News

A detailed change to drivers' hours regulations could hit much of the industry harder than the worst fears over working time, industry representatives said this week.

An amendment to the drivers' hours regulations that comes into effect from April 11, 2007 will include driving at delivery points such as quarries, ports, large distribution centres and steel mills.

The change is in the section stating that "journeys by road" will be treated as driving the words "or part journey"  have been added.

RHA public affairs manager Steve Williams says that the DfT policy department is planning to take a "belt and braces" approach in applying the EU legislation "to the letter", as they see it.

One of the reasons they are trying this approach appears to be some abuse of the system, on the margin, he says.

But the full impact of what appears at first to be a minor change is likely to be severe, reducing the efficiency of hauliers and increasing transport costs.

Trucks often have to run at slow speed in quarries, or move forward slowly at ports or supermarket RDCs. Such periods are currently regarded as duty time, but not driving time.

Williams is arguing that this interpretation should continue. The "journey" should remain as it is now: that is, deemed to start at the gate of the collection point and end at the gate of the delivery point. That is the approach  that VOSA should take in enforcing drivers' hours rules.

A hard-line interpretation of the new rule could lead to hauliers delivering their truck to their customers' gate but getting another driver to take the vehicle on from there - raising a raft of risk assessment, health and safety and insurance issues.

Williams is seeking to reverse DfT thinking by the end of December and says the more operators who provide evidence, either through him or directly to the DfT, the better.

The change to the drivers' hours rules comes as hauliers are coming to terms with the impact of the digital tachograph, which records slightly longer driving time, for enforcement purposes, than analogue charts where the truck is subject to stop-start traffic.

n The DfT's consultation paper on the amended drivers hours regulations, which come into force next April, was published on the DfT website last week. Responses are due by January 17.