Fatigue Reforms * Australia - ALTA: Onus on industry to get fatigue reforms passed

Canberra,Australia -Supply Chain, by Brad Gardner -April 6, 2011: -- The onus is on the trucking industry to convince the nation’s transport ministers to reform fatigue management laws, the Australian Livestock Transporters Association says...  In an open letter to the National Transport Commission (NTC) thanking it for its proposal to amend inconsistent fatigue counting rules, ALTA President David Smith says industry must now take up the fight to gain uniformity...  The NTC has issued a recommendation to bring Victoria and South Australia into line with NSW and Queensland’s time counting rules...  The NTC’s recommendation is expected to be voted on when the Australian Transport Council (ATC) meets on May 20...  He says the ALTA will urge transport ministers to implement the recommendations promptly and for the NTC to be responsible for any future changes to ensure national uniformity is retained... (Photo from 2.bp.blogspot, by Ellerg -Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa-: Australian Cattle Farm)

HOS * UK - Drivers' Hours Law: Understanding the 4.5-hour break rule

London,EN,UK -Road Transport, by Karen Crispe -15 March 2011:  ...  The exact wording can found in the Regulation (EC) 561/ 2006 Article 7, which states "after a driving period of 4.5 hours, a driver shall take an uninterrupted break of not less than 45 minutes, unless he takes a rest period" ...  The 4.5-hour break rule is one of the fundamentals of Drivers' Hours Law, yet surprisingly it is still the one that is regularly breached by drivers, writes Karen Crispe, managing director of Tachodisc...  Despite all the information available, confusion and misunderstanding of the rule remains rife...  The level of enquiries has also increased since the introduction of Graduated Fixed Penalties. Why? Drivers want to avoid a penalty so have a vested interest in becoming knowledgeable about the law as well as the consequences of their employer not complying with the rules, i.e. they will be the one in the front line, and the one who could face the penalty or worse. In turn, this is forcing operators, especially those that may not be fully conversant in all the legislative changes that have occurred over the last five to six years, to be able to clarify the rule when questioned by drivers...  Also, The Act makes it an offence for an operator to use a vehicle on the road when the driver does not comply with the drivers' hours rules.   (Picture from truckertotrucker: Trucker's restart hours)

* UK - Drivers' Hours: don't push the law to the limit

London,EN,UK -Road Transport, by Mike Sherrington -15 March 2011: -- It's no secret that some drivers are put under pressure to sail close to the wind when adhering to their legal hours. At a job interview, a Commercial Motor reader was told: "Although we have to adhere to the law, drivers' hours are really an inconvenience. We expect you to work to the limit of your hours. If you get back into the yard before your hours expire, it really winds us up" ... The driver, who was interviewed by an operator in the North-West, was then told that he was expected to cut his journey time so tightly that he should have only a couple of minutes left out of his allotted hours. He would be paid not by an hourly rate, but a percentage of the amount his vehicle made on the trip. When he looked at the proposed routes he realised it would be impossible to complete journeys without becoming a health and safety risk. He would be forced to speed and suffer stress from the working methods. So he decided not to take the job...  With margins in the industry becoming ever tighter because of rising fuel prices, many firms are trying to squeeze as much out of their drivers as possible...  Putting drivers under such pressure could lead to serious accidents - but what is the legal situation?

HOS * Australia - NTC to release time counting recommendations

Sydney,NSW,Australia -ATA Friday Facts -25 Feb 2011: -- Last year, a Queensland truck driver was charged with seven fatigue offences in Victoria, despite counting his work and rest hours in accordance with the interpretation used in Queensland and New South Wales...  Following the issue being raised by the ATA, the NTC established an investigation into the problem. The results of that investigation will be publically released in March...   The National Transport Commission (NTC) will release its findings into variations in time counting rules...  The ATA has worked closely with the NTC on improving how the states count work and rest time under the national fatigue laws...  Enforcement officers in Victoria and South Australia currently apply the work and rest time counting rules differently to enforcement officers in Queensland and New South Wales, even though all four states have adopted the national fatigue laws...  (Photo from Getty Images/cache3.asset-cache: Road Train at Munjina Gorge)