Personal logbooks for drivers' records
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MINISTRY REVEALS PROPOSED NEW RULES
• The first major document to issue from the Ministry of Transport since Mr. Fred Mulley took over as Minister is the draft of the proposed regulations for written records by goods vehicle drivers of their hours of work, driving and rest—in full "The Drivers Hours (Goods Vehicles) (Keeping of Records) Regulations 1969", to be made under Section 98 of the Transport Act 1968 and due to come into operation on March 1 1970.
The draft covers 10 pages of foolscap typescript and is accompanied by facsimile reproductions of pages of the Drivers' Record Book and Register, showing the layout of the information that will need to be recorded.
Also in the "package" is a memorandum of the draft explaining the Regulations: its substance is as follows:
The Regulations describe the kind of written records which must be kept by drivers and employers when the new drivers' hours rules come into force on March 1 1970. The present written records will be discontinued from that date.
For drivers, the new system is not very different from the present one. The main changes are that entries must be made in books instead of on loose sheets and each sheet in a book must be completed in duplicate. The driver must tear out the top copy of each sheet as it is completed and return it to his employer. The duplicate sheets will remain in the book which the driver must retain until it is filled. Re must then return it to his employer and obtain a new book.
For employers, the new system requires a register to be kept of all books issued to drivers. Employers must issue drivers with record books, but provided the books contain the information required by the Regulations, they can be printed in any convenient form and can contain any additional information employers may need for their own purposes. This continues the present arrangement, There are a number of exemptions. The main ones concern drivers of vehicles which are exempted from operators' licensing and persons who do not drive for more than 4 hours on each day of a week. Exemption from recordkeeping does not imply exemption from the limits on drivers' hours.
Drivers' record books
Drivers and employers must record the information shown in Schedule 1 of the Regulations (see accompanying reproductions). An employer must provide his drivers with record books and if a driver has two employers concurrently. the one who first employs him must give him a record book.
A driver must return his record book to the employer who issued it to him if he leaves that person's employment. If the driver has two employers and leaves the employ of the person who gave him his record book, the second employer must provide him with a new one.
A driver who drives a goods vehicle and a passenger vehicle must enter information about both kinds of work in his goods vehicle driver's record book. If he drives a goods vehicle for one employer and a passenger vehicle for another, the goods vehicle employer must provide him with a record book.
Record books must contain the information given in the sample forms in Schedule 1. Books should contain enough sheets to cover 14 working days. Each sheet in a book can cover up to seven working days. Sheets must be in duplicate and a sheet of carbon paper must be provided.
Entries in record books should be made as follows: Employers must enter their operator's licence number where they have one and give each book a separate serial number. Both numbers must be entered by the employer on the front of the book and on each sheet. In addition, the number of sheets in the book must be recorded and each sheet must be numbered consecutively.
Drivers must write their names on each sheet and fill in the appropriate columns. Carbon copies of entries must be made on the duplicate sheets and times should be shown as a.m, or p.m., or on the 24-hour clock system.
Breaks from driving (i.e. time at the wheel) of not more than 15 minutes may be entered as driving time. (The intention here is to avoid requiring a driver who often gets out of his vehicle to make deliveries etc., from having to make an entry in his record book every time he leaves the driving seat. This facility is optional and if by counting short breaks from driving as driving time a driver would seem to exceed the 10-hour daily driving limit, he must record the breaks from driving.) If a driver stays within a 25-mile radius of where he begins work for the day, he need not enter full particulars of where he began and ended each journey.
A driver must sign opposite each day's entries, When each sheet is completed, he must detach the top copy from the book and deliver it to his employer wifnin seven days. An employer must examine and sign this sheet within seven days of receiving it. When a book is full, or a driver leaves his employment, he must return the book to the employer who issued it to him, A driver may only use a book issued to him by his employer and must not make entries in a new book while there is still space in his old one.
Where a driver has more than one employer, the second employer must enter his name and address on the front sheet of the record book. Employers must on request, supply each other with certain information about the hours worked by a driver employed by both of them.When a driver changes his employment, the new employer or the driver can require the previous employer to give him certain information about the hours he has already worked.
Such information, which can be required in writing is, for example, whether the driver has had a day off during the current week and/or how long he has been on duty during that week.