Solo driver facing a tight deadline under fatigue rules
A solo heavy vehicle driver starts a shift at 5:00 am after sleeping only five hours. The plan is a 900 km run with a delivery deadline at 6:00 pm. The driver has already worked 10 hours in the previous 24 hours and had a 7-hour break overnight. The employer says the run is urgent and offers a cash bonus to skip the scheduled rest break. The driver feels tired but not exhausted at the start. The route has few rest areas, and the next suitable stopping point is 220 km away.
1. What fatigue-management obligations apply to this solo driver, and what must happen before the run starts?
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The driver is subject to heavy vehicle fatigue management rules for solo drivers. The key obligations:
- Minimum continuous rest: a solo driver must take at least 7 continuous hours of rest in each 24-hour period. The driver had 7 hours overnight, which is the bare minimum - but only five hours of actual sleep means the rest was not restorative.
- Maximum work limits: solo drivers have maximum work time and minimum rest break requirements within a work period. Skipping a scheduled rest break is not permitted, and an employer cannot lawfully direct or reward a driver to breach fatigue rules.
- Fitness to drive: the driver must not drive while fatigued. Starting a 900 km run on five hours' sleep, with a 6:00 pm deadline, is a high-risk plan.
Before starting, the driver should:
- Decline the bonus offer to skip the break - it is unlawful and unsafe.
- Re-plan the trip so that required rest breaks fit within the schedule, or delay the delivery.
- Assess fitness honestly; if too tired to drive safely, do not start.
- Record the work and rest in the national driver work diary as required.
The employer's urgency does not override the rules.
2. During the run, how should the driver manage the 220 km gap to the next rest area?
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The driver should:
- Plan the break before departure, not improvise. Identify the 220 km point as a planned rest stop and calculate whether the required break fits the schedule.
- Monitor for fatigue signs - yawning, heavy eyes, drifting, missing signs, difficulty concentrating. These mean stop sooner, not push on.
- Use the scheduled break properly: stop, get out, move around, and rest. A break is not a fuel stop with a coffee in the cab.
- If fatigue becomes severe before 220 km, stop at the first safe place - a rest area, truck bay or off-road pull-off - rather than pressing on. Safety overrides the schedule.
- Avoid relying on caffeine as a substitute for rest; it masks fatigue temporarily and does not restore alertness.
- Keep the work diary current so the rest is recorded and the remaining schedule can be checked against the limits.
If the schedule cannot accommodate the required rest, the driver should contact the employer and adjust the delivery time rather than breach the rules.