The DVSA has clarified how it will enforce the ban on drivers taking their full weekly rest period in their cabs, assuring drivers that they will still be able to rest at a truck stop.
In a clarification issued to the RHA, DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn said the agency will only impose sanctions on drivers taking their full weekly rest in cabs on or adjacent to public roads, such as lay-bys, or places with no toilets, showers or food facilities.
Drivers will still legally be able to take overnight or reduce weekly rest periods in their trucks. A full 45-hour weekly rest period, taken in whole or in part in a cab outside of a formal rest area, will not be considered legal.
From 1 November, drivers and operators found in breach of the rules may face:
The DVSA will target areas where the problem is the “most intense”, including Kent and the approaches to certain ports.
Enforcement officers will examine tachograph records at times when drivers are not taking their weekly rest to make sure a weekly rest breach has not been committed.
If the driver or operator can prove that the full weekly rest was taken appropriately, then no action will be taken.
RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “It would be totally inappropriate to ban all in-cab weekly rests, the impact on UK international and long distance operators would have been catastrophic.
“The problem we have is with is inconsiderate, and sometimes illegal weekly rests taken where there are no facilities. That is bad for the public, for the reputation of the industry, for drivers’ health and for the safety of other road users.”
