Anyway, a bit oif discussion went on this morning at work about the abolition of the Off road Driving exemption from the Driving Total. According to the Drivers Hours Rules, OFD can be recorded as Other Work on the back of the Tachograph chart.
However, AFAIK, when the new digital tachographs come in (on the 5th August 2004 ) the ORD exemption will no longer count. Possibly due to the fact that you can’t write the ORD hours on a plastic card.
Anyway, the discussion was wether this new rule has come into effect already. Some say it came in on the 1st Jan, Others say 1st March. I don’t think it comes in until the New Tachos come in.
This means the difference between me Driving 9hrs 45min on Monday and 11hours!
I downloaded the ‘Drivers Hours and Tackograph rules guide’ from VOSA last night and read through it today.
“36. What about out of scope or off-road driving?
This may be recorded by marking on the chart - ‘Off Road or Other Work/Duty (time)’: eg OW 11.15-12.15; on some models of tachograph the mode switch can be left on other work at these times.”
I also loohed to see if there had been a recent amendment, but couldn’t find one, so as far as I am concerned ORD is still counted as Other work.
Am I right in thinking the New Hours Rules are being brought in to coincide with the implementation of the Digital Tachos??
In the legal pages of Trucking International this month they have an article about this!
In their view it is illegal to count off road driving as other work, unless it is working in a quarry or something for three or four hours. It makes interesting reading, and I tend to agree with the article now. I use to drive in factories and on Docks on other work.
The article is only the magazines interpretation, but it makes sense what they are saying
tvradict:
However, AFAIK, when the new digital tachographs come in (on the 5th August 2004 ) the ORD exemption will no longer count. Possibly due to the fact that you can’t write the ORD hours on a plastic card.
August 2004. Yes that is the correct date and has not been changed.
The reason being that the various developers of the equipment were unable to get Type Approval for their instruments in the period available.
To get the August 2004 date changed, or in other words, to get the legislation changed, would have meant taking the matter back to the EU Council of Ministers which, by that point, had acquired the 15(?) new members that joined as of 1 May 2004, and who would also have been able to vote on the subject, and possibly even reject it wholesale.
Hence we have this state of ‘limbo’ whereby dealers are supplying new vehicles that do not comply with current legislation, because the equipment is not available.
It all seems to have gone very quiet at the moment. There is no mileage in highlighting a ‘technical fiasco’, especially so soon after the experiences in Germany with their tolling system, and with a General Election on the horizon.
So current CV dealers are infact breaking the law by not fitting the digital tachos, which are not yet available. That would make for interesting arguing in court
But, if they haven’t changed the date of the Legislation from the 5th August 2004 to a slightly more appropriate date, like sometime in 3052, then where does this leave us with the ORD law.
I take Off Road Driving to be as soon as you enter a building site or ground not looked after by the Local Authority, Ie, Quarries, Docks, Depots, NDC/RDC. I spent an Hour in a quarry yesterday getting loaded, to me thats Off Road Driving, and therefore other work.
I also somehow find it very difficult for VOSA to prove you weren’t off road, you can tell them where you were, and unless your blatantly lying, how can they argue that a quarry isn’t Off Road??
And to top it all, I looked at the Drivers Hours and Tacho Rules Guide from the VOSA website which Clearly states that off road driving can be counted as Other Work.
I was about to add a comment with regard to an article in Trucking p84 (March 2005), although I think it is the same one as Wheel Nut has refered to. Interesting reading indeed!!
The most interesting bit (or worrying, depending on your perspective) is the part that reads “…Article 7 states that after 4½hrs driving a driver must take a break of at least 45 mins… The Article does not refer to 4½hrs driving on a road but applies to a driver when on a road after 4½hrs driving which is not the same thing.”
It also goes on to explain that a court would take a dim view of (for example) a driver who had been working for hours in a quarry and then came out onto the road and drove for another (possible) 4½hrs. This driver would not be sufficiently rested and therefore not safe.
“In recent years there have been several cases in which the European Court and the High Court have applied strict interpretations to the hours’ law in connection with duty time. We know of no EC judgement on the question of off-road driving. Consequently, our view is that …[off-road]… counts as driving time and has to be taken into account for breaks and daily driving limit purposes.”
I’ve got to admit to being somewhat suprised and if I was in the position of doing a lot of off-road driving I would’ve probably have been caught out.
) the ORD exemption will no longer count. Possibly due to the fact that you can’t write the ORD hours on a plastic card.
