The UK Government have introduced temporary drivers’ hours rules in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The UK Government has lapsed the regulations of driver hours due to the unprecedented strain and pressure that has been placed upon the supply chain in the UK. From March 1st to March 21st, Britons spent an additional £1.9bn on groceries. As a result, along with the increased need for time-critical medical equipment deliveries, hauliers have been presented with a huge undertaking. Based on this, temporary measures have been put in place.
Operators do not need to ask the department for a temporary ‘urgent’ exemption for these type of journeys. The emergency exemptions cease to apply once the situation is under control and there is no longer a need for immediate preventative action.
The relaxations are will be operational until April 21st. At which time, a further review will be undertaken to assess the necessity of the measures.
The following EU rules have been temporarily relaxed:
- a) Replacement of the EU daily driving limit of 9 hours with one of 11 hours
- b) Reduction of the daily rest requirements from 11 to 9 hours
- c) Lifting the weekly (56 hours) and fortnightly driving limits (90 hours) to 60 and 96 hours respectively
- d) Postponement of the requirement to start a weekly rest period after six 24 hours periods, for after seven 24 hours period; although 2 regular weekly rest periods or a regular and a reduced weekly rest period will still be required within a fortnight
- e) The requirements for daily breaks of 45 minutes after 4.5 hours driving replaced with a break of 45 minutes after 5.5 hours of driving
- f) Drivers using the relaxation at ‘b’, reducing their daily rest from 11 hours to 9, can still use the derogation allowing them to interrupt their daily rest, by up to one hour, to embark and disembark from a train or a ferry
Drivers must not use relaxation ‘a’ and ‘d’ at the same time. This is to ensure drivers can get adequate rest.
The following GB rules have been temporarily relaxed:
- a) Replacement of the GB duty time limit of 11 hours with 12 hours
- b) Replacement of the GB daily driving time limit of 10 hours with 11 hours
Drivers can only take advantage of this temporary relaxation 5 days in any 7 day period, and must take a rest period of 24 hours within the same 7 day period when taking advantage of this relaxation.
Should you be using the Additional Time?
It should be noted that the existing measurements are in place to keep all road users, especially your drivers, safe. These allowances have been designed as a contingency measure and should only be used when necessary. These measures are designed to help the transportation of critical goods including food, medicine and health and fuel, along with other necessities.
The Road Haulage Association and Freight Transport Association encourage fleet operators to follow this additional advice.
How can HaulTech help you?
Effective and efficient resource management through the intuitive online portal can allow transport organisations to avoid the use of the new restrictions by appropriately managing work, staff and vehicles. HaulTech offer software and hardware solutions that can ease the burden of managing these resources.
HaulTech’s Transport Management Software allows fleet operators to book work, create loads and assign jobs to maximise the revenue and profitability per load. HaulTech’s range of vehicle hardware solutions can help the fleet operator and their driver to continue operating in the safest possible way.
TrakMan vehicle tracking will allow you to accurately locate a vehicle, and with radius location settings, highlight which vehicle is closest to a certain location or customer. Eliminating unnecessary work will reduce fuel spend, maximise driver throughput whilst increasing profitability and reducing costs.
Fleet operators can also access live Tachograph data via the TrakMan platform. This data will provide the transport manager with clear knowledge of hours worked, hours driven, and rest/breaks taken – all without the need to contact the driver!
Contact the team today to learn more about how HaulTech can support your fleet both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Integrated vehicle CCTV and tracking units start from as little as 26p per day.
