The 13-Hour Shift and the Tired Return Leg
You started at 05:00. Your tachograph shows 4h10 driving by 11:30, then a 45-minute break, then 3h50 driving by 17:15. You are now at a delivery site where the forklift is broken; the staff say it will be fixed 'within two hours'. Your depot is 95 km away, a 1h20 drive in normal traffic. You have been awake since 03:45. Your employer's policy says drivers should be home by 20:00. You have a 10-hour extension available and have not used it this week.
1. Work out whether you can wait, deliver, and still drive back legally.
Read the worked answer
Driving so far: 4h10 + 3h50 = 8h00. You have 1 hour of normal daily driving left, or 2 hours with the 10-hour extension. The return is 1h20, so it fits within the extension but not within the normal limit.
If you wait two hours (until about 19:15), then drive 1h20, you finish around 20:35. Duty time from 05:00 is then about 15h35, which exceeds the 13-hour daily duty window (extendable to 15 hours under the derogation conditions) and is not permissible as a normal day. So the plan does not work: waiting two hours pushes you outside the duty window even before the drive. Options are to have the delivery done by another means, to return without the delivery and rebook it, or to use a second driver or overnight rest. The 10-hour extension solves the driving limit but not the duty-time limit.
2. You have been awake since 03:45. How should this affect the decision?
Read the worked answer
By 19:15 you would have been awake for about 15.5 hours, and you would then drive 1h20 in evening traffic. Fatigue at that point is significant, and the legal limits are only a floor, not a guarantee of fitness. The correct judgement is to prioritise fitness: either complete the day without the extra wait, or take a proper rest before driving. If you feel drowsy, stop; a short nap of 15–20 minutes in a safe place is better than pushing on. Record the delay and the reason, and inform the dispatcher, because the employer must plan work so that drivers can comply with the rules and remain fit.