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Domestic drivers
Page 48
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As all HGV operators know, tachographs stringently record drivers' hours. At 3.5 tonnes and under, though, tachographs are not in the picture. This does not mean that couriers are exempt from drivers' hours law. Transport solicitor Stephen Kirkbright (below) of Leeds-based Ford and Warren stresses that the Domestic Drivers Hours Code applies to van couriers. Under it, a driver can be behind the wheel for a maximum of 10 hours a day, and work a total of 11 hours (the extra hour accounts for loading, unloading, and soon).
There is no way of recording driving time, and so, says Kirkbright, couriers who flout the law are hard to penalise. It is subject to huge abuse, and rarely — if ever —are people prosecuted."
Saying that, in the event of an accident, a courier driver's pick-up and delivery times could be scrutinised. This could expose any breaking of the code.