Brussels, 30/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 30 July, the United Kingdom notified the European Commission of a derogation, applicable for 30 days, to the European regulation on normal daily driving times for lorry drivers, in the framework of operation 'Stack' launched by the British police.
The tension related to crossing the English Channel between France and the United Kingdom has started to resonate in the corridors of the Commission. Lorry driver associations have recently alerted it to the situation of lorry drivers in the United Kingdom, who can remain stuck for many hours on the hard shoulders of the British motorway M20, in the framework of operation 'Stack'.
Operations of this kind are implemented when exceptional situations arise relating to road safety and, in this case, consists of parking lorries on the hard shoulders of the motorway, according to police from the county of Kent, which is in charge of the operation currently underway.
Operation 'Stack' was mounted a few weeks ago, due firstly to strike action in Calais, which had the effect of drastically reducing the number of ferries in circulation, and secondly, regular closures of the Eurotunnel due to the intrusion of migrants risking their lives trying to reach British soil illegally. This has led to hundreds of lorries being stuck for hours on the side of the M20.
The daily and fortnightly number of hours that can be worked by lorry drivers is governed by regulation 561/2006, which sets the daily driving time at nine hours with a maximum of 90 hours per fortnight. However, time spent at standstill is automatically included by tachographs in the working hours of drivers, who consequently face fines if they exceed their daily or fortnightly threshold.
For this reason, the United Kingdom has, by virtue of article 14 of the regulation, granted a temporary derogation for a maximum period of 30 days to the road vehicles in question, providing for the daily driving hours to be increased from 9 to 11. (Pascal Hansens)