EROM 11[E,
Page 65
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Hours of work
PART 6 of the Transport Act 1968, in Sections 95 and 96, deals with drivers hours, and although at the time of writing the provisions of this part of the Act are not in force it is almost certain that they will be implemented soon.
Section 95 commences by stating that the reason for the restriction on the hours which a driver may work is to protect the public against the risks which arise when the drivers of motor vehicles are suffering from fatigue. How far fatigue contributes to road accidents is a matter for conjecture; as readers of CM will know there has been considerable controversy recently on this topic—but this is outside the scope of this article.
Section 95 also gives the classes of vehicles which are subject to the drivers' hours restrictions. They are public service vehicles and motor vehicles (not being PSV) constructed or adapted to carry more than 12 passengers, heavy and light locomotives, motor tractors, towing units of articulated veh
icles and any other motor vehicle constructed or adapted to carry goods other than the effects of passengers.
It will be seen that all types of goods vehicles from the tradesman's delivery van to the 32-tonner are covered by this regulation. The regulation applies whether the vehicle is laden or unladen. It is not the load which the vehicle is carrying which is the criterion but the vehicle's construction.
Section 96 deals with the permitted driving times and periods of duty. Firstly it is laid down that a driver shall not on any working day drive a vehicle or vehicles for periods amounting in the aggregate to more than 10 hours. After 5;hr on duty a driver must have at least a half-hour interval in which he can obtain rest and refreshment.
It must be noted that this provision refers to -on dutyand not to driving, an important alteration in the law. To quote an extreme example to illustrate this point let us suppose that a driver commences work at 8 a.m, and spends 5hr at his depot loading and unloading vehicles without a rest period. If he then starts on a journey he can only drive for half an hour before he must take the statutory period of rest.