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Critical minutes
The item in Industry News Extra, "Stop before you drop off" (CM 24-30 Sept) makes a significant contribution to our understanding of HGV driving safety considerations. However, the advice given by Professor Horne of Loughborough University could, in one respect, give rise to even greater confusion and uncertainty in the mind of the hapless HGV driver doing his best to comply with this most complicated legislation.
Professor Home's advice to sleepy drivers is to take a break (which they are legally required to do at stipulated intervals) and then "during that break try and nap for no more than 15 minutes". This is the snag, because the law requires that any qualifying break must be not less than 15 minutes! I am blue in the face from explaining to drivers the importance of this very point.
I have come across countless charts showing breaks of just over 14 minutes or even less than 14 minutes. Whether these result from genuine miscalculation, or are the result of the Clever Dicks trying to cut it to a T I'm not sure.
Perhaps Professor Horne might modify his advice to "not less than 15 minutes", or maybe "not more than 20 minutes".
John Newman, Transport Administration Services,