Updates - Drivers’ hours and tachographs: buses and coaches - Guidance

2024

26 June 2024 published amendments

2. Great Britain domestic rules on drivers’ hours

Updated section 2.2 Domestic driving limits, to provide clarity on the break requirements in the GB drivers’ hours rules in a working day. The changes clarify that:

- in a working day of less than 8 hours 30 minutes, drivers need to take a break of 30 minutes at the end of a period of 5 hours 30 minutes of driving, if such a break has not been taken already
- in a working day of more than 8 hours 30 minutes, the 45 minutes of non-driving time can mean other duties and not just a break.
- in a day more than 8 hours 30 minutes, drivers need to take a break of 30 minutes at the end of the 8 hour 30 minute period before the driver can continue working

2022

2 September 2022 published amendments

3. Mixed EU/AETR and GB domestic driving

Section 3.4, Records:
Under EU rules, drivers must record all non-EU/AETR work, such as secondary employment, as 'other work' using either:

* a tachograph chart
* a printout
* the manual input facility of a digital tachograph

4. Tachograph rules

Section 4.3 Common rules
Recording other work:
* For a fixed week in which EU-regulated driving takes place, drivers must keep a full record of periods of other work and availability.
* For a fixed week in no EU-regulated driving takes place, drivers must keep a record of periods of other work and availability. They can record this in blocks.
* Drivers undertaking international journeys to, from and through the EU should keep full daily records for the previous 28 days, including days and weeks in which no EU-regulated driving took place. This is because enforcement agencies in other countries may have different requirements for how to record activities for the previous 28 days.

Rest and other days off:
European Commission officials have confirmed that attestation forms for drivers’ hours records are still available and should be accepted in the context of journeys involving EU member states.

2020

20 August 2020 published amendments

Introduction

Updated following changes to the rules which include:

- a requirement for drivers to ‘return home’ every 4 weeks
- a ban on taking regular weekly rest periods in the driver’s vehicle
- more flexibility on the scheduling of the rest periods for some drivers on international carriage of goods
- new provisions for rests and breaks for drivers when journeys involve transport by ferry or by rail
- a new requirement to keep a full record of all other work

1. EU and AETR rules on drivers’ hours

Updated following changes to the rules which include:

- a requirement for drivers to ‘return home’ every 4 weeks
- a ban on taking regular weekly rest periods in the driver’s vehicle
- more flexibility on the scheduling of the rest periods for some drivers on international carriage of goods
- new provisions for rests and breaks for drivers when journeys involve transport by ferry or by rail
- a new requirement to keep a full record of all other work

4. Tachograph rules

Updated following changes to the rules which include:

- a requirement for drivers to ‘return home’ every 4 weeks
- a ban on taking regular weekly rest periods in the driver’s vehicle
- more flexibility on the scheduling of the rest periods for some drivers on international carriage of goods
- new provisions for rests and breaks for drivers when journeys involve transport by ferry or by rail
- a new requirement to keep a full record of all other work

5. Responsibilities of vehicle operators

New section added.