Freight News, Road

Driver’s hours rules relaxed in Kent – updated

[ July 30, 2015   //   Chris ]

 

The UK Department for Transport has relaxed drivers’ hours rules for trucks caught up in the congestion. The temporary measures apply for 30 days from 30 July and apply only to drivers who have used a ferry or Eurotunnel to reach or leave Kent or vehicles with operating centres in the county and whose journey has been disrupted.

They include extension of the daily driving limit from nine to 11 hours and a reduction of the daily rest requirements from 11 to nine hours. The requirement for a 45 minute break after 4½ hours driving remains and general EU working time rules covering non-driving work are unchanged.

The Freight Transport Association said the move made “perfect sense” to help clear out of Kent trucks which have already made the crossing and a “pragmatic approach to one part of a difficult situation.”

But the Unite trade union said that relaxing the driver’s hours rules would increase the chance of road accidents and called on the government and the industry to work with the union on longer-term, viable solutions.

Unite is also calling upon the government to instead step up its efforts to reach a solution with the French government on improving security, and is also appealing to employers to delay sending any further trucks to the affected ports until the Channel routes are clear.

Meanwhile, Eurotunnel said that it had installed high security fencing around its platforms and that the fence supplied by the British government will be completed in the coming days. Night freight services will from now on be provided on protected shuttles and from the platforms in the centre of the terminal.

 

 

Tags: Department for Transport