New EU rules for the road transport sector enter into force April 11 to increase safety and improve working conditions for commercial vehicle drivers.

The new regulations will apply to all vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes, or which can carry 10 passengers or more (including the driver).

All drivers of heavy goods vehicles and passenger transport vehicles will have at least two full days off every two weeks and a longer rest period each day. For road safety reasons, previous derogatory regimes allowing for instance coach drivers in occasional transport to drive without weekly rest for up to 12 consecutive days, have been aligned to the general rules.

From April 11, drivers must take a total of 45 minutes break, at or before the end of four and a half hours of driving. The new rules state that the 45 minute break must now be split into just two breaks, the first at least 15 minutes long and the second at least 30 minutes long. In the past the 45 minute break could be split into breaks of at least 15 minutes each.

Weekly driving totals have been set at a maximum of 56 hours and no more than 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks.

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