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It could be a matter of life and death if drivers don't take their breaks. says Lucy Radley
Page 17
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I was talking to CiVis esteemed editor-in-chief Brian Weatherley the other day when he got on to the subject of drivers' hours rules. It started because he was concerned that he might have earned a ticket after getting bored of doing 50mph through the average speed trap between Huntingdon and Cambridge on the A14. Would a brief pitstop have been enough to save him? I've never heard of anyone getting points for running that stretch on the limiter, but just because they didn't last week, doesn't mean they won't this week. If you take the risk, it's your lookout.
This led to the debate over the extent to which it is rea enable to flout the rules to make a delivery on time, if putting a 45-minute break in will result in potential refusal. Just how flexible are these things? Surely, he mused, there has to be a bit of give and take in the real world.
Er, actually, no, It was rammed home to me just how different a mentality you must adopt to these things to stay legal. How many other trades go about their business with a kitchen timer in front of them? The answer is to be organised so you make the delivery and take the required breaks. Planning is all.
Once upon a time, I would have agreed that we should be allowed a lot more leeway. I'll hold my hands up and admit that many years ago I was one of those who pushed the envelope a tad. No big deal. Just a little snip here and there. We were all at it. But where do you draw the line? Once you push it just a little bit, what's to stop you pushing it a bit more, until you are so worn out fiat you don't even realise that you're tired a iy more?
Then, one day, I was brought up short when a friend who had been doing the same got flu. Three days later he was dead, leaving a wife and three children to grieve. He was 43 years old. Tiredness isn't just about feeling dozy, it builds up over time and catches you out. It saps your strength until you have nothing left to fight because you gave your all to the job. Since then, I've taken my breaks and to hell with what the public desires. Waiting a few hours won't kill them, but it might just kill me.