I have just discovered that I have been taking a longer break than I need, legally anyway. I have always assumed that after six hours work I should take a 30 minute break. So even if I have had a break of 30 minutes or more in the morning ( while some luckless sod is unloading the box) if I work for another six hours I would take another 30 minute break. But if I understand the regs right I need only take 15 minutes.
Am i correct in thinking this.
This often hapens if I tip some where near work in the morning and get sent to freighliner manchester in the afternoon so maybe queing for a couple of hours or so.
Also would I be right in thinking that if it takes at least 45 minutes to unload and I have it on break the entire time and i work a 13 hour shift I don’t need any further break as this will qualify as the 45 minutes I need ?
Or does 15 minutes have to be taken between 6 and 9 hours
15 mins is fine
45 mins in a 13 hour shift does not quite work -
work 6 hours - 45 min break - work 6 hours and 15 mins = 13 hours shift time
the last portion went over 6 hours without a 15 min break
No requirement to have a second 15 mins between 6 and 9 hours
the 6 to 9 hours is referring to the total amount of break required if a shift is between 6 & 9 hours of work but that gets completely ignored as a rule if the total work in a shift goes over 9 hours as the the next rule applies which is for a total of 45 mins to be taken within a work shift of over 9 hours
For most drivers the RTD gets ignored as no-one in authority seems to bother checking on it and in most cases the tacho driving breaks cover it anyway 
knight:
Also would I be right in thinking that if it takes at least 45 minutes to unload and I have it on break the entire time and i work a 13 hour shift I don’t need any further break as this will qualify as the 45 minutes I need ?
Or does 15 minutes have to be taken between 6 and 9 hours
As ROG said you don’t need to take a break between 6 and 9 hours, if your shift will have more than 9 hours work in it. However, the 15 minute break before exceeding 6 hours does apply to any 6 hour period of work and not just the first 6 hours of work in the shift, which is something a lot of drivers assume to be the case.
Thank you chaps much appreciated.Was given a truck with a digital tacho last week which I thought I knew how to use, then found out I didn’t. So I decided to reeducate myself with all the rules and regulations which have faded from my addled brain over the last six years, so there might be some more questions soon 