1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190 
Vans on the approach
Page 26
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The EU is considering applying drivers' hours regulations to vans. The CM readers' panel believes this might be going too far, but does sympathise with the need to rein in some of the van-driving fraternity.
Words: Pat Hagan
According to the letter of the law. drivers of small vans are subject to many of the same working restrictions that apply to much larger goods vehicles.
Under UK domestic drivers' hours rules, they can spend a maximum of 10 hours a day behind the wheel, and 11 hours in total working in a 24-hour period.
And under the terms of the Working Time Directive, they and their employers are required to ensure they get adequate rest... but there is one major difference.
Anyone driving a goods vehicle under 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight is not legally required to keep a record of their working or driving hours.
Policing compliance
This means policing compliance among the UK's small army of van drivers can be very difficult.
0410 g In many cases where the police or VOSA need to establish blame for an accident, it can even involve trawling back through mobile phone records and fuel hills to establish a driver\ whereabouts, and whether or not they were exceeding their hours limits. But all that could change under an EC proposal...
The European Commission's Employment Committee is planning to carry out a survey to establish how feasible it would be to regulate vans under 3.5 tonnes used for business purposes. If the survey shows, for example, that the number of smaller vehicles on the roads is on the increase and that there is a significant degree of support for including them in current regulations for larger vehicles, the proposal could gather a head of steam.
Logistical burden
But the logistical burden of installing millions of tachographs, keeping accurate daily records and enforcing the new rules would he considerable. The latest SMMT figures show 3.7 million vans under 3.5 tonnes are on the UK roads. So what do members of CM's Operator Panel make of the plan?
Most see it as unworkable and largely unnecessary, but there are some who believe all goods vehicle drivers whatever the size of their vehicle should be subjected to the same rules on the road. •