Relaxation of drivers hours- LPG delivery

This temporary relaxation applies from 00:01 on 12 April 2013 and will run until 23:59 on 22 April 2013 and will apply only to those drivers involved in the delivery of LPG within Great Britain.

The Department reserves the right to withdraw the relaxation earlier if circumstances change.

The Department wishes to make clear that driver safety must not be compromised. Drivers should not be expected to drive whilst tired - employers remain responsible for the safety of their employees and other road users.

For the drivers and work in question, the EU drivers’ hours rules will be temporarily relaxed as follows:-

Replacement of the EU daily driving limit of 9 hours with one of 10 hours;

Reduction of the daily rest requirements from 11 to 9 hours;
Lifting the weekly (56 hours) and fortnightly driving limit (90 hours);
Postponing the weekly rest requirement until 23:59 on Thursday 18 April, following which drivers should take their weekly rest as normal. Drivers will however be required to take a minimum rest of 24 hours beginning no later than the end of the eleventh day since the end of his/her last weekly rest period.

The requirement to take a 45 minute break after 4½ hours driving remains and will continue to be rigorously enforced.

The enforcement of working time rules has also been relaxed for this period to allow drivers to work up to 66 hours instead of the usual 60 hour weekly maximum.  This extra time should be recorded, but does not count for the purposes of determining average working time.

The practical implementation of the temporary relaxation should be through agreement between employers and employees and/or driver representatives.

The drivers in question must note on the back of their tachograph charts or printouts the reasons why they are exceeding the normally permitted limits.  This is usual practice in emergencies and is, of course, essential for enforcement purposes.

The temporary relaxation of the rules described above reflects the exceptional circumstances of the increased demand for supplies of LPG due to the continued extreme weather conditions and the shortage of LPG supply. The Department wishes to emphasise that, as a general rule we expect business to plan for and manage the risks of disruption to supply chains.