Split Breaks and a Late Pick-Up on a Coach Tour
You drive a 53-seat coach on a day tour. Your tachograph shows you began driving at 08:00. You drove for 2 hours 10 minutes, took a 20-minute break, then drove for 2 hours 00 minutes. It is now 14:00 and you are 25 minutes from a scheduled pick-up point. After the pick-up you must drive another 1 hour 30 minutes to the depot. The tour guide wants to leave the pick-up 10 minutes late because a group is running behind. You have not yet taken your second break. Your daily driving limit is 9 hours, extendable to 10 hours twice a week. You have a 15-minute break available at the pick-up, or a 30-minute break if the group is late.
1. Calculate your driving time and break position, and decide what to do at the pick-up.
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You have driven 2 h 10 + 2 h 00 = 4 h 10. The 20-minute break counts toward a 45-minute break, but under the split rule you still need a second period of at least 30 minutes; 15 minutes at the pick-up would not be enough. The pick-up is 25 minutes away, which would bring you to 4 h 35, still inside the 4.5-hour limit. At the pick-up, therefore, take at least 30 minutes on break, not 15. If only 15 minutes is available, do not continue: wait until you can take 30. After the break, the 1 h 30 to the depot brings the day to about 6 h 05, within the 9-hour daily limit.
2. How should the 10-minute delay affect your decision?
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Use the delay for the break, not for extra driving. The schedule pressure is irrelevant to the 4.5-hour rule. If the group is 10 minutes late, take the full 30 minutes at the pick-up and record it; do not cut the break to 15 minutes to save time. If the delay means you can complete 30 minutes before the group returns, that is better. The limit is a maximum, not a target, and a tired driver with a coach full of passengers is a hazard. Plan the rest of the day so the 1 h 30 run does not create a second break problem.
3. What records must be made?
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The tachograph records driving and break automatically, but you must set the mode switch correctly so the 30 minutes is recorded as break, not other work. If the vehicle is swapped or the record is unclear, make a manual entry or printout with the times and reason. Keep the day's record available for inspection. Do not rely on memory or on the tour guide's timetable. The record must show 4 h 10 driving, the 20-minute break, the 30-minute break at the pick-up, and the final 1 h 30, so the 4.5-hour and daily limits can be checked.