Hi everyone,
got an infringement on friday for insufficient break
My day was roughly as follows
4hrs driving
30 mins other work
5 mins driving
90 mins break
20 mins other work
15 mins break
2hrs driving
25 mins other work
2 hrs driving
30 mins break
1.5 hrs driving
30 mins other work and end shift.
Apparently, when I had the 15 mins break after the 20 mins of other work this didn’t count towards my second 45 minutes as I had not driven in between the two break periods.
On my tacho display it showed that 45 mins had been taken and I assumed I was ok to carry on home.
You live and learn!!
davidj247:
2hrs driving
25 mins other work
2 hrs driving
30 mins break
1.5 hrs driving
30 mins other work and end shift.
Apparently, when I had the 15 mins break after the 20 mins of other work this didn’t count towards my second 45 minutes as I had not driven in between the two break periods.
On my tacho display it showed that 45 mins had been taken and I assumed I was ok to carry on home.
You live and learn!!
When you look at the red, you can see that you have 5 1/2 hours driving with only a 30 minute break, (which is insufficient).
If you split your 45 minutes into two parts, the first must be at least 15 minutes and the second at least 30 minutes, however, both must fall within the 4 1/2 hours driving period.
If you had done it this way
2hrs driving
25 mins other work
15 mins break
2 hrs driving
30 mins break
1.5 hrs driving
No infringement.
Just offering advice.
Regards,
Nick
I thought the 15 mins break before the 1st 2hr driving period would count towards my break and the 30 mins break later would wipe the slate clean and allow me to get home. The tacho display in the truck reset to zero and I thought I was in the clear
davidj247:
I thought the 15 mins break before the 1st 2hr driving period would count towards my break
As above, the 15 and 30 minute breaks must be within the 4 1/2 hours, not before or after.
In a nutshell, every period of 4 1/2 hours driving must take 5 1/4 hours to complete, whether it’s
including two short breaks or with one 45 minute break at the end.
(Obviously excluding any other work or POA).
Unless, of course, it ends with you going into a daily rest period.
Regards,
Nick
Breaks, for the tacho rules interrupt periods of driving. No driving = no break which counts. That’s all.
now if you had done 1 min of driving after 20 mins other work and before the 15 min break all would have been fine
I have been known to move the vehicle forward, then reverse it back in order to get a 15 in after a 45, then I only need to do a 30 later on. Same as the OP, except I move the wagon to let the tacho show Driving Mode between the breaks. AFAIK, there is no minimum distance that needs to be driven for this to be legal. But I am happy to be corrected…
The Sarge:
I have been known to move the vehicle forward, then reverse it back in order to get a 15 in after a 45, then I only need to do a 30 later on. Same as the OP, except I move the wagon to let the tacho show Driving Mode between the breaks. AFAIK, there is no minimum distance that needs to be driven for this to be legal. But I am happy to be corrected…
There’s no minimum distance or minimum time, as long as some driving is recorded on the chart/card the break will count.
I’m even happier to be correct 
The Sarge:
I’m even happier to be correct
Nah, you can’t take a break until you have worked 1 hour or driven 100 miles.
It’s true I tells ya, my mate told me.
Our driving assessor went on a weeks course last week - he told me you can’t have a break until you’ve worked 2 hours!!
He also processes the tachos when the regular girl is off so I can’t wait to prove him wrong!!
We had all this crap from him with the 6hr rule - I just said nowt and then deliberately had 15mins in the 6 hrs every time he was on and gave him my card to download. I never had an infringement in 2 years and he eventually had to climb down.
He is one of those blokes that can read the words but doesn’t understand what they are saying
davidj247:
Our driving assessor went on a weeks course last week - he told me you can’t have a break until you’ve worked 2 hours!!
Just ask him to show you where it states that in the regulations. 
When he can’t he’ll probably fall-back to that good old back peddling standby of , “Well, it’s a grey area.”
Good luck with the education of this roaster, he obviously needs it and your commitment to his continual improvement it admirable.