Just reading through ‘Commercial Fleet’ and there’s a piece on relaxing the rules on driving hours after Brexit.
They’ve interviewed Jacqueline O’Donavan from O’Donovan waste who is all for it as they only do short haul journeys.
What everyone’s thoughts on this, personally I just think she’s a greedy get who just wants more money. Drivers work long enough as it is and if driving laws are relaxed then planners will happily see them run in to the ground!
My favourite quote of hers is “The business operates Monday to Saturday and the drivers want to work every single Saturday”. I’m not too sure on that one love.
Best ask the drivers rather than the drivers bosses I reckon,if anything they should be reduced to max 35hrs a week because I’m a lazy ■■■■ and a 3 day week would suit me just fine 
Jaqueline O’Donovan part of the Brexit negotiating team?
No?
Oh right, just someone with pound notes going round in their eyes like some cartoon creature talking out their arse as usual then and someone else desperate to fill a page in some fleet rag reporting their waffle as if it was important.
My mate’s cousins brothers uncles dog reckons that bones will be handed out free to any passing mutt following Brexit.
edit, now i’ve calmed down and thinking laterally about this, if we made any changes at all following Brexit we could have return to the maximum 12.5 hour spreadover that we used to enjoy before we got safe and complied with EU rules and did 15 hour days.
A lot of waste firms want the hours relaxed. I worked for a waste disposal firm delivering skips, roros and bulk waste haulage to landfill for the local authority.The drivers were crying out for more overtime, longer Saturdays or even a possible Sunday, all of which were out of the question due to the eu regs and WTD.
I think they could relax them on an agreement by all driver basis (like it is for extending night shift duty). I know it may leave drivers open to forced labour by greedy, cash hungry operators. But the current rules aren’t suitable for all operations
xichrisxi:
Best ask the drivers rather than the drivers bosses I reckon,if anything they should be reduced to max 35hrs a week because I’m a lazy [zb] and a 3 day week would suit me just fine
3 Days- 3 DAYS !
I’d be happy with working 2 days, maximum 8 hours per day & a 2 hour lunch break, then have the other 5 off as weekend rest [emoji6]
You’re never going to keep everyone happy if you change the rules. Some want longer days, some want shorter ones.
Best off just keeping things the same.
An operator that wants the drivers’ hours rules to be relaxed is only concerned with how that would benefit one party, and that’s themselves.
There is a line of thinking that domestic hours could be expanded to encompass some areas that currently come under EU regs when/if we leave though.
Brexit or not the hours laws will not change or be relaxed. Simple.
switchlogic:
Brexit or not the hours laws will not change or be relaxed. Simple.
Well im pleased they wont as i think we need the regs otherwise we would be pushed even harder than we are already but they could be simplified the driver regs are necessary as iis the dvsa there there for out protection from the more unscrupulous operators
And there was another letter or article the following week saying the same thing. Can’t remember who it was - maybe a concrete place.
Of course these are only those on local Domestic work - within the 100km radius that other exemptions use so maybe it makes sense.
However - whether it’d be a good idea? I’m sure the company owners think so, but not the drivers
I would be in favour of some tweaking of it yes, then again I work for a company who never pushes you on so its just for my own advantage, making time back after being delayed, reaching desired parking places, home at the end of a week earlier etc etc
Should definitely be 10 hour drives across the board. 15 hour days everyday wouldn’t mind and trucks should all be 60mph not 56
Castillidie:
Just reading through ‘Commercial Fleet’ and there’s a piece on relaxing the rules on driving hours after Brexit.
They’ve interviewed Jacqueline O’Donavan from O’Donovan waste who is all for it as they only do short haul journeys.
What everyone’s thoughts on this, personally I just think she’s a greedy get who just wants more money. Drivers work long enough as it is and if driving laws are relaxed then planners will happily see them run in to the ground!
My favourite quote of hers is “The business operates Monday to Saturday and the drivers want to work every single Saturday”. I’m not too sure on that one love.
were all right behind you on this one Jacqueline as long as you do the same amount of hours for the same rate … yes thought not
To be fair the potential which Brexit provides,in arguing between employers and drivers,for a better domestic regs regime.Beats the dog’s dinner EU one of 15 hour shifts,silly driving time limits,limiters set at 90 kmh and tachos being applied to domestic operations at least.
ajt:
I would be in favour of some tweaking of it yes, then again I work for a company who never pushes you on so its just for my own advantage, making time back after being delayed, reaching desired parking places, home at the end of a week earlier etc etc
Should definitely be 10 hour drives across the board. 15 hour days everyday wouldn’t mind and trucks should all be 60mph not 56
Not being funny mate, and no offence, but maybe they don’t push you because judging by your opinions here they won’t have to, as it sounds like you are quite happy to work as long as they want you to…own advantage or not.
Who the ■■■■ wants to work 15 hours and drive 10 every bloody day? 
I certainly do not want to spend 80plus hours sat in a ■■■■ truck, ■■■■■■■■ to that there is more to life.
This is why the job is like it is because many drivers are willing to work every single hour in the day for that ‘straight through rate’ 
A better system to get us into proper 21st Century working conditions would be cut the hours with a revised pay structure of 40 plus overtime, the hours would then take care of the bottom line of your wages, as it once was…before drivers handed it all back on a plate in favour of longer hours, a classic turkey voting for Christmas scenario.
I received a hatful of abuse on here for suggesting the hours laws would be looked at after Brexit. I know this is only a suggestion at the moment, but the subject is being looked at.
I stand by what I have always said, Brexit will not benefit the working man in this country one bit, and 100 days on I have yet to see a single way it will.
For Christs sake they are not going to increase the bloody hours, its some wide boys ■■■■■■■■■, nothing else.
Our hours were increased back around 79/80 from the British limit of a 12.5 hour working day max to a 15 hour day to comply with EU hours, which was great for safer driving , and since then there have thousands of poor buggers falling asleep at the wheel or with matchsticks propping their lids open cos they’re been working/fiddling 70 hour weeks for bloody years on end via the POA scam.
The death toll is bad enough out there, our roads are too bloody crowded to have exhausted people at the wheel of lorries.
It aint going to happen.
Darkside:
I received a hatful of abuse on here for suggesting the hours laws would be looked at after Brexit. I know this is only a suggestion at the moment, but the subject is being looked at.
I stand by what I have always said, Brexit will not benefit the working man in this country one bit, and 100 days on I have yet to see a single way it will.
Anymore than remaining would of?
xichrisxi:
Darkside:
I received a hatful of abuse on here for suggesting the hours laws would be looked at after Brexit. I know this is only a suggestion at the moment, but the subject is being looked at.
I stand by what I have always said, Brexit will not benefit the working man in this country one bit, and 100 days on I have yet to see a single way it will.
Anymore than remaining would of?
The working class have always had to fight to improve anything and it’s been shown that it can do that better without being tied to the EU.Especially the EU as it stands now with an inbuilt subservient East Euro labour force.On that note 15 hour shifts all enforced under the watchful eye of tachos isn’t a good thing for drivers.
switchlogic:
Brexit or not the hours laws will not change or be relaxed. Simple.
This.
Two reasons.
-
The cost of change. There is so much eu legislation that is part of our law that there just isn’t the civil service bandwidth to look at changing any of it unless it has a very high political payback. Driver hours would be number 5,654 on their list of priorities.
-
The daily mail (sorry to swear). Can you imagine any politician who changed driver hours to make some transport company happy and then 5 year old Johnny got run over because a driver looked tired. They wouldn’t dare for the same reason that they didn’t dare raise the speed limit to 80 despite being advised too. No politician would want to take the flack.
(that’s a pretty good 100 th post I think).