Transport Policy

Access to the market Admission to the occupation   Road haulage General rules Cabotage Driver attestation Hired vehicles   Passenger transport General rules Cabotage

Non-EU countries General Land transport agreement with Switzerland EEA Agreement Interbus agreement

Road charging Infrastructure charging Vehicle & fuel taxes Tolls & user charges for vehicles (including Eurovignette)

Social provisions Driving time & rest periods Tachograph [List of Workshops] Working time Enforcement Form of attestation of activities

Social provisions

Working time

Directive 2002/15/EC lays down minimum requirements with regard to working time for all mobile workers performing road transport activities, including self-employed drivers, in order to improve road safety, safeguard the health and safety of workers and prevent distortion of competition. It also supplements the provisions of Regulation (EC) 561/2006 which lays down common rules on drivers' driving time and rest periods.

More particularly, it contains the following general provisions:

• Definitions of working time, periods of availability, place of work, mobile worker, self-employed driver, week, night time and night work
• Maximum working week : 48 hours (this can be extended to 60 hours provided an average of 48 hours per week is not exceeded in any 4 month period)
• Breaks : not more than 6 hours should be worked consecutively without a break (at least 30 min when 6 to 9 hours are worked per day)
• Rest time : the provisions of Regulation (EC) 561/2006 are maintained
• Night work :  not more than 10 hours in any 24-hour period

The rules are applicable to all mobile workers from 23 March 2005. On the basis of the Commission report in 2007 on the consequences of the exclusion of self-employed drivers there will be either a proposal on how they can best be included or a proposal of their exclusion. Otherwise the rules will apply to self-employed drivers from 23 March 2009.