There are many infringements being committed by drivers not taking the correct breaks at the right times.  Below are 

examples which try to explain how breaks should be taken to avoid exceeding four and a half hour driving periods.

After four and a half hours driving, whether continuous or accumulated, a driver must observe a break of at least 45 minutes, unless he commences a daily or weekly rest period.  This break may be replaced by breaks of at least 15 minutes, each distributed throughout the driving period or immediately after it, in such a way as to comply with the above.  i.e. that at the end of the four and a half hours driving there has been a total of 45 minutes break.

These beaks do not have to be multiples of 15 minutes they can for example be 15+30, 20+25, 21+24, 15+15+15, 19+26, etc.  As long as the minimum is 15 minutes and the total after four and a half hours driving is 45 minutes they can be any combination.

Once a break of 45 minutes has been taken another driving period is commenced and this does not have to be after four and a half hours driving.  For example if a break of 50 minutes is taken after only 2 hours driving another driving period is started.  To determine whether or not a break is required the driver starts at the beginning of the day, working forwards only, calculating the driving time and the breaks.  Once four and a half hours driving is reached there must have been 45 minutes break.  Also once 45 minutes or more break has been taken a new driving period starts.  So if a break of 23 minutes is taken after 2 hours driving and then 22 minutes break is taken after another 1 hours driving, a new driving period of four and a half hours driving now starts.

The breaks must be taken during and immediately after the driving.  You cannot record other duty and then break at the end of four and a half hours driving.

Driving means exactly that, it does not include other duty or 'off road' driving.  A driver may be on duty for much longer than four and a half hours and may never need to take a break if he has not driven for four and a half hours.

During these breaks the driver may not be responsible for any other work and must be free to dispose of his own time.  For the purposes of this article the waiting time and time not devoted to driving in a vehicle in motion, a ferry, or train, shall not be regarded as 'other work'. (see double manning)

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In this example the driver takes one and a half hours break after two hours driving.  Because he has take over 45 minutes break he now commences another driving period at point A.  This means from this point onwards he drives for 5 hours with just a 30 minute break.  If we look at the next example however he can perform the exactly the same duty and keep within the law.

In this example the same duty is performed, except that instead of taking one and a half hours break at 03.00 hours, the driver takes only 15 minutes.  He then has one and a quarter hours on other duty.  He then takes another 30 minutes break at 07.00hrs.  Under these circumstances because he only took 15 minutes break at 03.00 hours, the next driving period does not start until 07.30, point B, when he has only performed four and a half hours driving.  He has performed exactly the same amount of driving to this point,  but has not committed any offence.  It is important to realise that both the amount of break and the way in which it is  distributed is as important as the amount of driving.

Many offences of this nature are committed because the driver works out his breaks before he sets off.  He knows the drops that he has and decides to take 3x15 minute breaks.  However at his first break he  takes 22 minutes thinking that he has taken his first 15 minute break.  On his second break he takes 23 or more minutes, thinking that he has now taken his second 15 minute break.  However he has taken 45 minutes break and has now commenced another driving period, and not after his third 15 minute break, when he thinks his next four and a half hour driving period is going to start.

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