Driving and rest times: the summary that fits in the cab

Anyone driving a goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes or a passenger vehicle with more than nine seats is covered by Regulation (EC) No 561/2006. That text sets how long you may drive, when you must stop and how long you must rest. The rules are the same across the European Union, and enforcement — at the roadside or at the operator’s premises — works with the same numbers.

Daily driving

The normal limit is 9 hours of driving per day. It can be extended to 10 hours, twice a week — no more.

“Day” here is not the calendar day: it runs between two daily rest periods. If you started at 22:00 on Tuesday, the daily driving period carries on past midnight.

Weekly and fortnightly driving

• 56 hours of driving at most in one week (Monday 00:00 to Sunday 24:00).
• 90 hours at most over two consecutive weeks.

In other words: if you drove 56 hours one week, you may only drive 34 the next.

Breaks

After 4h30 of accumulated driving, a 45-minute break is compulsory.

That break may be split into two parts, but only in this order:

1. a break of at least 15 minutes;
2. followed by a break of at least 30 minutes.

The other way round — 30 minutes and then 15 — does not comply. During the break the driver must be free of all work; loading, unloading or paperwork does not count as a break.

Daily rest

• Regular daily rest: 11 hours in one block.
• It may be split into 3 hours + 9 hours, in that order, adding up to 12 hours.
• Reduced daily rest: 9 hours, allowed at most three times between two weekly rests.

The daily rest must be completed within the 24 hours following the end of the previous rest. That is where the practical “15-hour spread” rule comes from: 24 hours minus 9 of reduced rest.

Weekly rest

• Regular weekly rest: 45 hours.
• Reduced weekly rest: at least 24 hours.

In any two consecutive weeks the driver must take two regular weekly rests, or one regular and one reduced. When it is reduced, the shortfall (for example 21 hours if you took 24) must be compensated in one block, attached to another rest of at least 9 hours, by the end of the third following week.

The weekly rest must begin no later than the end of six 24-hour periods counted from the end of the previous weekly rest.

Where you may sleep — and where you may not

Since the Mobility Package, the regular weekly rest (45 hours) may not be spent in the cab. Suitable accommodation is the employer’s responsibility, as is the journey to that accommodation. Reduced weekly rest and daily rest may still be taken in the vehicle, as long as it has a suitable bunk and is stationary.

The same legislative package requires the operator to organise the work so that the driver can return to the operational centre or to their home every four weeks — or every three, if they have taken two consecutive reduced weekly rests.

Double-manning

In multi-manning, each driver must have a daily rest of at least 9 hours within each 30-hour period. The 45-minute break may be taken in a moving vehicle, provided the driver on break is not assisting the one driving.

Records on board

At the roadside the driver must be able to produce the records for the current day and the previous 56 days. That is the period in force since 31 December 2024 — it used to be 28 days. It covers the driver card, the record sheets if you still run an analogue tachograph, and manual entries for activities the tachograph does not record.

What enforcement looks at first

In practice, three things account for most of the offences recorded during a check:

• the 45-minute break split in the wrong order;
• exceeding 10 hours of driving more than twice in the week;
• the 45-hour weekly rest spent in the cab.

None of them calls for complicated arithmetic. They only call for the week to be planned before you leave — not from whatever is left at the end of the day.

This article is a summary. If you are unsure about a specific situation, check the text of the regulation and the competent authority of the country you are driving in.