To improve road safety and working conditions for drivers providing occasional bus and coach services in Europe, the Council adopted its common position (general approach) on the Commission’s proposal for a revision of the 2006 rules on driving times and rest periods in the occasional passenger transport sector.
“Today, we took another step to improve road safety in the EU. Once adopted, the new rules on minimum breaks and rest periods for bus drivers will ensure better working conditions for them and guarantee safer road trips for tourists across Europe.”
Óscar Puente, Spanish minister of transport and sustainable mobility
Main objectives of the proposal
The Commission’s proposal consists of targeted amendments to the 2006 regulation aiming to introduce three elements of flexibility into break and rest time rules for professional drivers engaged in occasional passenger transport, such as tour buses, reflecting their special work patterns, while preserving the rules’ effectiveness in preventing driver fatigue.
The general thrust of the proposal was retained by the member states since all three elements of flexibility suggested by the Commission are included in the Council’s common position.
Key elements of the Council’s position
However, based on numerous requests by member states relating to the scope and safeguards of specific rest rules, and to corresponding control provisions, the Council amended some aspects of the Commission’s proposal. The key elements of the Council’s common position are as follows:
- the flexibility to replace the required minimum rest period of 45 minutes with breaks of at least 15 minutes each (adding at least 45 minutes), spread over the 4.5 hours driving period, provided that the total accumulated driving time for that day has not exceeded 7 hours
- the flexibility to postpone the daily rest period by 1 hour, provided that the total accumulated driving time for that day has not exceeded 7 hours, and that this option is exercised once during a journey with a duration of at least 6 days, or twice during a journey of at least 8 days
- the flexibility to postpone the weekly rest period for up to 12 consecutive days following a previous regular weekly rest period, provided that the service lasts at least 24 consecutive hours; this option, already used in international services, could now be applied to domestic services as well.
- on control provisions, the Council’s text provides that the required documentation for using the derogations is a single one, namely a journey form on board
- the documentation on board extends to previous trips during a certain period of time, for which copies need to be carried on board, in paper or electronic form
- the Commission will amend the tachograph specifications so that the type of passenger transport can be read from the machine and the requirement to carry documents for previous trips on board will be discontinued when the tachograph is in use.
The abovementioned approach on supervision is practical, aligned with similar rules on manual documentation, and favours technical support of the tachograph in the future.
