EU drivers' hours rules govern driving time, breaks and rest for most commercial vehicle operations above defined weight thresholds, recorded by tachograph. They apply across the EU and, through associated agreements, in a wider set of countries.
The concepts
Driving time is time at the controls of the vehicle. Daily and weekly limits apply, with a permitted extension on a limited number of days per week and a two-weekly cumulative cap.
Breaks are required after a defined period of driving, and may be split into a shorter and a longer segment in a prescribed order.
Daily rest must be taken within each 24-hour period, with a reduced daily rest permitted on a limited number of occasions between weekly rests.
Weekly rest is required within a defined period, with rules governing when a reduced weekly rest may be taken and the compensation required afterwards.
Other work — loading, unloading, administration, work for another employer — counts towards duty and is recorded on the tachograph, not ignored.
The operational consequence is the same as in any hours regime: available driving time is a planning constraint, and plans that ignore break and rest requirements produce infringements.
When infringements cluster on particular routes, days or depots, the cause is almost always a schedule that cannot be completed within the rules.
Tachograph obligations
Vehicles in scope must be fitted with a tachograph, and modern requirements centre on smart digital devices with additional recording and remote-access capability.
Operator duties typically include:
- Ensuring the tachograph is fitted, calibrated and functioning, with periodic inspection
- Downloading vehicle unit data and driver card data at prescribed intervals
- Retaining records for the required period
- Making records available to enforcement on request
- Analysing records for infringements
- Investigating and acting on infringements
- Managing missing mileage — periods where the vehicle moved without a card inserted
Driver duties include using the correct card, recording other work and periods of availability, making manual entries for periods away from the vehicle, and carrying records for the required preceding period.
Managing infringements
This is the area enforcement examines most closely, and where operators most commonly fall short.
The expectation is a closed loop:
- Detect — analyse downloaded data promptly and systematically.
- Categorise — by type and severity.
- Investigate — with the driver, to establish the cause.
- Act — coaching, training, schedule redesign, or disciplinary action where appropriate.
- Record — the investigation, the driver's explanation, and the action taken, signed.
- Analyse trends — a pattern of infringements on one route indicates a planning problem, not a driver problem.
An operator with recorded infringements and evidence of investigation and action is in a far stronger position than one reporting none. Zero infringements across a substantial operation suggests analysis is not happening.
Working time rules
Separate from driving time, working time rules for mobile workers govern total working hours, night work and breaks. They apply alongside drivers' hours, not instead of them, and they are commonly overlooked because the tachograph does not enforce them directly.
Operators need to track total working time across the reference period, which requires combining tachograph data with other work records.
Systems and software
Tachograph analysis software should:
- Automate remote download where the tachograph supports it, with alerts on failures
- Store data for the full retention period, exportable
- Detect and categorise infringements automatically
- Support the investigation workflow with driver sign-off
- Report on trends by driver, vehicle, route and depot
- Track missing mileage and unaccounted periods
- Integrate with route planning so that available hours constrain the plan
- Cover working time as well as driving time
The integration with planning is the one most often missing and the one that prevents infringements rather than merely recording them.
Questions readers send us
Which vehicles are in scope? Scope is defined by vehicle weight and use, with exemptions for certain categories and operations. The thresholds and exemptions are specific and change over time — confirm the current position for your vehicles with the relevant national authority.
How often must tachograph data be downloaded? At prescribed maximum intervals for both driver cards and vehicle units, with the vehicle unit interval being the longer of the two. Many operators download more frequently than required, particularly with remote download, because it makes infringement analysis timely.
What is missing mileage? Distance recorded by the vehicle unit with no driver card inserted. It must be investigated and explained — workshop movements, ferry operations or a driver failing to insert a card. Unexplained missing mileage is a routine and serious audit finding.
Do drivers need to record other work? Yes. Loading, unloading, administrative work and work for another employer count towards duty and must be recorded. Failing to record other work is a common infringement and one that operators can address through training and clear procedure.
What happens if a tachograph fails during a journey? Drivers must make manual records for the period, and the device must be repaired within the permitted timeframe. Record the failure, the manual records and the repair; an undocumented failure looks identical to deliberate non-use.
