Help with tacho question?

Life'll_Kill_Ya

Hi all.
Long time lurker.

I've been out of work for a while, but I'm getting back into it doing some agency driving. I need some help on tacho regulations - it seems some things have changed since I last drove.
How many tachos do I need to carry with me? When I last worked it was the current week and the last day of the previous week, but other drivers tell me different, and they don't seem to agree. Something about 15 days keeps coming up.

Can someone tell me exactly what I need to keep, as working with different agencies this can be tricky - they all want them handed in to submit with the invoice.

Thanks.

jason_s_2

I think the law change a couple of weeks ago,its now 5 weeks worth. So you will carry 5 wallets of tacho's.

jonathon

its 28 days worth changed on the 1st on jan.

Conor_3

As of 1/1/2008 28 days plus the current day. That's 28 calender days worth, not 28 charts. What the agency want is neither here nor there. The law says you must carry that amount and that's that.

Also remember that the rules on 45 minute breaks have changed. If you split your 45 minute break, the last part must be at least 30 minutes so no more 3 x 15 minutes.

In addition to that, there is no longer the requirement to compensate for reduced daily rest and if you're double manning, it's now a 9hr break for every 30 hours, not the 8 it used to be.

Life'll_Kill_Ya

Thanks very much. :T

Conor, you seem to know what you're on about - do you know anything about digital tachographs? I've got my card in case I have to drive one wherever I might be working, but I've never used one before. Are they difficult to use - I'm not much of one for the electronic gadgets.

Thanks again.

Conor_3

Dead Easy. Put in slot, chip upwards and in first. It'll read the card and ask you if you want to make a manual entry. Press the Down Arrow on the control at right of LCD and then OK. Press OK when it asks for begin country which should be "UK". At the end of the shift, press eject. It'll ask "24hr". Using same controls as before, select "no" unless you want a print out and then press OK. By law you're supposed to carry a spare roll of printer paper for the thing as well.

Remember that the time it displays is "UTC" and not GMT so it'll be an hour out when the clocks change but thats OK.

Life'll_Kill_Ya

Thanks a lot Conor. I've printed that out, just in case I have to use one.

One more question - what;s UTC?

Conor_3

Basically it's what GMT is now called.