! And I am not one of those blokes who works while recording a rest break, I don’t possess that level of enthusiasm.
Was told years ago by a manager at a major transport company, after consultations with Dept. of Transport, they stated that a driver can put his tacho on break as long as he is able to read his newspaper!!! Honest. Has this rule/interpretation of the law changed?
Am not trying to break the rules (there are a lot of rules to break as it is!!!) I never fill the POA bit on my timesheet in, why? can’t be bothered. POA does not seem to have made any difference except a mountain of paperwork and rules.
Do you feel more rested now POA is been with us sometime?
Am not after breaking or even bending the rules, am in favour of mandatory rest periods, just bring in to line the enthusiastic parts of this industry, am just trying to make the rule work for me.
tommie1shunt:
Why can’t I just put on break for 2 hours?
Nothing to stop you doing that unless you don’t get paid for recorded breaks
Rules for break are less than those for POA so if POA can be used then break can always be used
tommie1shunt:
Why do I need it? Is it ever checked on, or enforced? Any prosecutions for infringing it,s rules? .
Theres no law that says “You must use it”
I think for the rest of what your asking is about the working time directive which is a totally different subject.
The issue i have with POA is it reset you driving time after 45 min i think im right in saying in euro land poa counts as a break but it dosent in blighty i stand to be corrected
Just dont use it.
Only purpose i can see for it is double manning (which always reminds me of a wrong kind of 3 sum i had many years ago, felt a bit gay to be fair ).
Anyway its your tacho card, your responsibility. Just use break. Well unless your workin 
I prefer to use poa as large periods of break would look more suspicious to an eager dvsa stormtrooper. We have to wait for “missions” and for trailers in factories. If questioned I can explain each period. Just long break on the tacho could be looked at as shifty in my opinion. Each to there own…
midlifetrucker:
I prefer to use poa as large periods of break would look more suspicious to an eager dvsa stormtrooper
Wont happen, Never ever been questioned about the lengths of breaks I have taken in a day, even had one say he likes to see lots of breaks on a tacho, he was infact very impressed with the amount of breaks I could manage to get in a day, but probably wouldn’t be if he knew they were made with a wire.
I also never use POA, don’t agree with it, its what screwed us over on a proper 48 hour week! no driver should use it.
You don’t need to use it. I haven’t used poa for about 5 years
OVLOV JAY:
You don’t need to use it. I haven’t used poa for about 5 years
About the same as me then but then again I’m salaried .
One thing that really chews my nutsack is when companies tell drivers to use POA.
Im like “woo there big boy, its my tacho card, ive took the course to use it, im qualified to use, I will get the fines if I make an error, im in charge of staying legal, I will deceide if the critera has been met for POA selection based on the situation. Not because some office bod has suddenley had an idea and googled drivers hours regs.”
Well in reality I just say “ok guv, whilst dothing my cap and preparing to touch me toes”.
POA just means Press Once Again in my book to bypass this mode altogether as its conception, excecution and purpose are flawed. Ill let it off for double manning purposes.
Bugger just noticed I was on POA whilst writing this post…
It’s not used where I work either. My boss says you’re either driving, working (which means driving a digger) or having a break (even it’s a 10 minute cuppa in the yard). We avoid it because as has been said it can mess up your driving hours on a digitach, and it’s of no use for the amount of driving we do.
POA means [zb] so only needs to be explained when someone says to use it.
Awkward for awkward sakes some people. It’s there why not use it. I sat yesterday for 5.5 hours awaiting a trailer at a depot. I wasn’t resting or doing other work. I was available to be pulled out if required. Four hours in I decided to grab a drink and put it on break for 45 mins and then got my head down for half hour. After 45 I switched back to poa. 45 mins later got cancelled and left. What’s wrong with that. How hard was that.
midlifetrucker:
Awkward for awkward sakes some people. It’s there why not use it. I sat yesterday for 5.5 hours awaiting a trailer at a depot. I wasn’t resting or doing other work. I was available to be pulled out if required. Four hours in I decided to grab a drink and put it on break for 45 mins and then got my head down for half hour. After 45 I switched back to poa. 45 mins later got cancelled and left. What’s wrong with that. How hard was that.
Pedantic post warning (thats mine not the one im quoting).
Now did you know in advance how long in advance you would be waiting.
Im no expert on awkward but its a lot more awkward to keep switching modes, not a major biggy as its only pressing a button.
Now if you where a proper trucker and by proper I mean like me who isnt paid much per hour but works as many of em as I can, oh and cant reverse for ■■■■ as for some reason the trailer goes in the opposite way im turning the wheel all the time, never for the life of me can I work this out, surprised I passed me test. This is an opportunity for a 3 hour split thus giving another 15 hour day and saving one of the allowable 3 for Friday so I may be able to get home Friday.
Answer is yes. On arrival I asked for load sheets. Your trailers not even here mate. Come back in an hour. Same response each time
ROG:
Rules for break are less than those for POA so if POA can be used then break can always be used
When you take a break it cannot be for less than 15, 30 or 45 minutes depending where you are in a 4.5hr driving period. With PoA it can be so you can go to a place, know you usually are an hour before being put on a bay and stick it on PoA. If you get called onto the bay after 10 minutes then that 10 minutes does not count as working time. If you had it on break hoping to get in a 15, 30 or 45 then that 10 minutes doesn’t count as break and is counted as work. Do that over a week and you can easily end up with a couple of hours which wouldn’t be counted towards the 48 average/60hr weekly max being counted and reducing how much you can work and therefore earn.
I could be wrong Conor but breaks are only set in 15, 30, 45 etc to clear driving time, you can have 1 minute break if you want and this will be totted up with the rest of your breaks at the end of shift for deduction from shift time to give working time for the directive thingy.
Even a 35 minutes on break will count as 35 no need to have a 30 then switch to POA for the last 5 for it to be counted.
Recorded break time is … recorded break time
Break time which can count for either the driving time or WTD regs has to be so long an amount of time
Break time not long enough to count for the regs is still break time
You can have a break of any length it doesn’t have to be 15 minutes or more, if a break is less than 15 minutes it won’t count as a driving break nor will it count towards the breaks for the working time regulations, but it’s still break and doesn’t count as other work.
In that respect there’s no difference between break and POA.
As far as the OPs question is concerned, you don’t need to use POA, if you don’t want to use it ignore it like many of us do
POA works best to get the average aggregate hours back down to below 48 over whatever reference period your yard uses.
If you do a 60 hour week for example, then if you do that too often, too close together, - then you are going to be over the reference period average, and forced to take days off - which is not good for staffing at the yard, obviously.
If, in that 60 hour week you took say, a 45 break every day - you are already taking it down to 55.5 hours on duty. That would leave one needing another 7.5 hours booked away as POA to get the total down to the “safe” 48 that you can then do week in, week out without further worry.
It’s easier for agency drivers to mass-book POA, as if push comes to shove, and for some reason they actually end up doing a 60 hour week even after meal breaks taken off - then over the following weeks, one can just choose to sit out on whatever days one wishes with the full blessing of the agency - to get those hours back in check.
A full time employer though is NOT going to want to be handing out sporradic days off to drivers just because they spent 9 hours at TkMaxx’s yard or 4 hours stuck at dartford crossing at least one shift a week…
Thus, POA is a tool more for agency drivers - who may or may not be deducted in pay for taking all such “sit around time” as “breaks” instead of POA… It’s there to be used for the driver’s benefit - so use it. Places like Royal Mail “Don’t recognise POA” because in their minds - it would free up hours for you to work elsewhere whilst working in a RM yard. This is heavily discouraged, and thus “not recognising POA” goes a long way to scuppering the driver’s chances of getting say, a bank holiday shift at, say, Downtons when RM decide they only wanted you monday-friday for 48 hours.
Obviously, if the agency driver in question gets deducted 45 mins in total for ALL breaks taken in a shift - then you’re not going to bother with POA - you’re just going to have it all as break every time you see yourself sitting still for 30 mins or more. 