DRIVERS' HOURS-COMMON STANDARD OR COMMON SENSE?
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• One of the central planks of this Government's policy in road traffic matters is the reduction of.accidents by a third by 2000. A ruling in the European Court in Luxembourg on 15 December 1993 looks set to dent that policy by an interpretation of the drivers' hours law which significantly extends the time a driver may remain behind the wheel without a break. The European view is that the working day is effectively split into two halves each of 4.5 hours of aggregated driving. In each half a driver can take his break of 45 minutes either at the end of 4.5 hours of driving or in multiples of at least 15 minutes each during the 4.5 hour period. The only stipulation was that he cannot exceed 4.5 hours of continuous driving at any time.The British view (before 15 December 1993) was that a driver had to be able to account for 45 minutes rest for 4.5 hours of aggregated driving. He could not separate the two driving periods and had to be aware of how much rest he had taken and how long he had been behind the wheel at all times. The Luxembourg ruling is very unlikely to be overturned and for good or ill remains the law of the land until at least 2000 when new regulations are due.