For instance…
I go onto rest but have to move before 15 mins. It’s not counted as a break so will it be classified as driving time ?
As in say that 10 mins can’t be added to the drive…
steve_24v:
For instance…I go onto rest but have to move before 15 mins. It’s not counted as a break so will it be classified as driving time ?
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no, that would counted as other work
I assume you mean that you park up and select rest. on the tacho. After 10 minutes you need to move (for whatever reason) and drive off. As far as EC Regs are concerned, the 10 minutes is not rest as it’s not 15 minutes, if you catch my drift. The 10 minutes is not driving as the vehicle was stationary and you were freely able to dispose of your time (the EC definition of rest / break, which you would have to satisfy to call the period rest in the first place). At best it could be called duty under the EC Regs, which should really be recorded under the ‘box’ symbol. But probably best not to go there.
It won’t be a break as far as counting towards a 45 minute break goes but it doesn’t really matter if you count it as a short break or other work, it will be part of your overall shift time. Either way it isn’t driving time.
The regulations only say that for the purpose of a break the minimum is 15 minutes, they don’t say that anything less than this is other work.
geebee45:
At best it could be called duty under the EC Regs, which should really be recorded under the ‘box’ symbol.
No, duty is the period from starting shift to ending it so at any time during the day you could be recording it under bed, box, hammers or driving. A 45 minute break still counts towards your “duty” time.
if you are not driving or doing other work then a break is still a break no matter how short it is. This is a popular misconception among drivers when they assume that if it is less than 15 minutes, and cannot be counted towards a 45, it must be other work.
Further clarification. The following is from the VOSA site.
FAQ.11) What defines a break?
A break is a period of time in which you undertake no driving or other work (such as loading/unloading). Time spent waiting for your vehicle to be loaded/unloaded may be classed as a break period, provided you are not required to undertake any tasks during this period.
FAQ.13) Can breaks of less than 15 minutes count towards the 45 minute break?
No. Only breaks of 15 minutes or more may count towards the minimum 45 minute break requirement. Breaks of less than 15 minutes do not count.
You can see from this that they still call a period of less than 15 minutes a break, they just confirm, it cannot count toward a 45 minute break.
You can find an example on the VOSa sitehere that shows a period of 10 minutes referred to as a break.