French ban weekly rest

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
41

Andrejs:
‘… Eastern Europian just opened company and have more economicl bussiness and first think how to spend money for repair,and more.in Uk to many company simply waste money for nothink…’

WTF? :open_mouth:

Since English is an evolving language, maybe Tony Blair, Meester Junker or a Radio One DJ could help me with this.

42

normaly drivers can taked home about 1500-1800 per month.germany drivers now work for 2000-2200 euro.in Uk some drivers have more ,some less.driving job with big money ready gone forevers,never back.and if company start not ask 2 years expirience or,and -do you hold licence for 2 years but simply will check correctlli new drivers,give good driving assestment -so plenty English ang Scottish will be agree study for licence and after work just for 20-25 k.now to many people don t want taked training ,because strugully foun first job.

43

Andrejs:
‘…normaly drivers can taked home about 1500-1800 per month.germany drivers now work for 2000-2200 euro.in Uk some drivers have more ,some less.driving job with big money ready gone forevers,never back.and if company start not ask 2 years expirience…’ etc

Oh please, Someone…!

44

so let me get this straight if your not a registered French truck its now illegal to take a 45hr break in a truck in france ■■?

45

Yes Belgium have enforced the same rule recently too

46

do any u guys who drive for living think any haulier on normal uk/Europe will say ye pull over find u a hotel we pay u and ur hotel for nice wkend of the uk hauliers can hardly pay driver and keep truck going as it is tks to fantastic eu rules that punishes what was western Europe but lets ex commi bloc run rings round us while they build up what was there poor own countries sadly ship has sailed never change now .I don’t think any of these countries would of opened there gates 4 us if it was other way round but hey chin up ur british :smiley:

47

It is crap but it is because of the way the eastern euro trucks camp out all over and don’t use any facilities but it’s to little to late. It’s a shame the British government don’t do the same but I can’t see it happening.

48

that’s right m8 been over the water quite a while not know everything but remember b4 barriers came down and it was all customs never thought id say it then but would swap it back 2 morro some bad times but more good ones :smiley:

49

ye rite there I been over water 29yrs and never thought id say it then but id swap back tomorrow customs and borders and less rules but not gonna happen so have to just carry on :smiley:

50

kr79:
It is crap but it is because of the way the eastern euro trucks camp out all over and don’t use any facilities but it’s to little to late. It’s a shame the British government don’t do the same but I can’t see it happening.

I can see a lot more parking over here, they would be stupid to ship into Belgium or France to load if they are due a 45hr break.

Ossie

51

OssieD:

kr79:
It is crap but it is because of the way the eastern euro trucks camp out all over and don’t use any facilities but it’s to little to late. It’s a shame the British government don’t do the same but I can’t see it happening.

I can see a lot more parking over here, they would be stupid to ship into Belgium or France to load if they are due a 45hr break.

Ossie

The government will probaly build them refugee camps as the nasty french are picking on them

52

The business about the boss not paying for weekly rest accommodation for the driver I find amusing. After he has had a couple of phone calls to say that the driver has returned to where the lorry was parked 48 hours earlier, but it wasn’t there any longer, then he may well change his mind.

53

Here is a reply i received from the EU dept that i wrote to regarding the ban of drivers staying in their cabs for their weekly rest in Belgium.

Thank you for the response, however i am not entirely satisfied as the
the answer. In my opinion it should be against EU regulation to forbid
a tired driver to take his weekly rest, whether in a truck ( which is
equiped for this purpose with a bed, heating, etc, and most european
drivers have facilities for cooking withb a microwave, and gas cooker
and a good supply of food, he would also have money with which to
purchase food, and pay for any facilities at a rest area. In my opinion
it is an act of discrimination against truck drivers, primarily bought
about by the hoards of east european trucks and their drivers who
clearly makes a mess, does not pay for facilities and therefore does
not contribute. On this note, may i also add that France is also
introducing familiar measures, and where does this end, as a company
that exports to the EU, how is it possible to export goods by road
throughout the eu if countries like these are prohibiting free movement
by not allowing drivers to rest properly after completing their weekly
driving hours, and where that driver cannot possibly reach his home
base due to the journey/country undertaken.
This issue should be debated in the EU parliament as an urgent request
because this could affect haulage throughout the EU.
Regards
-----Original Message-----
From: Europe Direct
To: wtruckyboy
Sent: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 11:48
Subject: [Case ID: 0918265 / 4795616] Parking for trucks
Dear Mr White,
Thank you for your message. We would like to apologise for the delay in
replying.
The Commission is aware of new national measures in Belgium imposing
sanctions for spending by a driver a regular weekly rest of minimum 45
hours in the vehicle.
In fact there is no provision in the Regulation that clearly forbids
spending the regular weekly rest in the vehicle. At the same time, it
is in the spirit of the Regulation that a driver should not be forced
by his employer to spend his regular weekly rest in the vehicle.
As you may know, the old Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 in its Article 8.7
only allowed a driver to take his daily rest in the vehicle. During the
Regulation’s revision it was proposed (and adopted in 2006) to allow a
driver to spend also his reduced weekly rest in the vehicle, if certain
conditions are fulfilled. This modification was justified by the
progress of vehicle construction and provision over last decades.
The Regulation does not establish where the driver has to spend his
regular weekly rest. However, considering the aims of the Regulation,
it is implicit that a driver should have the possibility to spend his
regular weekly rest at his home base or somewhere else and not in the
vehicle.
Enforcement and establishing a penalty system is a matter primarily for
Member States. Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, however,
requires that the penalties shall be effective, proportionate,
dissuasive and non-discriminatory. The Commission is currently
assessing whether the sanctions imposed by the Belgian authorities for
spending the regular weekly rest in the vehicle are in line with the
proportionality principle.
As assured by the Belgian authorities the control concerns only the
weekly rest that is being taken at the moment of the control, there is
no obligation for drivers to provide evidence on where they were
sleeping before.
We hope you find this information useful. Please contact us again if
you have other questions.
With kind regards,
EUROPE DIRECT Contact Centre
europa.eu - your shortcut to the EU!
Disclaimer
Please note that the information provided by EUROPE DIRECT is not
legally binding.
We would like to ask you 4 questions about the enquiry that Europe
Direct has just answered. The whole survey will take only 3 minutes of
your time.

Date: Wednesday, 25/06/2014 14:02:13
From: “Mr White”
Subject: [Case ID: 918265 / 4795616] Parking for trucks

Please accept the following which is being debated on the drivers uk
trucking site: trucknet.uk:
Belgium may ban normal weekend rests in the cab
FEBETRA, the Belgian Road Hauliers Association, has advised that, with
effect from 21 June, Belgium intends to enforce a prohibition whereby
drivers may not take normal weekend rest in the cab on Belgian soil.
Any driver taking a normal weekend rest in the cab will face a fine of
up to €1800.
FEBETRA states that the Belgian Government is allowed to enforce this
through its interpretation of Regulation 561/2006 Article 8, which
allows this facility for reduced weekly rest but not normal rest. Thus,
in the Belgian Government’s current view, if the law does not allow
something, it is prohibited.
With less than a week to go to the start of this prohibition, and with
existing contracts in place, some may be affected by this action,
especially if using sub-contractors. Furthermore, taking a normal
weekly rest in France also leaves drivers more vulnerable to
clandestine attacks.
The EU institutions have been informed of this problem and we hope for
an update in the next few days. In the meantime members may wish to
review any contracts they are about to make or review those that are in
place, and where a weekend rest may be expected to take place in
Belgium.
-----Original Message-----
From: Europe Direct
To: wtruckyboy
Sent: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 16:06
Subject: [Case ID: 0918265 / 8795623] Parking for trucks
Dear Mr White,
Thank you for your message. On the basis of the details given in your
e-mail, we have not been able to determine what Belgian law you are
referring to.
May we ask you to contact us again with more precise information, so
that we can attend to your enquiry as quickly as possible? Could you
please send us further information/references about the Belgian law you
are mentioning in your e-mail?
With kind regards,
EUROPE DIRECT Contact Centre
europa.eu - your shortcut to the EU!
Disclaimer
Please note that the information provided by EUROPE DIRECT is not
legally binding.
We would like to ask you 4 questions about the enquiry that Europe
Direct has just answered. The whole survey will take only 3 minutes of
your time.

Date: Monday, 23/06/2014 15:53:24
From: “Mr White”
Subject: [Case ID: 918265 / 8795623] Parking for trucks

Sir as a retired truck driver, who still does a small amount of
international driving, perhaps you can tell me why Belgium has banned
all truck drivers from its parking network for the obligatory 45 hour
weekly rest period, this came into effect on 21/06/2014, and what I
believe to be illegal under Eu legislation, and should be reversed
immediately, i await your prompt response.

54

So you park up in Belguim for a 45.Pull in,curtains around and relax,anyone knocks on door ignore them,getting out for a wotsit carefully peek out first…
Cooking do it in the cab and if you go off for a wander, quick look around first before you climb out and when you come back check on ones watching…
…now where’s the problem.Rules and regulations are only imposed for us to find a way around them.STOP WHINGING.

55

Armagedon thats fine in principal, MY argument is whether they are right to enforce this, and your idea is great if you dont get caught, which means no rocking the cab, no steams coming from the vents whilst cooking, winter is night heater time, and thats not forgetting radio,tv, laptop etc which is barely loud enough to hear, if you have 1800 euros to spare, or 30,000 euros for France and stand the french prison all well and good, but there are a far lot more drivers who cannot afford to get caught because of the repercusions, and lets not forget the East European drivers who probably wont get paid for being parked up, let alone pay these exhorbitant punishments for a law that shouldnt be there in the first place. The original law only stipulated a driver being allowed to spend his daily rest in the vehicle, and the law was changed to include a drivers weekly rest, however there is nothing in the regulations to stop a driver from sleeping in his vehicle for his weekly rest, but it seems that Belgium and France can change the rules for their own particular use, the same it seems is also allowed in other member states which to my mind is wrong. Just imagine your boss sending you across the water to lets say Reims on a Friday, you tip, and then they tell you your backload wont be ready till Monday, your due to take a 45 this weekend cos you reduced on the last one, so you phone the boss, he says you have to wait till Monday therefore weekending you, the only problem is he is having to pay for your hotel from Friday night till Monday, plus your food cos you are not allowed in the truck ( im talking about a driver who obeys the law of the land here ) so your bosses costs have gone up by around £300-£400 + who pays for that ? so it is going to very costly for a lot of companies, the planners will have to plan a lot better than just nip across to France or Belgium` and maybe to have to hire in extra staff for the ones who cant ship out because of their weekly rest and would probably be likely to be weekended in France, as we did in the old days at the bakehouse.

56

truckyboy:
so your bosses costs have gone up by around £300-£400 + who pays for that

The company who wants the goods delivered. Any haulier doing the transport will have the same cost, so the sender will have to pay the extra cost to transport their goods and the driver gets a hotel to relax in for the weekend. its a win win situation for drivers but you want it stopping :cry: nice to be retired is it :question:

57

Truckyboy calm down,let’s consider Norbert who employs 1,000s of East European drivers and is French but who these regulations will not affect.
Norbert also has 100’s of depots all over France so his drivers will be able to hide in the yard while everyone else will hide behind their curtains.
And I would add operators might just have to build a friendly relationship with other operators to allow their vehicles to park up safely in a foreign
land while the driver takes his break in a hotel which can be had in France for about £20 or perhaps factories taking delivery of goods can start to
offer parking,and many of my customers in France would not mind the rig being parked up in their yard for a weekend.Problem…no problem.

58

mr armagedon ye could try the close curtains but apart from being trapped in tin box on your time of u probably gonna want to run that truck for while if u been watching t.v.microwave.etc for batteries then mr gendarmerie just happens by and bingo fine :smiley:

59

Closing the curtains won’t alter your tacho :laughing:

60

truckyboy:
however there is nothing in the regulations to stop a driver from sleeping in his vehicle for his weekly rest,

Yes there is when it comes to full weekly rest.

truckyboy:
but it seems that Belgium and France can change the rules for their own particular use,

They aren’t changing the rules, they are simply enforcing a part of the regulations which up until now has been ignored. The EU are not going to do anything about it because they wrote the rules so they are not going to step in and tell a country to not enforce a regulation they put in place.

I’ve pointed this rule out for a good number of years on here and it was only a matter of time before some countries started enforcing it, not many people believed it was correct or that it would happen. It was only a matter of time and only required one country to make the move and many others would follow. It shouldn’t just be one or two countries enforcing, it should be all of them then it is less of an issue.

My youngest son does quite a lot of driving in Europe, particularly France and doesn’t sleep in the cab. Just spoke to him and he pays between about €35 (Formula 1 type hotel) and €50 (Ibis Budget type hotel with own shower and toilet). If the boss is sending you away for a couple of weeks and the job won’t stand €70 for a couple of nights in a hotel for the full weekly rest period then the job probably hasn’t been priced correctly and isn’t worth doing. Those prices are usually per room so even if the truck is double manned the hotel won’t cost more for two drivers. I used to book into a Formula 1 or similar hotel, there is no shortage of them, sometimes when I was driving just for a break from the cab and they are clean and comfortable and it really doesn’t break the bank.