DSVA announces introducing fines for spending 45-hour rest in the cabin of the truck parked in a wrong place. Drivers will be punished from 1 November. Currently the British provide 300 pounds fine for the offence. This amount, however, is subject to change.
According to the DSVA information, from November 1 this year agency officials will punish drivers “who spend their weekly rest in the truck cab in places where it can cause problems” with a 300 pounds fine.
“For example, if a truck driver spends the break in the truck cab while staying in a lay-by” – explains the agency.
Information on the fines has raised a lot of controversy, which is why Gareth Llewellyn, the head of the DVSA, at the request of the British transport RHA explained in detail in which situations the drivers will be punished. According to his statement, the agency will impose sanctions only on the drivers who have weekly 45-hour rest in the truck parked on or near public roads, in coves and places without sanitary facilities.
Therefore, the truckers will still be able to spend the night in the cabin, but only in an appropriate place.
RHA CEO, Richard Burnett, commented on the new regulations. In his opinion total ban on resting in the cabin would be bad, its impact on the operations of British carriers would by catastrophic – The problem we are dealing with is the drivers resting in inappropriate or illegal locations in inappropriate conditions. It is bad for society, industry reputation, health and safety of the truckers and other road users – said Burnett.
The amount of the fine may increase
Penalties for foreign drivers sleeping in the truck cabins by the road could rise to 3 thousand pounds. The government is considering a substantial increase in fines for foreign carriers who ignore the rules regarding the weekly rest.
Jesse Norman, Undersecretary of State in the British Ministry of Transport told a parliamentarian from Kent, Gordon Henderson, that the penalties for spending a regular weekly rest in an inappropriate place can increase from 300 to 3 thousand pounds.
The government is considering an increase due to the complaints of British carriers. According to them the fines in the UK are disproportionate in comparison with fines in other European countries – informs kentonline.co.uk. In their opinion, it is unfair that the British have to pay much higher fines for violating the same ban than foreign entrepreneurs on the British isles. Sanctions in force in France could be presented as an example here. Spending a 45-hour rest in the truck can end in a fine of up to 26 thousand pounds (30 thousand euros/124 500 PLN).
– We are considering increasing the penalties. Potentially, as fines for offenses against the traffic safety they could amount even up to 3 thousand pounds – said Norman.”
We will keep you up-to-date on further details.