DVSA to issue £300 fine for weekly rest taken in HGVs from next month

Drivers who take their 45-hour weekly rest in their cab will face a £300 fine from 1 November, and may be required to restart their rest period.

Transport secretary Jesse Norman said the measures should be a significant deterrent to operators and drivers tempted to breach weekly rest rules, and hopefully help problems with illegal HGV parking in Kent.

He said: “Although an overnight rest in the cab is a legitimate and established industry practice, we must draw the line somewhere.

“Drivers should not spend an indefinite period driving and resting at their place of work- their lorry.”

The weekend cab break ban will be enforced by the DVSA and police.

The FTA said that whilst it supported the need for drivers to take their weekly rest break away from their trucks, the lack of secure parking facilities and roadside accommodation needed to be addressed.

Malcolm Bingham, the FTA’s head of road network policy, said: “Without a consistent, widespread network of safe and secure rest stops nationwide, drivers will still opt to take rest in their cabs particularly when their fully fitted cab offers a better standard than some accessible amenities.  FTA is calling on government to use common sense in applying the new £300 fines system.”

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Norman said the government may also look at increasing the penalties, potentially up to £3,000, for the most serious offences, such as tachograph manipulation.

Kent County Council will also be trialling an overnight parking ban on a stretch of the A20 and will clamp vehicles immediately, rather than waiting for a repeat offence to be committed.

“This is not about waking up drivers in the middle of the night where they are parked in proper facilities in a law-abiding way,” Norman said, “it is about deterring problematic behaviour, particularly in certain areas.”