Driving and Rest Times, Tachograph and Professional Rules
EU rules for professional bus and coach drivers are precise and frequently examined. Daily driving is normally limited to nine hours, extendable to ten hours twice a week. Weekly driving is capped at 56 hours, and the two-week total at 90 hours. After 4.5 hours of driving you must take a break of at least 45 minutes, which may be split into 15 minutes followed by 30 minutes. Daily rest is normally 11 hours, reducible to nine hours no more than three times between weekly rests. A regular weekly rest is 45 hours, reducible to 24 hours with compensation taken en bloc before the end of the third following week.
The tachograph records driving, other work, availability and rest. The driver card is personal, must not be used by anyone else, and must be inserted whenever you drive. Manual entries are needed for periods the equipment cannot record. Records must be produced on request to inspectors.
Traps. Questions confuse the 15+30 split with a 30+15 split, which is not valid. Another trap is the occasional passenger-transport exemption for short domestic journeys, which is narrow and must not be assumed. Also, availability is not rest: waiting time counts differently, and misrecording it is an offence.
Rule of thumb: "four and a half hours driving, then a 45-minute break; 15 then 30." Worked example: you drive 2 hours, take 20 minutes' break, drive 2.5 hours. The 20 minutes does not count as the first part of a split break because it is not 15 or 30; you must still complete a full 45-minute break.