Drivers & hours
What is driving time?
Driving time is time spent at the controls of a vehicle in motion, recorded automatically by the tachograph. It is limited daily and weekly, with required breaks and rest between periods.
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<img src="https://fleetoptix.co.uk/glossary/driving-time/diagram.svg" alt="driving time — diagram from FleetOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://fleetoptix.co.uk/glossary/driving-time">What is driving time?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://fleetoptix.co.uk">FleetOptix</a>
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</figure>It is recorded automatically and cannot be altered by the driver, which makes it the most reliable element of the record and the one breaches are most often found in.
It is distinct from working time, which includes loading, waiting and other duties. A driver can be within driving limits and outside working time limits in the same week.
Which limits apply depends on the regime the operation falls under, so establishing that is the first question rather than a technicality.
What goes wrong in practice
- Schedules built to the maximum, leaving nothing for a delay.
- Driving and working time treated as the same limit.
- The applicable regime assumed rather than established for each operation.