Guidance notes on the
implementation of Community
rules on driving times and
rest periods of professional
drivers
In accordance with
Article 22 (4) of
Regulation (EC) No
561/2006 the Commission
shall support dialogue
between Member States
concerning national
interpretation and
application of the
Regulation. Therefore,
the Commission has
established a Legal
Working Group on the
harmonized application
of social rules in road
transport under the
auspices of the
Committee on social
rules in road transport.
The following guidance
notes have been drafted
by the Commission with
the assistance of
experts from enforcement
bodies, employees
organisations and
industry. They provide
comments on certain
provisions of the
Regulation with the aim
to improve efficiency
and effectiveness in the
enforcement of these
rules.
SOCIAL
LEGISLATION IN ROAD TRANSPORT Regulation
(EC) No 561/2006, Directive 2006/22/EC,
Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85
GUIDANCE NOTE 1
Deviation from minimum rest and maximum
driving limits in order to find a suitable
stopping place.
GUIDANCE NOTE 2
Recording the travelling time of a driver to
a location that is not the usual place (Also
includes multi manned vehicles)
GUIDANCE NOTE 3
MOVEMENT DURING BREAK DAILY/WEEKLY REST
GUIDANCE NOTE 4
Multidrop
GUIDANCE NOTE 6 TIME
ON FERRY/TRAIN
IP/08/1507
Brussels, 15
October 2008
Road
transport: new working time directive to
cover false self-employed drivers
The
European Commission adopted today a proposal
to modify the directive on working time in
road transport. The new proposal aims to
ensure that the existing working time rules
apply to all employed professional drivers,
including false self-employed workers.
"It is
essential that all drivers dependent upon a
single employer enjoy the same level of
social protection", said Antonio Tajani,
Commission Vice-President responsible for
transport. "Europe cannot tolerate risks to
road safety, unfair competition and
circumvention of social protection arising
where employers require their workers to
declare themselves to be self-employed".
The
Commission proposes today to clarify
Directive 2002/15/EC[1]
in order to guarantee that so-called 'false
self-employed drivers'[2]
are fully covered by the rules concerning
mobile workers and reinforce controls to
ensure a correct application of this
legislation. The proposal also intends to
enhance cooperation among Member States by
exchanging information and good practices as
well as promoting a common approach to
implementation.
Furthermore,
current night time provisions are to be
aligned with other EU legislation.
For more
information see:
DIRECTIVE OF THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
amending Directive 2002/15/EC on the
organisation of the working time of persons
performing mobile road transport activities
Brussels, 23
January 2009
Commission Recommendation on
guidelines for best enforcement practice
concerning checks of recording equipment to
be carried out at roadside checks and by
authorised workshops
For more information see:
COMMISSION
RECOMMENDATION of 23 January 2009 on
guidelines for best enforcement practice
concerning checks of recording equipment to
be carried out at roadside checks and by
authorised workshops
Brussels, 23
January 2009
Digital
tachograph for road transport: new measures
to prevent fraud and equip light vehicles
Today,
the European Commission adopted a package of
measures aimed at detecting and preventing
abuses of the tachograph system, used to
record the driving time and rest periods of
professional drivers. Furthermore, the new
legislation permits the use of dedicated,
type-approved adaptors for light vehicles
that are required to comply with the
Drivers' Hours and Tachograph rules.
Firstly,
amendments to Directive 2006/22/EC , which
deals with enforcement and checks of social
rules relating to road transport activities,
require Member States to develop dedicated
equipment and software that can be used to
analyse the data from the digital
tachograph. Secondly, a Commission
Recommendation sets out best practice
guidelines for national control authorities
when carrying out checks of vehicles and the
recording equipment, whether at the
roadside, at company premises, or at
workshops.
This package
of measures will significantly improve the
methods and procedures used by control
authorities in detecting and preventing the
use of devices intended to defraud the
tachograph system, whilst at the same time
keeping unnecessary delays and inconvenience
to law-abiding operators and drivers to an
absolute minimum.
Regulation
(EEC) 3821/85 , as amended in 2006, requires
that digital tachographs are fitted into
goods vehicles and buses that come into
scope of the Drivers' Hours rules and which
are first brought into service after 1st May
2006. However, for some light vehicles (M1
and N1 class), it was technically not
possible to install the equipment in such a
way that it meets all of its functional and
security requirements. The new Commission
Regulation now corrects this technical
shortcoming by allowing the use of a
dedicated, type-approved adaptor for these
vehicles.
For more
information see:
COMMISSION DIRECTIVE
2009-4-EC.pdf
IP/09/197
Brussels, 30 January
Commercial road transport: an important step towards harmonised rules on enforcement
The European Commission adopted today a directive that establishes a common grading of the most common infringements to the so-called "social rules" in the road transport sector (those that govern driving hours and rest periods of professional drivers in the EU). Establishing a typology of infringements on the basis of their seriousness will put an end to the present situation, where the same infringement may be considered a minor infringement in one country and a more serious infringement in another country. This decision is the response of the Commission to concerns voiced by the road transport industry over the lack of harmonised rules in this area, which undermines fair competition and the smooth operation of businesses.
The new categorisation[1] distinguishes three levels of infringements: minor infringements, serious infringements and very serious infringements. The severity of an infringement depends on its influence on road safety. Actions that make monitoring compliance with social legislation impossible, such as fraud on the tachograph, are classified as very serious.
The new categories of infringements should serve as the basis for the risk rating systems that Member States are obliged to establish, according to the control directive[2], in order to better target checks on undertakings. Undertakings have to be rated according to their controls record and to the infringements committed. Those with a high risk rating will be checked more closely and more often.
As the common categorisation will also facilitate the exchange of information between Member States, undertakings committing infringements abroad will be controlled more closely by the Member State of establishment.
The text of the Commission directive amending the control directive can be found here:
Commission Directive amending Annex III to Directive 2006/22/EC.pdf
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