Q I am employed by a company which operates a mixed

22nd September 1972, Page 415

22nd September 1972

Page 415

Page 415, 22nd September 1972 — Q I am employed by a company which operates a mixed

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fleet of artic units. Some of these are Baffords which, without the trailer, weigh less than 3 tons. Is it permissible to drive these without being in possession of an hgv licence?

Is it an offence for a driver to return to his depot, after his permitted hours have expired, by exchanging vehicles with a fellow employee who has been sent to meet him with a small van or private car? Can the driver claim overtime for this?

AA class 1 or class lA heavy goods vehicle driver's licence is required to drive the vehicles which you describe. There are eight classes of hgv licence and attics figure in four of these. They are classes 1, IA, 4 and 4A.

Classes 1 and lA refer to articulatedunits not fitted or fitted with automatic trans-mission respectively. Classes 4 and 4A also refer to tractive units with or without automatic transmission but weighing less than 2 tons.

As to drivers' hours, in general a driver may drive for 10 hours a day and his total hours of duty must not exceed 11 hours. With the statutory breaks, you will see that if a driver has completed 10 hours driving then he has usually also completed his 11-hour duty period.

When he has completed the prescribed hours he must book off duty, and any other work done for his employer would be in. breach of the law.

It would almost certainly be held to be a continuation of duty for a driver to drive a vehicle back to his base even if overtime was not claimed for the journey. If it was claimed and paid there is little doubt that, should the driver be stopped and questioned or the facts come •to light subsequently, a prosecution would follow.