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Coronavirus: driver rules relaxed to support just-in-time supply
25 Mar 2020, 4:19 pm
The UK government has temporarily relaxed health and safety rules governing the time haulage and delivery drivers can stay behind the wheel in response to the coronavirus crisis.
The relaxation of the rules, announced by the Department for Transport (DfT), concerns drivers' hours and rest periods for those driving vehicles above 3.5 tonnes, i.e. haulage lorries, which are governed by EU rules; and vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, including for example shopping delivery drivers, which are governed by GB domestic rules.
The measures will facilitate the work of manufacturers, suppliers and retailers in light of increased demand for goods, potential labour shortages and the necessity driven by the coronavirus crisis.
Formal relaxation of EU rules
Given the exceptional circumstances stemming from the Covid-19 outbreak, the DfT has exercised powers open to it to temporarily relax EU drivers' hours rules as follows:
|
Issue |
EU rule |
Relaxed rule |
|
EU daily limit (*) |
9 hours |
11 hours |
|
Daily rest requirements |
11 hours |
9 hours |
|
Weekly and fortnightly driving limits |
56 and 90 hours |
60 and 96 hours |
|
Requirement for weekly rest period after number of 24 hour periods |
6 x 24 hour periods before necessary rest break |
7 x 24 hour periods - Although two regular weekly rest periods or a regular and a reduced weekly rest period will still be required within a fortnight |
|
Daily breaks (*) |
45 minutes after 4.5 hours driving |
45 minutes after 5.5 hours of driving |
Drivers are not permitted to exempt themselves from both the daily limits and weekly rest periods.
GB domestic rules
The DfT has also announced that the following relaxations will apply in respect of drivers and vehicles covered by the domestic regime:
|
GB drivers' hours |
Normal limit |
Relaxed limit |
|
Duty time limit (all work activity by a driver) |
11 hours per day |
12 hours per day |
|
Daily driving limit |
10 hours per day |
11 hours per day |
Timescales
This temporary relaxation applies from Monday 23 March 2020 until 21 April 2020. However, the DfT reserves the right to withdraw the relaxation earlier or extend the relaxation if circumstances change.
Next steps
Vehicle operators should formalise the temporary relaxation on rules with their employees.
The DfT has reiterated that those seeking to take advantage of the relaxations must ensure that the safety of their drivers and the general public is not compromised and therefore operators must remain vigilant to drivers fatigue and capacity to take advantage of these relaxations. Risk assessment and management of the changes will be crucial to ensure that safety and welfare is not compromised in this challenging period.
Simon Tingle is an expert in health and safety law at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.
