Driver working time

Driver working time is the total time a professional driver spends driving and performing other work, such as loading, vehicle checks and paperwork, as distinct from breaks and rest periods. In the EU it is recorded by a tachograph and governed by the EU 561 driving-time rules and the Mobility Package; for international transport outside the EU, the AETR agreement applies.

Which driving time limits apply?

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 sets the limits that every driver’s schedule is built around:

• Daily driving time: 9 hours, extendable to 10 hours no more than twice a week.
• Weekly driving time: no more than 56 hours.
• Fortnightly driving time: no more than 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks.
• Break: 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving; it can be split into 15 minutes followed by 30 minutes, in that order.
• Daily rest: 11 hours, reducible to 9 hours no more than three times between two weekly rest periods.
• Weekly rest: 45 hours, reducible to 24 hours, provided the reduction is compensated by the end of the third following week.

Working time as an employment matter is governed separately by the EU road transport working time directive (2002/15/EC), which each member state transposes into national law: no more than 48 hours a week on average over the reference period, up to 60 hours in a single week, and no more than six consecutive hours of work without a break. These are two different sets of rules, and a schedule can stay within the 561/2006 limits while breaching the working time limits.

How is driver working time recorded?

In trucks above 3.5 t gross vehicle weight used in international transport, working time is recorded by a mandatory tachograph. Under the Mobility Package, second-generation smart tachographs (G2V2) are replacing older analogue, digital (G1) and first-generation smart (G2V1) devices. Vehicles first registered from 21 August 2023 have carried G2V2 units from the start. Since 1 July 2026 the obligation has also covered lighter commercial vehicles of 2.5–3.5 t used in international transport and cabotage (except own-account transport where driving is not the driver’s main activity).

The tachograph knows four activity modes: driving, other work, availability, and break or rest. Driving is recorded automatically as soon as the vehicle moves; the driver switches between the other modes by hand. The tachograph stores them together with the vehicle’s movement data and, in G2V2 units, with the GNSS position at border crossings. A mismatch between what the device recorded and what the driver entered is one of the first things inspectors look at.

What were the G2V2 tachograph deadlines?

The retrofit schedule for international transport depended on the vehicle’s registration date and the installed device. All of these deadlines have now passed:

• vehicles registered before 15 June 2019 (analogue or digital G1): replacement by 31 December 2024, with an education-first transition period from 1 January to 28 February 2025
• vehicles registered between 15 June 2019 and 21 August 2023 (smart G2V1): upgrade to G2V2 by 18/19 August 2025, with no transition period after that date
• vehicles registered from 21 August 2023: G2V2 fitted from first registration
• vehicles of 2.5–3.5 t in international transport and cabotage: obligation since 1 July 2026 (exempt: own-account transport where driving is not the driver’s main activity)

This makes 2026 the first full year in which every stage of the rollout applies at the same time and is enforced without transition periods.

Does the obligation cover national transport?

No. The retrofit requirement applies to vehicles used in international road transport within the EU. Vehicles used exclusively for national transport, or for international transport outside the EU under AETR rules, are generally exempt, although AETR interpretations differ between EU member states, so transit through EU countries needs care. Mixed fleets sometimes assign older-tachograph vehicles to national routes only and G2V2 vehicles to international work. That split takes discipline in dispatching, though: a single cross-border trip in a G2V1 vehicle undoes the whole arrangement.

How does a fleet keep track of working time in real time?

A tachograph record shows what has happened, but gives no warning of what is about to happen. Real-time control comes from telematics, which downloads tachograph data without the vehicle having to return to the depot and shows the remaining driving time before a driver reaches a limit. In practice this means three things:

• planning jobs around each driver’s actual availability, not on the assumption that the full allowance is still left
• alerting the dispatcher before an infringement happens, because an infringement cannot be undone afterwards
• an archive of DDD files ready for inspection, without manual card downloads, which always seem to fall due at the worst moment

The scope of this automation is described on the remote tachograph download page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between driving time and working time?

Driving time covers only the time at the wheel. Working time additionally includes other duties such as loading and unloading, vehicle checks and administrative tasks. The tachograph records both, in separate activity modes, along with breaks and rest.

How many hours a day can a driver drive?

Nine hours, extendable to ten no more than twice a week. After 4.5 hours of driving a 45-minute break is required, which can be split into 15 and 30 minutes, in that order. The weekly limit is 56 hours, and the limit across two consecutive weeks is 90 hours.

Can driver working time be read remotely?

Yes. Remote tachograph download is a standard telematics function: platforms such as frameLOGIC read the tachograph over the air and show how much driving time each driver has left before a mandatory rest, which helps operators avoid infringement penalties.

Can the 45-minute break be split?

Yes, but only into two parts and only in one order: first at least 15 minutes, then at least 30 minutes. The reverse order does not meet the requirement. Both parts must be taken by the time 4.5 hours of driving are reached: the 15 minutes during that period, the 30 minutes at the latest once it ends.

How long must tachograph data be kept?

Tachograph and driver card data must be downloaded regularly and archived for at least a year, and working time records kept for as long as national employment law requires. Note the difference in capacity: a new-generation driver card holds 56 days of activity and overwrites its oldest entries once full, while the vehicle unit stores data for at least a year. So it is the card, not the tachograph, that sets the limit on the interval between downloads.