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 
Hours not to reason why
Page 22
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The new EU drivers' hours regs will affect the non-commercial use of LGVs — not only those used for
;hovvs and rallies but
also by the Territorial
Army. Lord Attlee
ratlines the problems.
0 ONE CAN DENY that the [EU drivers' hours] regulams and digital tachos will have )nefits, despite the road haulage dustry's appetite for analogue hicles. However, when digital chos become ubiquitous, some ivers may think differently.
One major change is to bring to scope the non-commercial ;e of goods vehicles over 7.5 nnes. This is to cater for people ho operate goods vehicles immercially but claim that their e is private, and so out of scope the regulations.
But these changes will severely Feet genuine non-commercial use LGVs,particularly when they are ed to transport traction engines ;d the like to steam rallies Inserting a disc into the tacho is it too onerous,but record-keeping, e need to calibrate and to seal e installation will be onerous. It ight require the owner to take a .v off from his work to have this done. In addition, it is easy for someone who is not a regular professional driver to fall foul of the detailed rules.
There is little safety benefit in all this, as evidenced by the very low insurance premiums charged for such vehicles. The solution for the steam world might be to use pre-1982 trucks which are exempt as historic vehicles. Shame about the emissions though.
What about the Terriers?
However, the Territorial Army (IA) will be hit far harder by the new regulations. As CM readers know, 'rest' is defined as a period when individuals are free to dispose of their own time as they see fit. Clearly being engaged upon a weekend field exercise under military law on Salisbury Plain does not count as 'rest'.
The MoD has issued helpful guidance; it indicates that vocational drivers, who parade at 7pm on a Friday evening and are released by 5pm on Sunday evening, may not start driving until 7pm on the Monday evening.
In reality this is completely impracticable and most employers will not be able to tolerate it not least because it is their legal duty to ensure that their drivers have sufficient rest.
However, they cannot do that and start driving first thing on a Monday morning.
The impact on the TA will be severe, as a small infantry unit will have only a few LGV drivers and the majority will be driving LGVs for a living. Large logistic TA units will be deprived of a significant proportion of their LGV drivers.
Ironically, many of these will have acquired their LGV licences through the TA and are needed to be available to support the regular army in an emergency.
The amended EU directive is already in force,but the Community Drivers' Hours and Recording Equipment Regulations 2007 facilitate compliance with the directive.The regulations had been laid before parliament for approval but I opposed them on the grounds that they did not meet the needs of Her Majesty's Reserve Forces or recreational users of LGVs.
Within a few hours of my fatal amendment the government withdrew the regulations, citing a -drafting error" (CM 5 April).
Meeting the minister
Very soon I will be meeting the minister, Dr Ladyman, to discuss the regulations and the way forward. But I cannot see how he can avoid damaging the TA without obtaining an EU derogation and that will take about 18 months to obtain.
In the meantime, operators employing vocational drivers who are in the TA should seek advice in order to avoid serious drivers' hours infringements.