tonite driving between methyr tedtydfil and pwllheli on the A470 if anyone know the road there is some tasty inclines and some very sharp corners. now my plan was to stop at machynlleth and have a pint or two but it started snowing so i decided to push on over the last hill /mountain and go over my time. was i right too. i seriously didn’t fancy trying it in the morning if the snow settles. i know you can get away with 15/20 mins but how far can you push your luck?
Is it April the first?
Where do you get that youll get away with 15/20 minutes over? While the drivers hours are there ,and there is a provision to exeed them in exceptional circumstances,I dont think not wishing to traverse a hilly or twisty part of the country would be included in that same provision.Possibly that you have 5 miles to go on a motorway with half an hour driving left,but were stop/start for 45 mins.It is UNFORESEEN circumstances.
Sorry,you ask were you right to go over?My answer no.
And yes,I have broken drivers hours rules.
Well, the important thing is to write the reason on the back of the card or on the printout. I would put something like “exceeded driving time due to worsening weather to reach safe parking area” and then sign and date it. This does not exempt you from prosecution but if you are stopped and your cards/ readout are generally in good shape then I would think it highly unlikely that you would be prosecuted.
Theyll love that one in the office mate,i thought id had a bad one going over by 8 mins in Aberdeen on monday but 41 mins - wow 
whiplash:
Is it April the first?
Where do you get that you`ll get away with 15/20 minutes over?
YMMV but I have been stopped around 15 or 20 times by VOSA (or the DtP as was) over the years and I think that on 3 or 4 occasions they have found a card where I have exceeded driving time by 15 or 20 minutes because there had been nowhere to park, and I have never been prosecuted for any of them.
They have always pointed out the infringement and I have always explained the circumstances in which I ran over time and they have been able to see that I do not habitually run over my hours, and drivers who habitually run over their hours are the ones they are interested in.
I was once stopped just outside Ramsgate and was 15 minutes over, and I said “Well I only live five minutes further down the road, so I’m going home because I need a bath” and they were quite happy to let me carry on with my journey.
In my personal experience, the biggest mistake you can make with VOSA is to fail the initial “attitude test”. I am always unfailingly polite and friendly when I am stopped and this seems to go a long way.
i suppose it depends on the definition unforeseen and exceptional circumstances mountain pass and the earliest snow since the dinosaurs buggered of could fit the bill i’d argue it in court anyway.
Mr B:
tonite driving between methyr tedtydfil and pwllheli on the A470 if anyone know the road there is some tasty inclines and some very sharp corners. now my plan was to stop at machynlleth and have a pint or two but it started snowing so i decided to push on over the last hill /mountain and go over my time. was i right too. i seriously didn’t fancy trying it in the morning if the snow settles. i know you can get away with 15/20 mins but how far can you push your luck?
You can’t get away with 15/20 mins over your time. And i reckon if you where stopped and checked you’d get done.
I see two alternatives here, you either write an explanation on the back of the card or printout, or you “pull the card” mid shift
I have always taken the first option and kept a complete record, and like Harry, have never been prosecuted for it. 41 minutes is far too much normally, but 7 minutes half way through a daily rest period without a card is much more serious!
Companies will threaten you with self imposed punishments, VOSA will give you the benefit of the doubt in most cases. As it is irrelevant now, because you have already done the damage. I think a straightforward explanation will be more acceptable than a blank or fraudulent record!
Mr B:
i suppose it depends on the definition unforeseen and exceptional circumstances mountain pass and the earliest snow since the dinosaurs buggered of could fit the bill i’d argue it in court anyway.
I think you would have difficulty claiming the snow as unforeseen, the Met Office have been warning it was coming in the middle of this week for at least a week.
Coffeeholic:
Mr B:
i suppose it depends on the definition unforeseen and exceptional circumstances mountain pass and the earliest snow since the dinosaurs buggered of could fit the bill i’d argue it in court anyway.I think you would have difficulty claiming the snow as unforeseen, the Met Office have been warning it was coming in the middle of this week for at least a week.
They also predicted a ‘barbeque summer’ last year!
mickfly:
Coffeeholic:
Mr B:
i suppose it depends on the definition unforeseen and exceptional circumstances mountain pass and the earliest snow since the dinosaurs buggered of could fit the bill i’d argue it in court anyway.I think you would have difficulty claiming the snow as unforeseen, the Met Office have been warning it was coming in the middle of this week for at least a week.
They also predicted a ‘barbeque summer’ last year!
Indeed they did, and I attended several barbecues during the summer. 
Harry Monk:
In my personal experience, the biggest mistake you can make with VOSA is to fail the initial “attitude test”. I am always unfailingly polite and friendly when I am stopped and this seems to go a long way.
Rule no 1 Harry. 
jeez im a bad boy… , i did 50mins over last week coming up that m74 and m8 cause of the ice and all forms of vehicals skidding all over the shop… just wrote on back of the card… gaffer told me not to worry … was’nt gonna park up for 9 hours on the hard shooder…