Drivers' hours and tachographs

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state the daily, weekly and two-weekly driving limits.
• You can plan breaks so you never drive more than four and a half hours without one.
• You can explain the minimum daily and weekly rest periods.
• You can use a digital tachograph driver card correctly.
• You can say what records you may need to show at a roadside check.

What you need to know and understand

• The EU drivers' hours rules (Regulation 561/2006, as amended) apply to most goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
• Daily driving is normally limited to 9 hours, which can be extended to 10 hours no more than twice a week.
• Weekly driving must not exceed 56 hours, and any two weeks in a row must not exceed 90 hours.
• After 4.5 hours of driving you must take a break of at least 45 minutes, which can be split into 15 minutes then 30 minutes.
• Daily rest is normally at least 11 hours, which can be reduced to 9 hours no more than three times between weekly rests.
• A regular weekly rest is at least 45 hours; a reduced weekly rest of at least 24 hours must be compensated.
• Your driver card is personal to you. Never use another driver's card or let anyone use yours.

Planning a legal working day

Think of your day in blocks of driving no longer than four and a half hours, each followed by a break. A typical long day might be 4.5 hours driving, a 45-minute break, then up to another 4.5 hours, giving 9 hours of driving. Loading, paperwork and waiting are not driving, but they are not a break either unless you are free to rest.

Separate working time rules also limit your total working hours, so a legal driving day can still break the working time limits if you do a lot of other work.

Using a digital tachograph

1. Insert your driver card at the start of the shift before you move the vehicle.
2. Make any manual entries the tachograph asks for, such as the country where you start.
3. Set the mode switch correctly for other work, availability and breaks; driving records automatically.
4. Keep your card in the tachograph for the whole shift, including breaks spent in the vehicle.
5. At the end of the shift, enter the country where you finish and remove your card.
6. If the tachograph or card fails, make a printout or manual record and report it.

Roadside checks and exemptions

RSA Transport Officers and Gardaí can stop you and check your records. They can read your driver card and download the vehicle unit, which copies the data without erasing it. You must produce your driver card, any printouts and manual records, and record sheets from analogue vehicles for the period set out in the rules, together with your Driver CPC card. Check the current RSA guidance on how many days of records you must carry, as EU rules on this period have changed.

Some vehicles are exempt, such as vehicles with a gross weight of 3.5 tonnes or less and vehicles that cannot go faster than 40 km/h. Newer EU rules are extending tachographs to some lighter vans used for international hire-and-reward work, so check the RSA if you drive a van abroad for pay. Exemption declarations are stamped at a CVRT test centre, and claiming an exemption you are not entitled to can lead to prosecution.

Common mistakes

• Counting loading or waiting time as a break. A break must be time free to rest.
• Taking the 30-minute part of a split break first. The rules need 15 minutes first, then 30.
• Forgetting to change the mode switch, so work time is recorded as rest or the other way round.
• Using the 10-hour day too often. It is allowed no more than twice a week.
• Leaving your card at home. Driving without it when one is required is an offence.

Test yourself: Drivers' hours and tachographs

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.