Wtd infringments!

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
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Hello all, I started a skip driving job two weeks ago, I was putting my card in at around 6:30, doing 15 mins daily checks, but i miscalculated my hours, and did’nt have
my 45 mins break till about 13:20 , instead of before 12:30… i think i may have done this a couple of times… im just wondering what the consequences of this will be if i do get pulled
up by vosa… am i likely to get fined/points? I’ve told my boss, i messed up, he seems okay with it, and said there looking for repeat offenders, So I wont be doing this again!

so, i started using that trucktimer app on sat, i put my card in at about 6:45… 15 mins other work, then i was driving, and had a 15 min break, at about 10:30, and then i noticed truck timer telling me i had about 4:30 hours left of continued wtd driving time… got back in the yard at about 13:00… with 10 mins driving time to spare and trucktimer was saying i had loads of time left (for wtd, not driving time) so, basically, does taking a 15 min break, bump up the wtd driving time? so i can take longer to have the other 15 mins, provided i have drivers hours left? or should i of taken a 30 min break all in one go…

Thanks for the replies fellas, O_o

Mike.

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MinkyMike:
Hello all, I started a skip driving job two weeks ago, I was putting my card in at around 6:30, doing 15 mins daily checks, but i miscalculated my hours, and did’nt have
my 45 mins break till about 13:20 , instead of before 12:30… i think i may have done this a couple of times… im just wondering what the consequences of this will be if i do get pulled
up by vosa… am i likely to get fined/points? I’ve told my boss, i messed up, he seems okay with it, and said there looking for repeat offenders, So I wont be doing this again!

Assuming your driving breaks were OK no-one will care that you went over 6 hours without a break, just try to learn from your mistakes and get it right in future and you’ll be fine :wink:

By the way you need a 15 minute break for the 6 hour rule, you can have 45 minutes if you want but legally you need a 15 minute break.

MinkyMike:
so, i started using that trucktimer app on sat, i put my card in at about 6:45… 15 mins other work, then i was driving, and had a 15 min break, at about 10:30, and then i noticed truck timer telling me i had about 4:30 hours left of continued wtd driving time… got back in the yard at about 13:00… with 10 mins driving time to spare and trucktimer was saying i had loads of time left (for wtd, not driving time) so, basically, does taking a 15 min break, bump up the wtd driving time? so i can take longer to have the other 15 mins, provided i have drivers hours left? or should i of taken a 30 min break all in one go…

Sorry but I’ve no idea what you mean by wtd driving time :confused:

You’ve posted this in the New Drivers Forum so I’m going to assume you’re not too familiar with the regulations and try to explain, sorry if I’ve got it wrong but I’m finding your post a little confusing … though that could be me rather than you :laughing:

You must have a 45 minute break after doing no more than 4.5 hours driving, driving time is basically when the wheels are turning and does not include other work.

Lets say you start the shift by doing vehicle checks (other work) for 15 minutes then drive for 2 hours, you then spend 30 minutes unloading (other work) then drive for another 2.5 hours, you’ve now done 4.5 hours driving time and must have a 45 minute break (note the other work does not count towards the driving time).

The 45 minute driving break can be split into 2 separate breaks, the fist must be at-least 15 minutes and the second must be at-least 30 minutes and they must be taken in that order.

For the 6 hour rule (Working Time Regulations or WTD) you must have a 15 minute break before doing more than 6 hours working time (working time includes other work and driving).
Driving break also count as WTD breaks and where appropriate vice versa.

Lets say you start work at 06:00, this means you must start a 15 minute break no later than 12:00 or a 45 minute driving break when you’ve done no more than 4.5 hours driving whichever comes first.

Are you using a digital tachograph or an analogue tachograph ?

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Thanks for that buddy, I possibly didn’t explain very well hehe, I’m using a digital tacho, I’m a new driver, doing skip work I’m doing alot of other work, so there’s always plenty of drivers hours left, so basically… If I start at 6:30 and let’s say I did just other work… I would be OK to have a 15 min break before 12:30 and would this allow me to other work till 6:30 as long as I had another 15 min break… Before 6:30 ? Lol sorry for the confusion, and thanks for the help! Much appreciated… Regards … Mike

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Basically, I could have 15 in the morning to satisfying the wtd, so I can drive past 12:30 and the 30 mins in the afternoon… Clearing my drivers hours ?

See I’m confused… Because I’ve been told I have to have 30 mins break by 12:30… Which means I would need 30 mins break in the morning… And then 30 in the afternoon lol to finish with a 30 min break clearing my drivers hours… Or I’m forced to just have 45 mins by 12 : 30 ? Is that correct…

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MinkyMike:
Thanks for that buddy, I possibly didn’t explain very well hehe, I’m using a digital tacho, I’m a new driver, doing skip work I’m doing alot of other work, so there’s always plenty of drivers hours left, so basically… If I start at 6:30 and let’s say I did just other work… I would be OK to have a 15 min break before 12:30 and would this allow me to other work till 6:30 as long as I had another 15 min break… Before 6:30 ? Lol sorry for the confusion, and thanks for the help! Much appreciated… Regards … Mike

Not quite - For WTD purposes there are two basic requirements as far as breaks are concerned. The first is that you don’t work more than six hours between breaks (the situation you describe above fits OK with this if you had a break before 12:30 and another one in the afternoon). The second requirement is that if you work for between 6 and 9 hours in a shift, your breaks must total at least 30 minutes, and if you work more than 9 hours your breaks must total at least 45 minutes. The situation you describe does not satisfy this requirement as you would have worked 11.5 hours with total breaks of only 30 minutes.

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MinkyMike:
Basically, I could have 15 in the morning to satisfying the wtd, so I can drive past 12:30 and the 30 mins in the afternoon… Clearing my drivers hours ?

See I’m confused… Because I’ve been told I have to have 30 mins break by 12:30… Which means I would need 30 mins break in the morning… And then 30 in the afternoon lol to finish with a 30 min break clearing my drivers hours… Or I’m forced to just have 45 mins by 12 : 30 ? Is that correct…

You have been misinformed. You only need to take 15 mins by 12:30 (for WTD purposes). Then keep an eye on the digi tacho and make sure you take another 30 minutes break before it clocks up 4.5 hours of driving (or, for WTD purposes, before the end of your shift if you don’t get to 4.5 hours driving).

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Bottom line is that for most driving jobs where there’s a lot of “other work” spread throughout the day, you need to take a 15 minute break at some point during your first six hours and then a 30 minute break a bit later on before the tacho gets to 4.5 hours of driving. If your shift is a shortish one (less than 9 hours total working time), you might only need to take 15 minutes as your second break.

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Cheers for clearing that up, much appreciated… Thanks :slight_smile:

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I was needing the same clarification haha. I’m in the same boat I work 10 hour days but most days average 4hours driving time so don’t need the 45 min break for driving but for other work can I get away with 15 mins in the first 6 hours and 15 mins for the last 4 hours would that be ok?

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matt.robb2:
I was needing the same clarification haha. I’m in the same boat I work 10 hour days but most days average 4hours driving time so don’t need the 45 min break for driving but for other work can I get away with 15 mins in the first 6 hours and 15 mins for the last 4 hours would that be ok?

If your working time is more than 9 hours as yours is you need a total of 45 minutes break for the WTD.

So the answer has to be, no 30 minutes of break would not satisfy the WTD.

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matt.robb2:
I was needing the same clarification haha. I’m in the same boat I work 10 hour days but most days average 4hours driving time so don’t need the 45 min break for driving but for other work can I get away with 15 mins in the first 6 hours and 15 mins for the last 4 hours would that be ok?

Not if you are working 10 hour days. Even if you take off the 30 minutes of break, 10 hours “at work” (i.e. 10 hours between clocking-on and clocking-off) still means you are working a total of 9.5 hours and you would need to take breaks of at least 45 minutes at some point in the shift.

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So say 15 mins before 6 hours and 30 mins for the last 4 is good?

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matt.robb2:
So say 15 mins before 6 hours and 30 mins for the last 4 is good?

You could do it that way, as long as you don’t go over 6 hours working time without a break of at-least 15 minutes you’ll be fine.

Having said that, I have heard of companies insisting on drivers starting a 30 minute break before exceeding 6 hours working time, but that would be a company rule not the law.

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Thanks cleared a lot up this post thanks to the op!