HGV Drivers’ Working Regulations and Hours

 Everything You Need to Know About HGV Drivers’ Working Regulations and Hours

Being the driver of a HGV around the UK isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life. It requires skill, patience, and plenty of concentration. This is particularly essential on those longer 15-hour shifts. What keeps us and everybody else on the road safe is abiding by the rules that are in place to ensure that we don’t get overworked or overtired.

It doesn’t matter if you have been behind the wheel for years or if you are just starting your trucking career, it’s vital that you know your way around the driving hours, breaking rules as well as your tachograph usage. So through this post, I will be breaking down everything that I believe that a HGV driver needs to know about so that they can stay legal and safe while working on the road.

 

 

Why Are HGV Driving Regulations Important?

Due to the size and weight of a Heavy Goods Vehicle, getting tired behind the wheels isn’t just uncomfortable, it can be a massive danger. This is why there are strict rules in place that are designed to keep drivers from getting to fatigued, ensure that the roads are safe for everyone, stop corner cutting by transport companies, and ensure that drivers health and well-being is looked after.

In the UK, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) that makes sure that the rules are stuck by. 

 

 

Drivers’ Hours Rules: EU vs Domestic

As a HGV driver the hours that you are allowed to do are dependent on the type of driving that you are doing. Most of us fall under either the EU drivers’ hours rules or the GB domestic rules 

 

If you are traveling internationally for your runs, then you will usually be following the EU rules. These rules state that you can drive for up to 9 hours a day, however, can extend this to 10 hours twice a week if it is needed. Over the course of a single week, you cannot go over 56 driving hours, and across any two weeks, you are limited to 90 in total.

 

When it comes to rest, you must ensure that you are taking 11 consecutive hours each day, this can however be knocked down to 9 hours a few times a week so long as you make it up later. There is also the option to be able to split your daily rest, for example doing 3 hours, then 9 hours. Each week you should be ensuring that you get 45 hours of rest in one go, this can however be reduced to 24 hours every other week, providing that you catch up on the lost time.

 

After all of that once you have driven for a full 4.5 hours then you are required to take a 45-minute break, this break can be split into a shorter 15-minute break which would then need to be followed by a 30 minute one.

If you plan on doing more local work, or operating under some exemptions, then you might be working on the GB domestic rules. These rules are much simpler. You are limited to a total of 10 hours of driving time, and your total duty time which includes your driving time as well as any other work, cannot go over 11 hours per day. These rules apply more generally to smaller vehicles (3.5 tonnes) or certain types of jobs such as agriculture, maintenance or utility work.

 

 

Working Time Directive (WTD)

As well as the driving hours, there is also another set of regulations that drivers must be aware of. The Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005. There are all about the number of hours that you can spend working and not just driving, but everything else that counts as being part of the job too. This could be loading paperwork, wating time, and so on.  

Under these rules, your working week on average shouldn’t go over 48 hours. This is calculated over a 17-week period. You can work up to a maximum of 60 hours within a single week if your average still stays within that 48hour limit over the 17-week period.

Breaks are also required based on how long you have been working for. Separate from the breaks that you take for driving. If you have a shift that is between 6 and 9 hours, then you need to take at least a 30-minute break. If you’re working more than 9 hours, then that break goes up to 45 minutes.

There are also more limitations for if you are working nights. Nights are defined as any work that is done between midnight and 4am for HGV drivers. If your shift falls during the window then you are limited to just 10 hours of work, unless there is a collective agreement in place that allows for more.

 

 

Tachographs: Monitoring Compliance

Tachographs are not the most exciting bit of the job, however they are essential nevertheless, they keep a record of everything, how long you have been driving, when you have taken your breaks, as well as any other work that you have done during your shift. Most of us are using digital tachographs these days, which automatically log the information when you pop your card in. In some older motors however, you might still find some old-school analogue ones with the paper charts.

When you start your shift, you must put your driver card in straight away and make sure that everything is recording properly. If you’ve had a ferry trip or an overnight stop, you’ll need to fill in those records manually. You are also responsible for keeping your data for 28 days and handing it over to your company when needed.

The DVSA also doesn’t mess around, they are able to pull you over at the roadside or show up at your depot for an audit. If your records are not up to scratch, then you could end up facing some hefty fines or even lose your licence for a bit. The bottom line is that you should keep your tach records clean and accurate, and make sure that you do not cut corners.

 

 

Rest Facilities and Daily Life

Rest breaks are not just about ticking the box or meeting the legal requirements they are about looking after yourself out there on the road. Anyone who has spent a full day behind the wheel knows how incredible exhausting it can be, not just from driving, but also from dealing with traffic, tight schedules, and all of the loading and unloading. When it does become time to stop, it’s not just a quick pause, it’s your chance to recharge properly. This can mean having a decent meal, having a proper shower, or using clean toilets, and finding a safe, quite spot to get some real sleep. There have been many occasions where I have power-napped through my 15 or 30-minute breaks. It is truly amazing what a quick kip can do when your running low on energy, those short rests can really help clear your head and keep you sharp and ready for the road ahead.

The UK has made some improvements with some more secure truck stops cropping up, and whilst this is great, there honestly still aren’t nearly enough good places to rest. To many times, drivers are required to park up in a random layby or industrial estate with nowhere decent to eat or freshen up. That’s not just uncomfortable, it’s downright unfair and sometimes can even be dangerous. When carrying expensive cargo or just trying to get yourself a decent night’s rest, you want to feel like you are safe and secure and not have to worry about your stuff or your own safety. 

More people are beginning to push for better investment in rest areas due to the number of trucks on the road continuing to rise. This industry is growing, so the facilities must grow to. If we are the ones keeping everything moving, the least we deserve is somewhere decent to pull over and rest and come back ready to drive safely again. It’s not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

 

 

Penalties for Breaching HGV Regulations

Not keeping to the HGV driving rules isn’t something to be taken lightly. You could get hit to on-the-spot fines that go up to £300 for each offence. In extension, penalties can cover breaches from the past 28 days, not just what you have done that day. In some cases, you can even get a prohibition notice, this means that you must stop driving straight away until the issue is sorted. For serious or repeated offences, things can continue to escalate, you could get summoned to court. It’s also not just the driver that is on the hook, employers can also be held responsible if they have turned a blind eye or if they have pushed drivers to break the rules.

 

 

Top Tips for Staying Compliant

If you are aiming to stay on the correct side of the rules, then plan your routes and breaks ahead of time so that you are not rushing or tempted to skip rest. Also make sure that you are using your tachograph properly (don’t forget to do your manual entries). It’s also massively important to keep up with any changes to the rules, particularly since Brexit shook things up a bit. Logging all your working hours, not just your drive time, keeps everything above board. Finaly if you do ever feel pressured to push past your limits, speak up. At the end of the day, it’s your licence and your safety that matter the most.

 

 

Conclusion

If you do want to avoid trouble and ensure that thing is running smoothly, planning your routes and breaks in advance is a massive help. There is no point in rushing or skipping a rest to save a few minutes. Ensure that you are always using your tachograph properly, and don’t forget to add your manual entries. Rules change now and then, especially since Brexit, so it’s smart to stay on top of the latest updates. Don’t just log your driving hours to your taco, make sure that you are recording everything that you are doing to ensure that you keep yourself above board. The most important thing to remember is that if someone is pushing you to go over your limits, don’t be afraid to speak up, it’s your licence and your safety, both come before anything else.

Bibliography

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs: Goods Vehicles (2024) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/drivers-hours-goods-vehicles accessed 18 June 2025.

Department for Transport, Guidance on Drivers’ Hours Rules and Tachographs for Goods Vehicles (2024) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/drivers-hours accessed 18 June 2025.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Guide to Keeping Tachograph Records (2023) https://www.gov.uk/tachographs accessed 18 June 2025.

Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/639.

The Drivers’ Hours (Goods Vehicles) (Keeping of Records) Regulations 1987, SI 1987/1430.

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport.

Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February 2014 on tachographs in road transport.

Road Haulage Association (RHA), Driver Fatigue and Rest Facilities Report (2023) https://www.rha.uk.netaccessed 18 June 2025.

Logistics UK, Working Time Directive – Explained (2024) https://logistics.org.uk accessed 18 June 2025.