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Hours to question why
Page 38
Page 39
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For four years Europe has been debating revisions to drivers' hours regulations and it could be another two before changes are made.
Pat Hagan reports on the progress so far.
Four years after the EU began negotiating changes to drivers' hours, it's a wonder nobody has suggested the obvious; why not have similar limits on EU negotiating hours?
What began as an attempt to update rules which have now been in force for 20 years has descended into something of a stand-off between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers over the fine print of the regulations.
Now it looks as if the changes, originally scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2004, may not kick in until 2007.
The delays are largely due to differences between how the two EU bodies think the regulations should develop. But trade bodies have been furiously lobbying to avoid changes that would make the operators' lives even more bureaucratic.
Ironically, EU Commission plans first drawn up in 2001 were meant to make it easier to understand and enforce the rules.
Bodies like the Freight Transport Association were unhappy with certain parts of the package and put pressure on the European Parliament to amend it. This it did. But it then went to the Council of Ministers, who threw in their own amendments.
More lobbying ensued, followed by a second reading of the proposals by the European Parliament. The result? A major difference of opinion between the two bodies that now requires a conciliation process to try and sort it out.
But what are the major sticking points?
From the UK industry's point of view, the three big issues are changes to weekly rest periods, the way daily driving breaks are calculated and plans to scrap exemptions for certain essential services.
Current rules state drivers need a weekly rest period of 45 hours. But this can be reduced to 36 hours, if taken either where the vehicle is normally based or where the driver is based.
If it is taken away from base, it can be reduced to 24 hours. The proviso is that this time has to be made up by the end of the third week following the week in question.
Too restrictive
But the Council of Ministers wants to restrict reductions in weekly rest to every other week. In other words, once a fortnight, a driver must have a full rest period of 45 hours.
Joan Williams, from the FTA, says this could have a huge impact on certain sectors of the industry.
"It means every other week a driver could only work five days. That's not acceptable for certain sectors like the newspaper industry.You cannot just say the papers will be delivered on Monday instead of Friday.
"Newspaper distribution is a very sophisticated operation. You don't drive long hours but you do need the flexibility to spread those hours over six days every week if necessary.'
The European Parliament is not supporting this position but is against retaining the status quo.TheFTA has put forward its own compromise proposal, which it hopes will appease both sides. It will not reveal the details.
Daily rest
On daily driving breaks, the issue is similar. Under current rules, a driver must take a break of at least 45 minutes after four-and-a-half hours on the road. This can be broken up into chunks of 15 minutes throughout that period.
But the Council of Ministers wants to change the system so that for every half hour on the road, a driver accrues another five minutes' rest.
Fifteen minutes would still be the minimum. So, for example, if you wanted a break after just 30 minutes' driving, it would have to he 15 minutes. The same applies after 90 minutes' driving.
But once you go into the next half hour, another five minutes must be added.
So driving 91 minutes means a 20-minute break. After two hours,it's 25 minutes.
"If you're doing multi-drops, how could you keep up with it?" says Williams. "People would end up breaking the legislation simply because it's too difficult to understand. And if it's too difficult then it means it's bad legislation."
The FTA also has concerns about essential services. Current proposals from the Council of Ministers aim to get rid of as many exemptions to drivers' hours as possible. Gas and electricity are on the list to be scrapped on the grounds that they are now largely privatised industries, rather than public sector services.
The FTA believes both should remain exempt and the Parliament agrees.
Next week, (July 5), the first of a series of meetings takes place between the Council of Ministers and Parliament to try to reach a deal before going to conciliation.
If that fails, a lengthy bartering process will begin. Four years down the road, few are predicting an explosive sprint finish. •