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DRIVER W ORK ?
A Straightforward and Concise Explanation of the Provisions of the Road Traffic Act with Regard to the Hours of Duty for Commercial-vehicle Drivers By a Legal Adviser
THE importance of all commercial-vehicle owners having a complete understanding of the provisions of Section 19 of the Road Traffic Act, which, as stated in the margin of the printed copy of the Act, deals with the limitation of the periods for which drivers of certain vehicles may remain continuously on duty, is a point that cannot be urged with too much emphasis.
The section in itself is not particularly easy to understand, but it has been made still more difficult by the Orders which are in course of preparation by the Minister of Transport for the purpose of varying the periods which are laid down by the section. The object of this article is to endeavour to present to readers of The Commercial Motor the provisions of the section and of the amending Orders, in such a manner as to make as clear as possible the points which have to be taken into consideration when they arrange drivers' hours of duty.
The section applies to all drivers of the following classes of motor vehicle :— (a) Any public-service vehicle within the meaning of Part IV of the Act. With a few minor exceptions which need not be considered here, that means every motor vehicle used for carrying passengers for hire, other than vehicles which are constructed to carry fewer than seven passengers, and in which such passengers are not carried at separate fares.
(b) Any heavy locomotive, light locomotive or motor tractor.
(c) Any motor vehicle constructed to carry goods other than the effects of passengers. This covers all goods vehicles, whether they be motorcars or heavy motorcars.
Owner-drivers Included in the Provisions.
It should be noted that the section applies to all drivers of the above-mentioned vehicles and that it therefore relates to owner-drivers as well as to paid drivers. The section was inserted in the Act not to prevent paid drivers being required to work for excessively long periods, but, as the section itself states, with a view to protecting the public against the risks which arise in cases where the drivers of motor vehicles are suffering from extreme fatigue. The section also states that in the case of the abovementioned vehicles it shall not be lawful for any person to drive, or cause or permit any person employed by him, or subject to his orders, to drive for more than the specified hours.
In the case of a steam vehicle the provisions of the section apply also to a steersman, because in Section 121 of the Act it is provided that, where a separate person acts as steersman of a motor vehicle, the expression " driver " includes that person as well as any other who may be engaged in driving the vehicle, and that the expression " drive " shall be construed accordingly.
Before dealing with the specified hours, it should be pointed out that the section provides that any time spent by a driver on other work in connection with a vehicle or the load carried thereby, shall be reckoned as time spent in driving. For that reason it is desk B24 able to speak of the specified hours as being "hours of duty," instead of "hours of driving."
A driver may not be on duty for any continuous period of more than Si hours. Any two periods of time are regarded as being continuous unless separated by an interval of not less than half-an-hour in which the driver is able to obtain rest and refreshment.
A driver may not be on duty for continuous periods amounting in the aggregate to more than 11 hours in any period of 24 hours commencing two hours after midnight.,
At Least 10 Hours' Rest..
• A driver must have at least 10 consecutive hours for rest in any period of 24 hours calculated from the commencement of any period of duty. The section, however, provides that nine consecutive hours for rest are sufficient, provided that the driver has an interval of at least 12 consecutive hours for rest in the next following period of 24 hours. Exceptions to the above general rules will be dealt with later.
When arranging schedules of hours for their drivers, commercial-vehicle owners will be well advised to set out the proposed hours of duty and of driving in tabular form, such as follows, because this method will show at a glance whether the hours comply with the regulations :— In the above example the driver starts duty at 8 a.m. and finally goes off duty at -10 p.m. He is not on duty for more then five consecutive hours and the aggregate hours on duty do not exceed 11. During the period of 24 hours from the time when he commences any period of duty the driver has 10 consecutive hours Toe rest. The proposed hours, therefore, comply with the provisions of the section. In the next example it is assumed that the driver, having been on duty for the hours set out in Table I, is required to commence duty on the following day at 7 a.m., instead of at his usual starting hour of 8 a.m. :- In this case, as the driver had only nine cOnsecutiVd hours for rest during the 24 hours from 8 a.m. when he commenced duty on the previous day, he must be allowed at least 12 consecutive hours for rest during the following 24 hour § which are dealt with in the second table. Other adjustments have also had to be made to the time-table because the driver may not be on duty from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m., for that would involve more than 51 consecutive hours of duty.
The section provides that in the case of a vehicle which is being used in the course of operations or agriculture or forestry a person shall not be deemed to be driving the vehicle or spendingtime on work in connection with it or its load so long as the vehicle is elsewhere than on a road. In this connection it should be pointed out that Section 121 of the Act defines a " road" as being "any highway and any other road to which the public has access."
Contravention an Offence.
The section does not apply to motor vehicles used for fire-brigade or ambulance purposes.
The section states that if any person acts in contravention of the sectipn he shall be guilty "of an offence." Reference to Section 113 of the At shows that a person who is guilty of an offence under the Act for which no special penalty is provided is liable in the case of a first offence to a fine not exceeding £20, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding £50, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.
Section ID, however, provides that a person shall not be liable to be convicted if he proves to the court that the contravention was due to unavoidable delay in the completion of any journey arising out of circumstances which he could not reasonably have foreseen.
As stated above, the general rule is that the driver may not be on duty for any continuous period of more than 51 hours. An Amending Order, which has been made in accordance with the powers which are given to the Minister of Transport by sub-section (3) of Section 19 of the Act, provides that, in the case of a stage carriage, where in any period of 24 hours only one continumos period of duty is worked, then for such a period of duty the limit of 81 hours may be substituted for 51 hours if the driver be allowed intervals of time for signing on and off and for looking over the vehicle before it leaves and after it returns to the garage, and for lay-over to an extent which, in the aggregate, is not less than 45 minutes, or which is not less than 40 minutes if the continuous period of duty does not exceed eight hours.
In the case of drivers of stage carriages, a further modification is made to the general rule that a driver must have at least 10 consecutive hours for rest in any period of 24 hours calculated from the commencement of any period of duty. The Amending Order provides that the 10 consecutive hours may be reduced to eight consecutive hours on one day in any period of seven consecutive days. In such a case the general rule applies that during the following 24 hours the driver must have at least 12 cOnSecutive hours for rest. A further exception to the general rule that drivers must have at least 10 conseeutive hours for rest in any period of 24 hours has been made with regard to drivers of express carriages and contract carriages. The Amending Order provides that if between any two periods of driving an express carriage or a contract carriage there is an interval of not less than four consecutive hours during which the driver is able to obtain rest and refreshment on one day in any period of seven days, or on two days if the said period includes a Bank Holiday, the period of eight consecutive hours may be substituted for the period of 10 consecutive hours of rest.
In addition to providing that any time spent by a driver on other work in connection with the vehicle or its load hall be reckoned as time spent in driving, Section 19 of the Act provides that in the case of a public-service vehicle any time spent on a vehicle while on a journey in any capacity other than as a passenger shall be reckoned as time spent in driving. If, therefore, a relief driver be carried on a public-service vehicle the time during which he is not driving is not counted as part of his hours of duty, provided that during that time he is merely a passenger, and can sit where he wishes and do whatever be wishes to do in exactly the same way as can any ordinary passenger.
ORK ?
When a Relief Driver Acts as Conductor.
If, however, the relief driver be required to act as conductor, or to sit next to the driver, or to be ready to apply the brakes, or to do anything whatever because he is employed by the proprietors of the vehicle, the time during which he carries out such duties must be taken into account when calculating the hours during which he is on duty.
In the case of the driver of a locomotive, motor tractor or motor goods-carrying vehicle, where in any period of 24 hours only one period of duty not exceeding 8 hours is worked, he may be on duty for a continuous period of 8 hours instead of the normal 51 hours, if he be allowed intervals of rest and time for refreshment of not less than 40 minutes in the aggregate, and If one such interval be of not less than 20 minutes, to be taken not earlier than 2 hours, nor later than 5 hours, after the beginning of the 8-hour period of duty. For example, the hours may be arranged as follows:— It should be noticed that if advantage be taken of this exception to the general rule the driver must not drive for more than 7 hours 20 minutes, as the 8-hour period of duty includes the 40 minutes for rest and refreshment.
Where the driver of a locomotive, tractor or goodscarrying vehicle is employed by the week, and receives at least one complete day's Test of 24 hours in each week, then on not more than two days in any week he may be on duty for an aggregate of 12 hours in any period of 24 hours commencing 2 hours after midnight instead of the normal 11 hours, provided that some part of the 12 hours be occupied in waiting or on work in connection with the loading or unloading of the vehicle. In other words, he must not be actually driving for the whole of the 12 hours.