Q Could you answer the following query concerning drivers' hours under
Page 56
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
EC Regulation 3820/ 85? What we want to establish is when, in certain situations, can the weekly rest period be taken.
Immediately after a weekly rest period a driver starts work on Friday at ,09:00hrs and works including some driving through till 18:00hrs. He then works on maintenance duties in the garage where no driving is done from Saturday through until Tuesday 09:00hrs to 18:00hrs on each of these days.
For how many consecutive days can he now drive before taking a rest period?
Apart from the daily rest period requirement which governs the length of the working day, will he have to stop driving for the purpose of the weekly rest period requirement at a certain time on the last day — he started late in the evening on that day — would he have to stop driving before midnight on that day and begin a weekly rest period?
We always take a weekly rest in each fixed week. We never actually drive for more than six days, but we do work more than six days incorporating driving days. The confusion stems from the fact that the regulations say that the weekly rest period may be postponed until the end of the sixth day and we don't really know what is meant. A lot of our work starts at night and finish the next morning. Would this be seen as going into another day?
Tenby, A The first problem is a thorny one in your case: A daily driving period begins on the first day (Friday) after a weekly rest. The driver is then engaged in other work for the following four days. He may recommence driving duties on Wednesday.
Now comes the problem. Article 6 states that a driver must, after no more than six daily driving periods, take a weekly rest, and it would appear on the face of it, that the driver, having used one daily period, could now drive for a further five days.
However, the answer lies in Article 8 (3) in that in the course of each week — 00:00hrs 24:00hrs Sunday — a weekly rest period of 45 hours must be taken.
So, your driver must start his weekly rest by 03:00hrs Saturday, to get in 45 hours, but may drive up to six daily driving periods until then, namely Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, up to 03:00hrs Saturday.
On the second question, a daily driving period commences from the time a driver starts driving, irrespective of the fact that the time passes midnight while he is driving. If he starts at 22:00hrs and drives until 07:00hrs that is one day, not two.
Article 6 allows for a weekly rest period to be postponed until the end of the sixth day if the total driving time for that day does not exceed the maximum corresponding to six daily driving periods, in other words, if he used up his total driving time.