Blog posts about Drivers’ hours

Digital driver cards and your responsibilities.

If you are a HGV or PSV driver and holder of a digital driver card you need to be aware of your responsibilities. If you are…

Free EU Drivers’ Hours Law Guide

Download our free guide to EU Drivers’ Hours Law. If you want help in managing your compliance with drivers’ hours see Smartanalysis, the leading tachograph analysis…

Drivers’ hours and tachograph offences are still No 1 for HGV Operators

Statistics published by the DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency) for FY 2015-16 shows that drivers’ hours and tachograph records offences are still the most common…

Is it time to regulate 3.5t vans with tachographs?

With over 4.3 million licensed 3.5t vans compared to around 600,000 licensed HGV’s on our roads is it time for van drivers to be regulated in…

Tachograph reports help Industrial Tribunal dismiss fraud case

The recent case of Brian Yeardley Continental’s successful defence of a “whistleblowing” case brought by a disgruntled ex-employee highlights the importance of having your tachograph and…

Have your say on EU Tachograph regulations

On 4 February 2014 the European Commission published EU Regulation 165/2014 (the new Regulation) on tachographs in road transport. The Regulation can be found here.   This new…

DfT simplifies drivers’ hours and working time advice

The DfT has attempted to improve its guidance on EU drivers’ hours and working time by simplifying the advice. The new and updated guidance is available…

1 in 5 drivers exceed drivers’ hours limits

A recent article in Commercial Fleet reported that according to research carried out by a Fleet Management Software supplier that 22% of commercial drivers in the…

RHA call for Drivers to go to jail for breaking drivers’ hours rules

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has recently called for tougher action to be taken against truck drivers who falsify their driving records.  Drivers’ hours infringements and…

Simplified guidance on EU rules on drivers’ hours and working time

Simplified but far from simple. The Department for Transport have published a new 23 page guide to simplify the EU drivers’ hours and working time rules.…

Suspended for drivers’ hours breaches

The owner of a skip hire firm was suspended from driving HGVs for breaching drivers’ hours regulations after driving for more than four-and-a-half hours without a…

Tachograph Roadside checks on the rise – Act now

There have been reports recently that the DVSA is ramping up their roadside checks. With this increased enforcement activity operators should ensure that their management of…

Time to get a grip of your HGV drivers’ hours?

Drivers’ hours infringements regularly top the offences reported by the authorities.  Road transport operators need to demonstrate they understand the requirements of law regarding the digital…

Free Guide to GB Domestic Drivers’ Hours Rules

Download our free guide to GB Domestic drivers’ hours. If you want help in managing your compliance with drivers’ hours (EU or GB) see Smartanalysis, the…

Jailed for using gadget to hide drivers’ hours

Judge James Sampson reinforced the fact that ‘tired drivers kill’ as he jailed a HGV driver for using a gadget that allowed him to exceed legal…

Maintain a compliant and safe road transport operation with COVID-19 restrictions

As a road transport operator, the current situation with COVID-19 and restrictions with social distancing present significant challenges. Some operators will be experiencing a slowdown in…

HGV Task Force issue 450 prohibitions and warnings for drivers’ hours offence in 4 months

The dedicated HGV Task Force (a joint venture with Transport for London (TfL), DVSA and the Police) issued over 600 prohibitions for un-roadworthy vehicles in just…

Compliance vs. Optimising Efficiency

Compliance management practices can transform the customer experience. Techniques for optimising road transport operations have become critical in meeting the increasing demands of customs and reducing…

Driving tired is ‘worse than being on drugs’

According to recent research, driving in state of fatigue has contributed to more road accidents in Great Britain than those impaired by taking drugs. The study…

Have your say on drivers’ hours rules

The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) work to keep our roads safe for all users with a particular focus on HGV, bus and coach drivers.…

Drivers’ hours exemptions for utility service maintenance

Some vehicles used in connection with sewerage, flood protection, water, gas and electricity maintenance may be exempt from the EC drivers’ hours rules. For vehicles to…

Are your drivers’ counting the cost of non-compliance?

Two recent cases have highlighted the significant potential cost to drivers for drivers’ hours and tachograph infringements. Driver A – Convicted on two counts of false…

Importing Tachograph Fraud

The BBC reported on an increase in tachograph tampering in the UK roads with over 440 HGVs crossing into the UK last year with manipulated tachographs.…

Licence revoked for failure to record drivers’ hours

An operator with 10 heavy goods vehicles had its licence revoked due to “an almost wholesale abrogation” of its responsibilities to ensure drivers hours and tachograph…

Hauliers disqualified for misleading authorities

Nick Jones, The West Midlands Traffic Commissioner, has disqualified two haulage firms following investigations by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for drivers’ hours offences and…

Off the rails and off the road

The boss of a Newhouse haulage firm has been given a two-year industry ban after an investigation and public inquiry into drivers’ practices. Scotland’s Traffic Commissioner,…

Is it time to close volumetric drivers’ hours loophole?

The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has called for action to regulate volumetric concrete mixers – some of the largest vehicles on the roads. Volumetric concrete mixers…

Traffic Commissioners highlight the importance of managing your drivers

In their most recent Annual Report, the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain highlighted the importance of managing professional drivers. This includes regularly examining a driver’s licence,…

Updated rules and guidance on drivers’ hours

Drivers’ hours rules and guidance have been updated on GOV.UK. If you drive a goods vehicle or a passenger-carrying vehicle you must follow the rules on…

DVSA extends period for VU digital tachograph downloads

The maximum limit for downloading digital tachograph VU data has been extended from 56 to 90 days to bring the UK in line with the rest…

On-the-spot fines for historic drivers’ hours offences start on 5th March 2018.

As of Monday 5 March 2018 the DVSA will start issuing on-the-spot fines for historic drivers’ hours offences committed in the previous 28 days. In a single…

Discover what’s new with SmartAnalysis and get 14 months for the price of 12

SmartAnalysis is probably the longest established tachograph analysis Software as a Service solution on the market serving thousands of operators of all sizes. Over the past…

Belgian authorities to clamp down on weekend rest taken in cabs?

The Belgian authorities may be taking a stricter approach to drivers taking their normal 45-hour weekend rest period in their own cab and France may also…

Volumetric vehicle exemption loophole to close?

There is growing support to bring ten vehicle exemptions into the O-licensing scheme. It is estimated that this could affect around 40,000 goods and engineering plant…

1 in 20 drivers stopped have breached drivers’ hours law

The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reported that more than 1 in 20 of goods vehicle and bus drivers stopped in the past 12 months…

HGV operator fined £1,900 for drivers’ hours offences in Northern Ireland

Eight charges relating to HGV drivers who failed to take the required daily rest resulted in a fine of £1,900 for a County Antrim-based HGV operator…

Is enforcement of driver’s hours working?

Figures reported in February this year reveal that prosecutions for drivers’ hours and tachograph offences fell by almost 30% in 2015. Figures disclosed in recent parliamentary…

How do you know if a new job will cause a drivers’ hours infringement?

A customer asked me recently if there was a tool from Descartes that allows them to pre-empt any potential drivers’ hours issues when they look to…

EU Drivers’ hours compliance – A summary guide for new drivers and operators

All professional LGV, bus and coach drivers are governed complex rules concerning the use of the vehicle tachograph and their drivers’ hours.  This summary guide provides…

No excuses for drivers’ hours offences

The Traffic commissioner for London and the South East, Nick Denton has called on road transport operators to manage their digital tachograph downloads or face the…

Are tachographs coming to vans to manage drivers’ hours?

In an attempt to regulate drivers’ hours of smaller commercial vehicles, proposals from members of the European Parliament’s transport committee would like to see all vans have…

What does the latest Fleet Compliance Checks report tell us?

The latest Fleet Compliance Checks report (2013 to 2014) was published at the end of October. The Department for Transport commissions this report. It is produced…

£1,000 fine for 20 tachograph & drivers’ hours offences

A licensed heavy goods vehicle operator was fined a total of £1,000 at Armagh Magistrates’ Court last week after being found guilty of 20 offences relating…

Earned Recognition “the gold standard”

Earned Recognition was launched by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) as business as usual at the CV Show in April. Since then over 50…

Ramping up enforcement of drivers’ hours and tachograph regulations in the EU

Thirteen HGV drivers were found guilty of tachograph fraud during a large Police Operation that took place in November in Aalter in Belgium.    In total fifty…

Tachograph and drivers’ hours offences are still No1

Tachograph and drivers’ hours offences remain the two most common offences reported by the DVSA and over 85% of the offences reported by DVSA result in…

Drivers’ hours law and tachographs post Brexit

With the UK leaving the EU at the end of March 2019 now only 5 months away, many operators are asking what this means for drivers’…

Guide to GB domestic drivers’ hours rules

If you are not familiar with GB domestic drivers’ hours rules or just need a refresher this guide will give you the basic information you need.…

Disqualified for three years

The director of a food wholesaling business that committed a number of drivers’ hours, overloading and Driver CPC offences has been disqualified from holding an Operator’s…

Are bus drivers working unsafe hours and putting the public at risk?

Matt Western, Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington writing in The House – Parliaments Magazine, presents his case to bring drivers’ hours for local routes in…

Tachograph fraud and abuse of drivers’ hours does not pay

Haulage bosses ordered to pay back over £1.6m or face more time in jail. Following a joint operation between Cumbria police and VOSA the bosses of…

Over 50% of HGV drivers on M5/M6 exceeded drivers’ hours in 12 months

In a year-long operation on the M5 between and J4 and the M6 between J6 for Spaghetti Junction and J14 more than 200 HGV drivers were…

25% of motorists admit to driving while tired

According to resent research conducted to coincide with Road Safety Week almost one in four drivers admit to driving while tired with men more prone to…

What are the top 5 prosecuted offences for HGV operators?

Statistics published by the DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency) for FY 2017-18 shows that drivers’ hours and tachograph records offences are still the most common…

Breaches of drivers’ hours – an inconvenient truth?

The latest figures from VOSA on their roadside inspections makes interesting reading. In July, Aug and Sept 2012 52,186 vehicle inspections were carried out. This is a…

Ramping up drivers’ hours enforcement in EU

EU laws regarding tachographs and drivers’ hours are ineffective if there is inadequate enforcement of them. In the UK the DVSA and Police are responsible for…

No excuse for concealing excessive driving hours

The Traffic Commissioners Office has called on operators and transport managers to be extra vigilant over drivers using more than one card to hide excessive drivers’…

Is this the worst case of breaching drivers’ hours rules?

A Glasgow operator has been disqualified and had his licence revoked after a traffic commissioner heard about “the worst case of breaching the drivers’ hours rules”…