Fleet-wide infringement patterns often start in the planning office, not the cab. How to design driving windows, breaks and multi-day runs that keep drivers legal without losing productivity.
Fleet scheduling is one of the most influential metrics that affect tachograph data behaviour and infringement compliance. The two key factors that affect infringement rates are the schedules set by the office and the drivers decision making and behaviour on that day. If scheduling is set to stretch potential regulatory parameters, the risk of driver infringements are much higher than a day where a driver has no time constraints or pressures against them.
When the same infringement lands on the same run week after week, I stop looking at the driver. The answer is usually in the plan, not the cab. A driver can only work with the day he's been given, and if that day was built on a best-case journey time with no allowance for weather, traffic or a customer running late on the bay, the infringement was booked in before he turned the key.
One of the most common root causes of fleet wide infringements is scheduling that assumes optimistic driving times. Route planners must account for far more than just the average journey time listed on their planning software, although external factors should automatically calculate the driving time from the driver's perspective. Seasonal factors (shorter days/bad weather) and customer pressure must be managed before scheduling is set to remove the pressure from the driver.
For infringement avoidance, simplifying the plan and reducing the risk are key. Identify where issues may arise, plan failsafe’s and backups to avoid drivers that are forced into triggering infringements. Audit trails clearly identify operators that fail in the planning stage. Alternative planning strategies are available in the form of split breaks and rests, multi manning, overnight driving (where appropriate) and 3PL groupage or partner logistics.
Maximize the available working and driving time to fit into any given driving day by satisfying both sets of regulations in the most time efficient manner. A 45 minute break covers both driving time and a duty period that exceeds 9 hours. A driver or planner that identifies a location at or around the 5 hour marker and stops for 45 minutes (as long as the driving time hasn’t already breached 4 ½ hours) will cover both sets of regulations in one break. This is the most straightforward way of avoiding driving and working time infringements in one simple step. Reducing unqualified breaks, breaks of less than 15 minutes, as they do not register towards accumulated break time, and avoiding the trap of believing POA counts as break, will help to suppress the risk of daily infringements.
Tachograph data will identify which runs consistently produce the same infringements - where this is the case the route plan should be modified, not the drivers schedule. Infringement patterns and trends are invaluable in these scenarios as patterns are adjustable. Look for common denominators - a route that triggers the same issue every week is a clear indicator for change. Conversely, infringements on frequent routes point to driver error, because the plan should have succeeded.
It is safer to err on the side of caution and provide a manageable target for your driver, stating the clear reasoning behind the timeline scheduling, managing the customer expectation at the earliest point, rather than setting a driver up for failure. Regulatory driving limits are fixed for the safety of the public, as well as providing a level commercial platform for all operators. Customers that wish to overstep these boundaries must be met with steadfast transparency. An alternative solution is better than agreeing to a non-legal operational plan.
Well in advance. Clear thorough planning is crucial in long haul trunking. Map out every day, every stop, every customs and border crossing. Identifying longer working days in the multi day pattern can help with reduced daily rest decisions. Don’t forget, drivers undertaking international carriage of goods under assimilated rules may take two consecutive weekly rest periods under specific provisions. See International carriage of goods - Section 1.6 for more information.
Assimilated and AETR rules on drivers’ hours - Guidance - GOV.UK
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