School tour: split breaks, a ferry and a shortened night
You drive a 49-seat bus with a luggage trailer on a three-day school tour. On day 1 you leave at 06:00. Driving: 2 h 15 min, a 30 min stop, 2 h 25 min, a 15 min stop, then 1 h 50 min to the hotel. Total driving 6 h 30 min. Day 2 starts with a 45 min drive to the ferry, a 1 h crossing, then 3 h 20 min driving to a museum and 1 h 30 min to the hotel. The teacher asks for a 05:45 departure on day 3 so the class can reach a 10:00 appointment. You finish day 2 at 23:15. You have already used two reduced daily rests this week. The tachograph is a smart Gen2 unit; the ferry company gives you a cabin receipt. A pupil is travel-sick and delays the afternoon by 35 min.
1. Analyse day 1: was the break pattern legal? Show the timeline and the correction.
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Timeline: 2 h 15 driving, 30 min break, 2 h 25 driving = 4 h 40 driving since the start, with only a 30-min break. The 45-min break may be split as at least 15 min followed by at least 30 min; a 30-min break followed by a 15-min break is not the required order and does not reset the 4.5-hour counter. So the second driving block exceeded 4.5 h by 10 min before the 15-min stop, and the pattern is not a valid split. Correction: at the first stop take 15 min, then at the second take at least 30 min, or take a full 45 min at the first stop. The later 1 h 50 min block brings total driving to 6 h 30 min, which is within the 9-hour daily limit, but the break record must be corrected and the infringement reported if it occurred.
2. Day 2 ends at 23:15 and the teacher wants 05:45. Can you take the night rest? What are the limits and options?
Read the worked answer
23:15 to 05:45 is 6 h 30 min, which is not a daily rest at all: the minimum is 11 h, reducible to 9 h no more than three times between weekly rests. You have already used two reduced rests, and 6 h 30 min is below even 9 h. So the 05:45 departure is unlawful. Options: depart at 08:15 and take the third reduced rest of 9 h, or depart at 10:15 for a full 11 h rest. A split daily rest (3 h plus 9 h within 24 h) would require the first 3-hour period to start early enough, which is not possible with a 23:15 finish unless the schedule is changed. The teacher must be told now; the safe and legal answer is to move the appointment or accept a late arrival.
3. How do you record the ferry and the manual entries, and what documents must be carried?
Read the worked answer
Record the ferry crossing with the ferry/train symbol and keep the cabin receipt; the crossing can count as a break or rest only if you have access to a bunk or couchette and the interruption is scheduled. Make manual entries for any other work, the start and end of the shift, and the delays caused by the pupil. Gen2 records the rest automatically only if the card is left in and the mode is correct. Carry your driver card, printouts for the day and any manual entries, and be ready to show the ferry receipt. Do not edit or delete records; if an infringement occurs, write an explanation. The teacher's request must not be met by falsifying the tachograph.