I find it hard to imagine anyone falling asleep at the wheel in London. Is it possible that a lorry driver could nod off while negotiating Hyde Park Corner, or while trying to avoid the dispatch riders, cyclists and pedestrians on the Kilburn High Road? I very much doubt it. So, when I see enforcement officers poring over tachograph charts and printouts beside lorries pulled over on the A1 at Holloway, North London, I often wonder if they are doing it for some other reason than to detect tired drivers.
It’s easy to be sceptical about some traffic enforcement and even speculate about the ‘easy’ money made from persecuting otherwise law abiding people. When so much effort is seen to be put into catching the driver, and so little obvious effort into to catching the real criminal, it’s no wonder people get riled. It’s as if a murderer, robber or rapist is thought to be less of a villain than an errant motorist. The truth is, though, while there is a vast difference between motoring offences and more serious criminal acts, the outcome does not always reflect this perceived level of importance.
I wonder how many police officers have knocked on someone’s door in order to tell them that a loved one has been killed on the road, only for that person to say, “Thank God, I thought you were going to tell me the car had been nicked”. I hope, none. So, some accidents have the most serious consequence of all and although where an offence has been committed it’s a motoring one, the result is sometimes the worst imaginable. Sitting in my lounge, recuperating after a busy week and thinking back to those lorries stopped on the Holloway Road, I ponder about the significance of those road checks.
According to RoSPA, 20% of serious accidents on motorways and monotonous roads are caused by tiredness. Due to the amount of trucks on the road and the demands of the job, I can imagine a number of heavy vehicles being involved in these statistics. In this context, it’s easier to see the importance of the tachograph regulations and their implementation. Looking through a guide produced by the police (Tachograph: A Practical Guide to the Rules and Regulations) I am trying to get a feel for the rules and what they actually mean; how they are enforced and what tachographs actually do to ensure compliance with the regulations.
Although rules intended to control the amount of time a driver can work had been around for some time, tachographs were not introduced in this country until 1977 (and after a number of false starts). The instruments recorded speed, time and distance on a waxed paper chart. Charts are still used in older lorries but those registered after 2006 have a digital instrument and record onto a ‘smart’ card inserted by the driver. Drivers hours legislation was originally introduced at the behest of the trade union movement in order to prevent the exploitation of workers by unscrupulous employers after WWII. Later EU regulations, however, have been more geared towards safety and some of the most important parts are those that relate to rest.
Rest is often defined as a period of inactivity: a time when the body is still and its functions decrease, so that relaxation and recuperation results. Sleep and rest differ in that when we sleep the body shuts down much more. Sleep is seen by some as the natural state of rest. Both are important: sleep deprivation, a tool of the interrogator that borders on torture, and lack of rest, causes the body and mind to be unable to function properly. When we drive, lack of concentration and increased reaction times are not only the first signs but also the first dangers. However, the body needs to repair and create new cells in all its systems, and for it to fully recharge a period of sleep is necessary; it is not sufficient to just rest. So, how do the tachograph regulations deal with the importance of the restful state of sleep?
The answer is that they don’t – but the wider law does. Drivers hours regulations now come under EU Regulation 561/2006, which says that a rest is defined as an uninterrupted period where the driver can freely dispose of his time. Rest cannot be taken in a moving vehicle but where taken in a (stationary) vehicle, suitable sleeping arrangements must be available. If rest is taken on a ferry or train a driver must have access to a bunk or couchette. In this way, I suppose the regulations are giving the driver every incentive to get some sleep. If he doesn’t, and drives while tired, then a much harsher piece of law takes over.
Sections 1 and 2 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 deal with Dangerous Driving and each carry prison sentences as a maximum punishment. There are a number of aggravating factors that are seen to increase the culpability of a driver at the time of an incident. Driving when knowingly deprived of sleep or rest is one of them – in other words, in breach of the regulations or just plain tired. There are, however, always people willing to break any law, no matter what the cost - so the law insists on help from all quarters.
According to my guide to tachograph use, employers can be held responsible for their drivers’ actions. This can be seen in the part of the regulations that says that a driver cannot have with them any paper record older than 42 calendar days. This gives the operator sight of the records and scope to check that his drivers are working correctly within the rules. It also allows him to look at the charts to see if any problems are apparent with the instrument. This is true of all tachographs, whether the older, analogue version or a newer digital type - it is a requirement that digital instruments are periodically downloaded by the company. Even with these pieces of information, problems are not always obvious, so a reasonable knowledge of the rules and what the tachograph itself is showing are needed.
The drivers hours rules state that a daily rest must be completed before the end of 24 hours from the start of activity for a particular daily period. A regular rest is 11 hours, this can be reduced to 9 hours up to 3 times between two weekly rest periods. A regular daily rest can be taken in two periods, the first not less than 3 hours and the second, at the end of which the ‘24 hours’ ends, being not less than 9 hours (total 12 hours). There are additional rules for ferry and train journeys. It’s not always the amount of driving that’s a problem to some drivers, but fitting everything – driving, other work, breaks etc – into the (maximum) period of 24 hours from the start of activity. And it is then that deceiving the tachograph gets the attention of drivers who wish to create a false record of their activity.
Self-diagnostics became mandatory on all instruments manufactured after 1996 and saw a revolution in the identification of problems. An analogue tachograph essentially relies on two main electrical inputs: permanent power from the vehicle's battery and a signal from the gearbox sensor. If the permanent power is interrupted the tachograph dies, and most importantly, the clock stops. On reconnection the instrument puts one (or more, depending on the model) full scale deflection on the speed trace, telling anyone who subsequently looks at the chart what has happened. A gearbox sender fault results in block-traces, either 0-30kph or 0-40kph depending on the model. Faults or interference, therefore, became easier to detect. However, nothing is insurmountable and even today, with all the technology heralded by this digital age, some drivers are apparently getting round the safeguards and managing to create records that do not represent the actual hours they have worked.
I think I now know why the authorities are so keen to make sure drivers have sufficient rest. A reduction in the number of casualties on our roads must be a priority and whatever means are available should be used. The temptation to cheat the rules will always be there, I suppose, and the pressures of timed delivery and traffic congestion will only get worse. That’s why I’m pleased that is all behind me for now and I can sit at home and relax – as long as a policeman doesn’t come knocking on my door.
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