Tachographs, tachograph chart analysis digital tachograph and drivers card analysis and drivers hours legislation.

DOUBLE MANNED VEHICLES

There is a great deal of confusion whether the time spent alongside a driver whilst the vehicle is moving is or is not a break. Below is our interpretation that says it is not.

Under Article 15 (3) Council Regulation (EEC) 3821/85, as amended by REGULATION (EC) No 561/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport and amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 3821/85 and (EC) No 2135/98 and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85.

It states:

'Drivers shall operate the switch mechanism enabling the following periods of time to be recorded separately and distinctly'

Under the sign of the steering wheel: Driving time

Under the sign of crossed hammers : All other periods of work

Under the sign of the box: “availability” defined in Article 3(b) of Directive 2002/15/EC must be recorded under this sign.

One of the activities to be recorded under this sign under Article 3(b) is: for mobile workers driving in a team, the time spent sitting next to the driver or on the couchette while the vehicle is in motion;

Under the sign of the bed: Breaks in work and daily rest periods.

This Article separates the duties to be recorded under the 4 signs and categorically states that breaks must be recorded under the sign of the bed.

Therefore the time spent in the second man position, whilst the vehicle is moving, is a period of availability, not rest.

Current regulations now refer to multi-manning.

‘multi-manning’ means the situation where, during each period of driving between any two consecutive daily rest periods, or between a daily rest period and a weekly rest
period, there are at least two drivers in the vehicle to do the driving. For the first hour of multi-manning the presence of another driver or drivers is optional but for the remainder of the period it is compulsory;

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Under the old Council Regulation (EEC) 3820/85 VOSA classed this time as rest based on their interpretation of Article 7 paragraph 4, which states;

1. After four-and-a-half hours driving the driver shall observe a break of at least 45 minutes unless he begins a rest period.

4. During these breaks the driver may not carry out any other work. For the purposes of this Article time not devoted to driving spent in a vehicle in motion shall not be regarded as 'other work'

Clearly it was not other work, but neither was it rest - it was and still is a period of availability.

Under the current REGULATION (EC) No 561/2006 Article 7 it states:

After a driving period of four and a half hours a driver shall take an uninterrupted break of not less than 45 minutes, unless he takes a rest period.

This break may be replaced by a break of at least 15 minutes followed by a break of at least 30 minutes each distributed over the period in such a way as to comply with the provisions
of the first paragraph.

The above paragraph 7(4) was not included in this new regulation. Therefore any interpretation of time spent in the second man position, whilst the vehicle is moving, as rest is incorrect.

New generation tachographs will not allow you to select rest, whilst in the second man position, whilst the vehicle is moving. Why? Because it is not rest.

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