Split Break and a Ferry That Will Not Wait
You are a sole driver of a 40-tonne articulated lorry carrying a mixed load of packaged chemicals (UN 1263, paint, packing group II, 600 litres in 20-litre cans) and general cargo. You must reach the ferry at Ruse by 21:30; the next sailing is 06:00 the following morning. It is now 15:10. Your tachograph record for today shows: 06:00–06:25 other work, 06:25–10:55 driving, 10:55–11:40 break, 11:40–12:10 loading, 12:10–15:10 driving. You have not yet taken a weekly rest this week beyond a 24-hour reduced rest that ended Monday at 05:00. Your transport manager suggests recording the 35 minutes of waiting at the chemical plant as 'break' so you can reach the ferry without stopping.
1. Assess the legality of the manager's suggestion and state your exact remaining driving allowance before a break is required.
Read the worked answer
The suggestion is unlawful if you were not free to dispose of your time during those 35 minutes. Break means time used exclusively for recuperation, with no work and no obligation to remain at the employer's disposal. Waiting to be loaded, being on call, or supervising loading is other work or availability, not break.
Calculate the driving:
- 06:25–10:55 = 4 h 30 min driving.
- 12:10–15:10 = 3 h 00 min driving.
- Total so far = 7 h 30 min.
The 45-minute break at 10:55–11:40 was correctly taken and reset the 4 h 30 min counter. Since 12:10 you have driven 3 h 00 min, so you have 1 h 30 min of driving before the next 45-minute break (or 15 + 30 split) is due.
Re-recording the 35 minutes as break would create a false record - a serious infringement and, in Bulgaria as elsewhere in the EU, a matter that can attract penalties against both driver and operator. If you need the time, take a genuine 45-minute break, or a genuine 15-minute break now and a 30-minute break later. Reaching the 21:30 ferry is not a legal justification for falsification; the 06:00 sailing is the fallback.
2. Assuming you take the break legally and board the 21:30 ferry, explain how the ferry crossing and the weekly rest interact, and what you must plan for.
Read the worked answer
Two separate regimes apply.
Driving and breaks: a ferry crossing may be interrupted by a break or rest if you have access to a bunk or couchette. The interruption may be taken in two parts, but the total must be at least the required break or rest length and the vehicle must be accompanied. If you have a couchette, the crossing time can count as rest for the purposes of the daily rest, provided the total daily rest still reaches the required length.
Daily rest: you started at 06:00, so a regular daily rest of 11 hours must begin by 22:00 if it is to be completed within the 24-hour period. If you board at 21:30 and go straight to the bunk, you can realistically take a regular daily rest. If you cannot, you would need a reduced daily rest of at least 9 hours, of which you have a limited number (three between weekly rests).
Weekly rest: your last full weekly rest ended Monday 05:00. A regular weekly rest is 45 hours; a reduced one is at least 24 hours and must be compensated en bloc by an equivalent period attached to another rest of at least 9 hours before the end of the third week following. You have already used a reduced rest of 24 hours, so check whether you have a second reduced rest available in this fixed week - normally only one reduced weekly rest is permitted between two regular weekly rests. Plan the weekend so that a full 45-hour regular weekly rest is taken, and record the ferry time accurately rather than assuming it counts.