Drivers Hours and Tachographs: The Rules in Plain English

Why this matters from day one

Drivers hours are not paperwork. They are the rules that decide whether your day is legal, and infringements follow you: DVSA can issue fixed penalties at the roadside, your operator's licence record is affected, and a pattern of infringements is the sort of thing that ends up in front of a traffic commissioner. New drivers pick up most of their infringements in the first three months, almost always from break timing rather than anything dramatic.

The daily limits

The break rule is the one that catches people. You can split the 45 minutes into 15 minutes followed by 30 minutes, but only in that order. Thirty then fifteen does not comply, and the tachograph analysis software will pick it up even if nobody says anything on the day.

Weekly and fortnightly limits

You may drive up to 56 hours in a fixed week, running Monday 00:00 to Sunday 24:00, and no more than 90 hours across any two consecutive weeks. Weekly rest is 45 hours, which can be reduced to 24 in alternate weeks provided the shortfall is compensated within three weeks. A weekly rest must begin no later than the end of six consecutive 24 hour periods from the end of the last one.

Working time is a separate thing

Drivers hours limit driving. The Road Transport Working Time Regulations limit total work, including loading, unloading, waiting at a delivery point and paperwork. The headline figures are an average of 48 hours a week over the reference period, a hard cap of 60 in any single week, and a requirement to break after six hours of work. It is entirely possible to comply with drivers hours and breach working time, which is why both get covered on Driver CPC periodic courses.

Using a digital tachograph

1. 1Insert your driver card in slot one before you move, chip up and arrow forward.
2. 2Answer the manual entry prompts covering what you did since you last withdrew the card.
3. 3Set the mode switch correctly: other work, availability, or break and rest.
4. 4The unit records driving automatically the moment the vehicle moves.
5. 5Withdraw the card at the end of the shift and let the unit finish writing before removing it.

The most common new driver error is leaving the mode switch on other work during a break, so the 45 minutes never registers. Check the switch every time you stop.

Downloads and record keeping

Driver cards must be downloaded at least every 28 days and vehicle units at least every 90 days, and both must be kept for 12 months. In practice the operator does this, but the responsibility for having your card and using it correctly is yours. Carry your card, your DQC and your licence whenever you drive professionally.

Exemptions worth knowing

• Vehicles not exceeding 3,500kg are outside EU rules, though working time may still apply.
• Some specialist operations, including certain agricultural, utility and breakdown vehicles, have exemptions.
• Domestic GB rules apply to some journeys not covered by EU rules, with a different set of limits.
• If you think an exemption applies, get it confirmed by your transport manager rather than assuming.

Where you learn this properly

The rules are covered in the Driver CPC theory and case study papers, and drivers hours is the most popular periodic training subject we run at £55 per seven hour course. If you are heading towards the office rather than the cab, the Transport Manager CPC at £1,100 goes considerably deeper, because the operator carries the compliance responsibility.