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 had breached drivers’ hours regulations. In 2016/17, the DVSA made nearly 90,000 drivers’ hours checks. 5.3 per cent of the drivers checked had breached the limits. Whilst this is a significant improvement over the previous year when the offending rate was 7.3 per cent it is still too high. The drivers’ hours offenders included:

• 5.1 per cent of GB lorry drivers
• 5.9 per cent of foreign lorry drivers
• 9.4 per cent of foreign light goods vehicle drivers
• 3.7 per cent of GB bus and coach drivers
• 4.9 per cent of foreign bus and coach drivers

DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn said: “The figures might be going in the right direction but with more than 1 in 20 drivers checked committing an offence, they are still far too high.” Things will get tougher for drivers that breach drivers’ hours regulations with the introduction of fines for historic offences committed in the past 28 days introduced in March this year. Drivers can now face fines of up to £1,500 in a single check, irrespective of whether the offences took place in Great Britain or elsewhere. Descartes introduced Smartanalysis Pre-pay to help smaller operators manage their compliance with drivers’ hours law. Costing £40 per driver per year (or less for over 10 drivers) a £1,500 fine would pay for the tachograph analysis and drivers hours management solution for over 37 years! Get a quote for your fleet. Source: DVSA