Safety breaks for non-professional drivers

Safety breaks for non-professional drivers

According to Appendix No. 1, Paragraph 3, of Government Regulation No. 168/2002, which sets organization methods for work and working procedures, the employer is obliged to provide when operating transportation by means of transport. It says the employer is required to ensure that an employee:

1. Doesn’t exceed the maximum time of driving, which is 4.5 hours; an interruption of driving shorter than 15 is to be included in the driving time (e.g when they stop for 5 min at a petrol station to get a coffee and immediately continue driving, etc.)
   
   Driving must be interrupted with a safety break of at least 30 min, at the latest after the maximum time of driving is reached, unless an uninterrupted rest between two shifts or uninterrupted rest during a week follows.
   
   The safety break may be divided into two parts of at least 15 minutes within the driving time, e.g. after 2.5 hours of driving and after 2 hours of driving. This may be set by the employer in their internal rules.
   
   Safety breaks can be longer, this may also be set in the internal rules by the employer.
   
    
2. During a safety break, the driver mustn’t do any activity which is a part of their work duties, except supervising the vehicle and its cargo. This time should be used by the employee to recover. Safety breaks and breaks for eating and resting (according to the Labour Code No. 262/2006 after 6 hours of work) may be combined.
   
    

They must keep daily records, on paper or by a device, on the time spent by driving a means of transport and taking safety breaks