Tachograph Rules Made Easy - UK / EU
The European tachograph regulations consist of a complex set of rules which can be difficult to understand - let alone apply. A lack of knowledge of the rules can lead to serious problems for any organisation that deals with tachograph liability.
We’ve put together a brief guide that will be useful for fleet operators, planners and drivers who have to deal with tachograph files and compliance, as well as explaining how we use tachograph data within our Connected2 platform.
EUROPEAN TACHOGRAPH REGULATIONS.
Tachograph rules are regulated by EU-regulation (EC) No 561/2006[5] which came into force on 11th April 2007 and applies when using a digital or analogue tachograph. Violating the rules will result in high fines.
It is important to remember that a week in tachograph terms does not have to be aligned with a standard working week (Monday - Sunday), although it does also last for 7 days. A tachograph week starts at the end of a weekly rest period, meaning a tachograph week can start on any day of the week.
MAXIMUM DRIVER HOURS RULES.
- Daily Drive Time: a maximum of 9 hours; this can be extended to 10 hours for a maximum of 2 times per week.
- Weekly Drive Time: a maximum of 56 hours.
- Two-Weekly Drive Time: a maximum of 90 hours.
TACHOGRAPH RULES ON BREAKS.
Drivers are required to have at least 45 minutes of breaks after every 4.5 hours of driving time. These can be taken as one 45 minute break, or split into one break of 15 minutes followed by another 30 minute break - totaling 45 minutes overall.
DAILY BREAK/REST RULES.
- Daily rest: a driver should rest at least 11 hours per day. This rest period can be split up into 2 separate periods over 12 hours in total, with the first period of at least 3 consecutive hours, followed by a period of 9 consecutive hours.
- In between the bi-weekly rest period, a shorter rest period is prohibited, with a minimum of 9 consecutive hours but not longer than 11 hours.
- All daily rest must be completed within 24 hours of the previous resting period.
WEEKLY REST RULES.
- The regular weekly rest is a period of at least 45 hours.
- The reduced weekly rest is a minimum of 24 hours and must begin within 6 days (6 x 24 hours) of the end of the last weekly rest period.
- Any reductions made in the minimum weekly rest of 45 hours must be compensated by adding these missed hours onto another resting block (daily, weekly or bi-weekly) and must be compensated before the end of the third week after the reduced weekly resting period.
- In any two-week period, the rests must be at least one 45-hour rest and one 24-hour rest. Rests that across two one-week periods may be counted to one of these two weeks, but not both.
ADDITIONAL.
If the vehicle has suitable sleeping facilities, the rest may be taken completely in the vehicle when it is stationary, but this doesn’t apply to all countries.
DOUBLE MANNING.
A vehicle would be considered as double-manned if, during any driving period, in between 2 daily or a daily and weekly rest period, the vehicle has 2 drivers on board - both of who are able to drive and have a personal tachograph card.
The first hour of this driving time is optional, which makes it possible to pick up the second driver within 1 hour after the shift has started.
In general, the same tachograph rules apply to both drivers, except for the daily test rules. If double-manned, each driver must have a daily rest period of 9 hours within a 30-hour period that starts after the last daily or weekly period ends.
Also, the first 45 minutes of availability time of the co-driver (if not working) are considered as a break.
HOW WE USE TACHOGRAPH DATA.
Connected2 offer a tachograph integration solution. We can import driver infringements from tachogrpah downloads to provide visibility of infringement type and frequency. This will form part of the drivers card giving both the operator and driver the ability to review performance ahead of being allocated to shifts. Using this data proactively we can support both operators and drivers to improve performance and manage risk. If you'd like to find out how our platform can help, feel free to get in touch or book a demo.
TACHOGRAPH RULES FOR FERRY CROSSINGS OR TRAIN JOURNEYS.
When a ferry or train is involved in the journey and there is suitable sleeping accommodation available (which can be in the truck), the rules for daily breaks/rests are more flexible.
The regular daily rest of 11 hours may be interrupted twice with other activities if the total of these 2 interruptions does not exceed 1 hour in total. The total of this rest must still be a minimum of 11 hours in total.
This allows the driver to be in the vehicle on or off the ferry or train without using his regular driving time.
GENERAL WORKING & REST TIME RULES.
Besides specific tachograph rules, general working and rest time rules apply in the EU, but please note these rules can differ depending on the country.
- The maximum working time in a week is 60 hours, and the average maximum working time over a period of 16 weeks cannot exceed 48 hours.
- All breaks must take place after at least 6 hours with the following times:
- 30 minutes after 6 hours.
- 45 minutes after 9 hours.
- All breaks are to be taken in increments of at least 15 minutes.
- The total hours of night work cannot exceed 10 hours in every 24 hours, unless a collective workforce agreement has been agreed beforehand.
UNFORESEEN EVENTS.
Of course, sometimes a driver simply can not meet exactly the tachograph rules that apply. So whenever a driver isn’t able to reach a suitable stopping place, the rules can be departed from. But only if general safety is not jeopardized. Whenever this situation occurs, the driver should note the actual causes on the back of their tachograph printouts, at the latest when a suitable stopping place is reached.
Although this is a bit of a grey area – regular and/or repeated unforeseen events might be due to bad scheduling or a general lack of compliance with the rules.
TACHOGRAPH RULES IN THE EU & AETR.
Please note that the tachograph rules we’ve explained here only apply in the EU countries which are listed below:
EU COUNTRIES.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
AETR COUNTRIES.
A different set of rules, called “AETR” apply when a truck drives in one of the AETR countries: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
IMPORTANT: This is only a brief guide. Any driver or company should always rely on the full legal document which can be found here: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/561/oj
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