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ETA warning over Euro hours chan es

9th February 2006
Page 8
Page 8, 9th February 2006 — ETA warning over Euro hours chan es
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THE EUROPEAN Parliament (EP) has finally agreed new regulations governing the drivers' hours rules but the Freight Transport Association warns that the subtle changes could cause a major headache for UK operators.

The EP and the EU Council of Ministers gave the official goahead to change the rules on .11tursclay 2 February. From spring 2007. drivers will be required to take 45 hours off work within the two weeks in one big block, and they must take part of their daily 45-minute break in one large section.

Joan Williams. the FIA's head of road freight policy, says that the impact on some companies could be considerable. Weekly rest hours will be cut to 24 hours, at home. or away from base. But while drivers will be allowed to use the additional rest time up in the second week, they will no longer be allowed to let it spill into the third week. "It removes the flexibility." Williams says.

The other important change, requiring drivers to take at least 30 minutes (it I heir 45-minute break at one time, could also be tricky."If you have vehicles delivering in the centre of London, 30 minutes is a long lime to try to find a spot to park up,Williams points out.

The change to daily hours wasin response to concerns that drivers were not spreading their breaks out evenly: Williams questions if that was ever the case.


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