I think what Greg is trying to say is you poss get an easier life from the law if you have a foreign licence when regarding running over your time, breaks etc… INstead of getting charged and losing your licence all you get is a park up for 12 or 24 hours slap on the wrist, which to me sounds better than losing it for a few minor issues… Of course I do not condone running hell on bent night and day andif people are getting foreign licences for this purpose then there time will come… 
gsm31:
Tory Boy,no doubt your beloved Tory Party will have a solution for this as well.
Sad when we have to bring political name-calling into a debate which adversely affects all of us…
greg50:
ie taking 44 mins instead of 45.
do me a favour.
this is crazy,getting prosecuted for something like this.
It may be crazy, but if you took 46 you wouldn’t get prosecuted at all.
Is two minutes really THAT critical? If youre answer is yes, you’re with the wrong employer!
And are we not allowed to get bored sitting around? I often get tired of sitting around after 40 minutes. I don’t find staring at a clock for 5 more minutes at all relaxing…
scottishcruiser:
I think what Greg is trying to say is you poss get an easier life from the law if you have a foreign licence when regarding running over your time, breaks etc… INstead of getting charged and losing your licence all you get is a park up for 12 or 24 hours slap on the wrist, which to me sounds better than losing it for a few minor issues… Of course I do not condone running hell on bent night and day andif people are getting foreign licences for this purpose then there time will come…
you are right.
i wouldnt bother running bent.great thing about getting older.
#no mortgage and no young kids to keep.
money is not an issue.
i hate the way the system is.i dont run bent but still the vosa gang.
they still want to try and get you for something,no matter how minute it may be.
i wouldnt condone or work for any of those companies that want you to run day and night.
i have been there and wore the teeshirt.
never again.
some of the haulage companies do sem to think that they are immune from prosecution,irish and uk and of course dutch are probably the worst.
these companies i wouldnt go near for a job.
i would be in and out of the job within one trip
gnasty gnome:
greg50:
ie taking 44 mins instead of 45.
do me a favour.
this is crazy,getting prosecuted for something like this.It may be crazy, but if you took 46 you wouldn’t get prosecuted at all.
Is two minutes really THAT critical? If youre answer is yes, you’re with the wrong employer!
we all make mistakes.
allikat:
And are we not allowed to get bored sitting around? I often get tired of sitting around after 40 minutes. I don’t find staring at a clock for 5 more minutes at all relaxing…
what was it like in canada?
they have driving restrictions now i am led to believe.
are thay as stupid as the european laws?
fines for one minute mistakes etc
When I was there, it was all on logbooks, and the rules were easy to follow, I ran US rules the whole time, which were 11 hours driving, 14 hours shift limit, no other restrictions.
Some-one once said to me “If you don’t like the rules, whatever they are, don’t play the game”
Bit like being on this site - if I did not agree with the rules of this site, then I would not use it and find another where I did agree with the rules.
If I do not like the rules of a particular vocation then I would retrain for another type.
allikat:
When I was there, it was all on logbooks, and the rules were easy to follow, I ran US rules the whole time, which were 11 hours driving, 14 hours shift limit, no other restrictions.
pity they wouldnt do that in europe instead of the complicated way they have it with weekend break and compensation etc and split breaks legislation.
i know of a haulier who paid 4ooo euro in spainbecause the driver split his breaks,took the 30 mins first and then the 15 at a later time.
this is morally wrong and the legislators shoud be made to ease of these silly rules that are only money making issues.
the driver in question was under the impression that he was in the right,he wasnt intending to break any law.
greg50:
[the driver in question was under the impression that he was in the right,he wasnt intending to break any law.
We’ve all been there Greg. Unfortunately the authorities don’t look at it that way, as some of us know to our cost.
Where I DO have a certain amount of sympathy for those who run “close to the wire” is that there can be different definitions of what is and is not legal, from different inspectors, sometimes it seems according to whim.
Short of every one of us carrying an up-to-date copy of Croners’ or similar there’ll always be borderline differences.
I dont think any one particularly likes rules, but the majority of us has to abide by them without cause. Vosa, as much as i hate getting pulled by them, even though they make me swear when i encounter them, are in my opinion not doing enough to police this industry, and do not have sufficient powers.
There are too many foreigners on our roads, causing mayhem, blatantly disregarding the rules, and getting away with murder (that last one is a true fact). Vosa and its european counterparts, have been working on a scheme whereby any haulier/driver on international soil will or can be banned from driving as if he/she were on their home soil…and i cant wait…for it will put us on a level playing field in that department at least.
I can believe that Vosa would park someone up for a 2 minute under the limit delay on a daily break, for in the eyes of the law, whether right or wrong…that driver hasnt had a sufficient break. What i dont understand is if it was an only offence of that kind, which i doubt, it probably has happened on a few occassions. If it HAS only happened once, i certainly wouldnt change my licence for a foreign one, especially as the above new law is coming in soon, and it wouldnt make a blind bit of difference, and secondly, i would make sure i always had the legal limit breaktime, even though none of us like to sit clock watching…
At the end of the day, if it wasnt for Vosa and any other enforcement agencies, we would still be working 19 hr days, and a 7 day week…for peanuts…
truckyboy:
At the end of the day, if it wasnt for Vosa and any other enforcement agencies, we would still be working 19 hr days, and a 7 day week…for peanuts…
I bet there are more than a few employers in all industries nostalgic about those ‘good old days’ and salivating at the prospect of a return to them.