4 h 30 min of driving, a 25-minute lunch and an 8-hour night
Péter drives a scheduled regional bus service on a 62 km route between two towns. Yesterday he ended duty and went off duty at 21:30; this morning he signed on at 05:40. He drove 05:40–07:50, took a 20-minute break at the terminus, then drove 08:10–10:30. At 10:30 he has completed 4 h 30 min of driving and is at the terminus, where a 25-minute lunch break is planned. He intends to start the third leg at 10:55 and drive 2 hours back to the depot. His digital tachograph card is inserted and a mode is selected. The vehicle is a 12 m bus with 45 seats and the service is a regular domestic line. He mentions that he feels tired and that he 'always eats fast, because the timetable does not wait'. The planner tells him the schedule is tight and asks whether he can leave at 10:55.
1. Can Péter start the third leg at 10:55 after a 25-minute lunch? Justify your answer with the applicable rule.
Read the worked answer
No. Regulation (EC) 561/2006 applies, because the exemption for regular passenger services only covers routes of 50 km or less and this route is 62 km.
Under that rule, after at most 4.5 hours of driving the driver must take a break of at least 45 minutes, which may be split into a first part of at least 15 minutes and a second part of at least 30 minutes, taken in that order, and the break must be completed before further driving.
Péter reaches 4 h 30 min at 10:30, so he is exactly at the limit. The 25 minutes he plans satisfy neither form: a continuous break needs 45 minutes, and a split break needs a second part of at least 30 minutes. The 20-minute stop at 07:50 cannot be bolted onto the 25 minutes either, because the second part must be at least 30 minutes.
Correct options: take 45 continuous minutes and leave at 11:15; or treat the 25-minute lunch as the first part (it is over 15 minutes) and take a further 30 minutes, leaving at 11:25. Departing at 10:55 is an infringement, and the planner's pressure is not a defence - the driver is responsible for compliance and cannot be required to break the rule.
The daily driving total (4.5 + 2 = 6.5 h) is within the 9-hour limit, so that is not the problem here.
2. He went off duty at 21:30 and signed on at 05:40. Assess the daily rest and what should happen next.
Read the worked answer
That is 8 hours 10 minutes between the end of duty and the start of the next one.
The regular daily rest is 11 hours. It may be reduced to 9 hours, but only up to three times between two weekly rests, and the reduction must be compensated by an equivalent period taken en bloc with another rest by the end of the third week. 8 h 10 min is below even the reduced 9 hours, so it is not a valid reduced rest at all - it is an infringement, and the shift should not have been planned that way.
What matters is what the 8 h 10 min actually contained. If he was genuinely free of all work - no loading, no paperwork, no being on call - it is still too short. If part of it was on-call time or travel to a non-regular workplace, that part is not rest and the real rest is even shorter.
Next steps: he must not start driving on an invalid rest; he should record the actual times, inform the planner in writing, and the company must re-plan the day. If the shortfall is repeated, it points to a scheduling problem rather than a one-off, and both the driver and the operator carry responsibility. Driving while tired on a 62 km line with 45 seats is exactly the risk this rule exists to control.
3. How must the tachograph be used during this day, and what would an inspector look at?
Read the worked answer
The card goes in before the first metre of driving and stays in until the end of the shift. Mode selection is the whole point of the record:
- Driving - selected automatically once the vehicle moves.
- Other work - for paperwork, the defect check, loading luggage, fuelling.
- Break/rest - only this mode counts towards the 45-minute break. If he leaves it on 'other work' during the 25-minute lunch, the break is not recorded and cannot be used. This is the single most common avoidable infringement.
- Availability - for waiting time where he is not required to remain at his post.
At the start of the shift he should make a manual entry for any work done before entering the vehicle, and at the end for any work after leaving it.
An inspector will check: whether a break was recorded after 4 h 30 min and of what length; the mode switches around the breaks; the previous day's record to verify the 8 h 10 min rest; and consistency between the record and the timetable. Printouts, if requested, must be signed. If the card or unit fails, he must keep manual records and report the fault.