As a driver, you should be armed with the necessary information when it comes to vehicle condition, drivers’ hours, and driver obligations to make sure that you’re compliant with legal HGV Driver Responsibilities in the United Kingdom.

Not being compliant with driving limits and drivers’ hours could lead to court summons, a graduated deposit, or a fixed penalty.

Driving Breaks and Limits from Driving

• As a benchmark, you can operate a vehicle for 9 hours/per taking a break of 45 minutes.
• After each 4.5hours of operating a vehicle, rest for 45 minutes.
• You can divide your 45-minute break into smaller breaks.
• You can prolong your driving times to 10 hours twice per week.

Driving Shift Patterns

In 1 week, you can operate a vehicle for up to 56 hours. But you can’t go over 90 hours in a two-week timespan.

If you operate a vehicle for 56 hours in a week, then you’re permitted to drive for 34 hours in the second week.

Daily Rest

• On average, you’re required to take 11 hours of normal regular rest atop your 45-minute break.
• Unless you take your 11-hour rest at a go, your daily rest can be divided into two parts. One can be an undisrupted minimum rest of 3 hours and the second stint an undisrupted minimum rest of 9 hours.
• Three times each week can minimize your daily rest period to a minimum of 9 hours undisrupted duration.
• To learn more about drivers’ limits and hours, go to www.gov.uk.

All the information you need about daily breaks will be given to you in your HGV training.

Driver Medical Requirements

As per the law, all HGV drivers must be of fairly good health to get behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle. Due to this, all newbie HGV/LGV drivers and veteran HGV/LGV drivers updating their license must undergo a medical assessment carried out by a certified healthcare practitioner. This can either be a private Physician or an NHS GP, but it’s integral that you note that regardless, the exam may see you incur a charge.

The doctor will fill out a form referred to as a D4 and enter it into the DVLA. It isn’t up to the healthcare provider to determine whether or not the driver has met the caveats to operate a commercial vehicle, they can only fill out the form based on the medical discoveries. The DVLA will determine if the driver is fit enough to drive a commercial vehicle as per the data submitted on the D4 form.

The exam will encompass a couple of standard areas:

• Eyesight – HGV drivers are subjected to a more rigorous eyesight requirement compared to the caveats set for car drivers. You’ll need to see properly enough without the aid of corrective lenses, plus your vision will also be evaluated.
• Diabetes – This won’t make you automatically ineligible to drive, but you’ll need to properly manage this condition for the DVLA to give the go-ahead.
• Heart Conditions – The Physician will evaluate any likely heart complications including aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and murmurs.