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HGV Drivers’ Hours & Tachographs Training
Drivers’ hours and tachograph offences are the most common findings at a DVSA roadside check and the most common route to a public inquiry. This online course takes an HGV driver from first principles to confident daily practice, covering the EU rules, the GB domestic rules, AETR journeys and every type of tachograph unit.
About this course
The rules are not difficult, but they are detailed
Most drivers’ hours infringements are not deliberate. They come from a driver who was never taught the rules properly, repeating the same handful of mistakes until an enforcement officer finds them: a break taken in the wrong order, a manual entry that does not add up, a missing country code at a border, a weekly rest taken where it should not have been.
This course fixes that. It explains which set of rules applies to a given job, the EU drivers’ hours rules that cover most goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, the GB domestic rules that apply to exempt work, and the AETR rules that come into play on journeys through non-EU European countries. It then covers the tachograph itself: operating the unit, making manual entries that stand up to scrutiny, recording border crossings, and what the operator has to download, keep and analyse.
Course content
What the course covers
Which rules apply
EU drivers’ hours under Regulation 561/2006, the GB domestic rules for exempt work, and AETR journeys through non-EU European countries, plus how to work out which set applies to the job in front of you.
Driving limits and breaks
Daily and weekly driving limits, the break requirement and how it may be split, and the record-keeping that has to sit behind it.
Rest periods
Daily rest, reduced and split rest, weekly rest and reduced weekly rest, compensation, where a weekly rest may be taken, and the return home requirements on international work.
Tachograph operation
Analogue, digital and smart units, driver cards, mode switching, periods of availability, manual entries, out-of-scope driving, and recording country of start, finish and border crossings.
The transport office
Records a driver must carry at the roadside, driver card and vehicle unit download intervals, data retention, and what infringement analysis is looking for.
Enforcement
DVSA roadside checks, prohibitions and fixed penalties, operator responsibility for driver infringements, and how a poor record affects an operator’s licence.
Who it’s for
Drivers, transport managers and office staff
The course assumes no prior knowledge, so it suits a newly qualified driver learning the rules for the first time, and works equally well as a refresher for an experienced driver who has picked up habits that will not survive a roadside check. It is also written with the transport office in mind, covering the download, retention and analysis duties that fall on the operator rather than the driver.
Running vans between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes on international work as well? Those vehicles fall under a separate set of requirements, covered in our Van Drivers’ Hours & Tachographs course.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Does this course count towards Driver CPC?⌄
Does it cover UK-only work as well as European journeys?⌄
Is this suitable for a brand new driver?⌄
Does it cover the transport office side?⌄
How long does the course take and what do I get?⌄
Get your drivers confident on the rules
£25 per learner, fully online with an instant certificate. Training a whole fleet? Volume pricing is available, call us and we’ll set your team up with completion tracking.
