Thursday planning with two ten-hour days already used
You are a solo driver of a 7.5 t C1 truck. Your working week began on Monday at 06:00 after a 45-hour weekly rest. The tachograph shows: Monday 9 h 30 min driving; Tuesday 10 h 00 min; Wednesday 9 h 00 min. You took a 45-minute break after each 4 h 30 min block, and your daily rests have all been at least 11 hours. On Thursday you start at 07:00 after an 11-hour rest. The planner now asks you to complete 27 h 30 min of driving by Friday 18:00, when you are due to begin a 45-hour weekly rest. The route includes a 45-minute ferry crossing at 13:00 on Thursday, which you will spend resting in the cab. You have used your driver card correctly and have no infringements so far.
1. Calculate your remaining weekly driving time and state whether the planner's request is feasible under EU 561/2006.
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Driving used so far is 9 h 30 + 10 h 00 + 9 h 00 = 28 h 30. The weekly maximum is 56 h, so 27 h 30 remain on the weekly total. The planner's figure is therefore arithmetically correct.
It is not feasible, however, because the daily limit also applies. Monday's 9 h 30 and Tuesday's 10 h 00 have already used both permitted 10-hour extensions for this week. Thursday and Friday are therefore limited to 9 hours each, giving a maximum of 18 hours. Even with perfect breaks and rests, you cannot reach 27 h 30 by Friday 18:00. The most you can add is 18 hours, taking the weekly total to 46 h 30. The plan must be changed: reduce the route, use a second driver, or move the remaining work to Saturday, which would also affect the weekly rest.
2. Produce a compliant plan for Thursday and Friday and state when your weekly rest begins and ends.
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Thursday: start 07:00, drive no more than 9 hours, and take a 45-minute break no later than after 4 h 30 of driving. The 13:00 ferry crossing can count as the break if it is uninterrupted and you do no work, but check that the timing fits; if it splits the break, use 15 minutes plus 30 minutes. Finish with enough time for an 11-hour daily rest. Friday: drive no more than 9 hours, take the required 45-minute break, and finish by 18:00.
The 45-hour weekly rest then runs from Friday 18:00 to Sunday 15:00. Do not start it early or cut it short to fit the load. If the planner wants more driving, the answer is no under the daily and weekly limits; the weekly rest must not be reduced without the proper compensation rules being applied.
3. What records must you be able to show, and how does the ferry crossing affect your break?
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You must be able to show your driver card and the tachograph records for the current day and the previous 28 days. If the ferry crossing is not recorded automatically, make a manual entry at the appropriate time so the record shows rest or break, not driving. Keep any printouts or manual entries legible and consistent.
The 45-minute ferry crossing counts as a break only if it is uninterrupted and you perform no work. It is not a daily rest, because it is far shorter than 11 hours. If you spend the crossing making phone calls, loading data or checking paperwork, it is not a break. Plan the day so the ferry sits inside the 4 h 30 driving block correctly, and be ready to explain the entry if stopped.