Day-hire coach: extending a 9-hour driving day
Thomas drives a 49-seat coach for a Basel day-hire operator. His duty starts at 05:40 with a 20-minute walk-around check; the coach leaves the yard at 06:10. The tachograph record shows: driving 06:10–07:40, a 20-minute stop; driving 08:00–10:15, a 45-minute stop; driving 11:00–12:20, a 40-minute stop; driving 13:00–15:10, a 30-minute stop; driving 15:40–17:25 back at the yard. At 17:25 the dispatcher asks him to reposition the empty coach to the depot 35 minutes away, then sign off. Thomas had a 9-hour daily rest after yesterday's late finish and is scheduled to start again at 06:00 tomorrow. He feels tired but says nothing. The company uses digital tachographs and expects drivers to make manual entries for checks and breaks.
1. Calculate the recorded driving time and break pattern. Is the planned 35-minute repositioning legal under daily driving limits?
Read the worked answer
Recorded driving is 1 h 30 + 2 h 15 + 1 h 20 + 2 h 10 + 1 h 45 = 9 h 00. Breaks total 2 h 15 (20 + 45 + 40 + 30 min), so the first 45-minute break comes after 3 h 45 of driving, and no continuous driving block exceeds 4 h 30. The recorded day is therefore within the normal 9-hour daily driving limit.
The 35-minute repositioning would raise driving to 9 h 35. That is only lawful if the driver uses a 10-hour extension day, which is limited to twice per week, and only if weekly and two-week totals remain within limits. Thomas must check the tachograph for the current week before agreeing. He must also check that the reduced 9-hour daily rest is allowed and compensated, and that the later sign-off still leaves enough rest before the 06:00 start. From 05:40 to about 18:00 the duty is already long, so fatigue and working-time limits also matter. The decision is therefore conditional: not automatically illegal, but unlawful if the 10-hour extension is unavailable or if rest/weekly limits are breached.
2. What manual entries and records should Thomas make, and what should he do if the dispatcher insists he drive regardless?
Read the worked answer
The 20-minute walk-around is other work and must not be left as break or unknown; he should record it as other work. The stops used as breaks should be recorded as break where he was genuinely free from work. If he did paperwork, cleaned the coach or stayed responsible for the vehicle during a stop, that time is not a break and must be recorded accordingly. The 35-minute repositioning, if performed, must be recorded as driving. Any manual entry should be made promptly and a printout or note kept.
If the dispatcher insists after Thomas explains that the 10-hour extension is unavailable or that rest limits would be breached, he should refuse the unlawful instruction. He should notify the operations manager in writing, record the instruction and his refusal, and not falsify the tachograph. Professional duty includes protecting passengers and other road users from a fatigued driver; the dispatcher's schedule pressure does not override driving-time and rest rules.