If our fitter commences work at 7.30 a. m. and
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a vehicle breaks down at say, 5.30 p.m., is it in order for him to take out our service van to the vehicle, repair it, and return to a garage, bearing in mind that it might be late at night when he finally arrives back?
AIf this fitter has not spent any time in con
nection with the vehicle or its load until 5.30 p.m. then legally his driving time would be reckoned to start at 5.30 p.m. He would then be subject to the limitations of not being allowed to drive for more than 5+ hours without having a break for at least half an hour, and also with the overall limitation of not driving for more than 11 hours.
There is a further point: he must have at least 10 hours for rest in any 24-hour period from the commencement of driving. In this case it could obviously have repercussions on his normal work the following day.
Added to the legal requirements there would also have to be the practical assessment of whether a man in any given set of circumstances was fit to drive a vehicle and obviously this is a decision which can only be made on the spot.