Legal News
To All Commercial Drivers: Updates to Penalties for Driving whilst Tired (15 February 2018)
Date: 15/02/2018
From March 5th there will be changes to the penalties issued for HGV, lorry and any commercial vehicle drivers for driving whilst tired and beyond regulated time periods, which will see them fined up to £300 for every time they are found to have done so within the last 28 days.
Drivers of large goods vehicles and passenger-carrying vehicles should not be behind the wheel for any longer than 9 hours a day (increased to 10 hours two times a week ) according to the European Union rules on drivers’ hours and working time Regulation (EC) No 561/2006. This must be broken up with a 45 minute rest period every 4.5 hours.
Currently the Drivers and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) are able to issue fines to commercial drivers who are found to have committed an offence that day or particular repeat offences, including manipulating their driving hour records on their tachograph report. Under the new changes the DVSA will be able to issue penalties for every time an offence has been committed in the previous 28 days and that each offence will come with its own fine.
DVSA traffic examiners will have the authority to issue fines during roadside checks, which could reach up to £1500 for those who have persistently disobeyed the rules. This applies to all commercial drivers in the UK and those coming onto British roads from outside Great Britain. Those caught outside the UK will have to pay the fines on-the-spot before being able to get back in their vehicle.
These changes come after the DVSA updated how fines can be issued to drivers who spend their weekly rest period inside their vehicle in a layby, which came into force in November 2017. A commercial driver must take at least a 45 hour rest period every 2 weeks. Some commercial drivers are taking this time off on the road in laybys which are intended for temporary and emergency use only. The DVSA can fine drivers up to £300 for taking their rest period in this way.
It is thought that these periods of rest are crucial for the drivers’ capacity to drive safely and consciously. Spending their break in an ill-suited place can disrupt that and expose commercial drivers to harsh living conditions.
The DVSA will enforce these stricter penalties to deter drivers from breaking road safety laws and ultimately stop commercial drivers from driving whilst tired, to protect them and other road users. Figures reveal that 40% of tiredness induced accidents are caused by commercial drivers and 25% of HGV and other larger good vehicle accidents prove to be fatal. In addition to the horrible consequences to individual victims and their families, these sorts of accidents put extra pressure on the emergency services, costing the Government more than £16 billion a year.
Duncan Lewis Motor Law specialist, Neil Sargeant states:
“In my view, an increase in penalty is usually a result of 2 factors. The first may be that the public feels the penalty is not severe enough for the crime and second is that the authorities do not think the current penalty acts as an effective deterrent.
“There seems to have been an increase in media coverage of deaths as a result of road traffic accidents lately so an increase in penalty for this type of offence was not unexpected, particularly after life imprisonment became a possibility for some cases involving a fatality.
“Penalties need to strike a balance to act as a suitable deterrent and also be a punishment that is proportionate to the offence but anything that’s purpose is to make our roads safer for all motorists can only ever be a good thing.”
For advice on any road traffic offence, contact Duncan Lewis Motor Law specialist, Neil Sargeant on 0203 114 1145 or email him on neils@duncanlewis.com.
Neil has specialised in Road Traffic Law since 2008, establishing close working relationships with some of the country’s leading experts in this field and maintaining an outstanding record of client acquittals. His specialist expertise stretch across road traffic law, but are is most extensive in:
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