In his draft report on working time for lorry drivers and embedded smart tachographs, revising regulations 561/2006 and 165/2014 published on 19 December last, Wim van de Camp MEP (EPP, Netherlands) seeks to protect drivers' working conditions, whilst demonstrating significant flexibility.
The MEP welcomed the European Commission's proposal in this regard presented on 31 May last as part of the first “mobility" package (see EUROPE 11799). This is already seeking to modify the rest times of sector workers by adapting them to the specificities of the international transport sector but the MEP would also like to introduce greater flexibility.
Van de Camp first of all suggests that a driver takes a maximum of two weekly rest times reduced per month (24 hours) for twice the “normal” rest times (45 hours) and therefore resumes the terms used in the Commission proposal.
Although he is also advocating the introduction of a general principle in which normal and reduced weekly rest times cannot be taken on board the vehicle, he is, however, proposing a derogation whereby a lorry driver would be able to take this rest time in his lorry on the condition that it is parked in dedicated parking areas that will have to meet a raft of criteria, particularly with regard to health and safety and be defined in a document annexed to the proposal. According to the MEP, a comprehensive ban on taking rest time in the vehicle cannot be justified for practical and insurance related reasons.
Whereas the Commission is also proposing to compel transport companies to give drivers an opportunity to benefit from normal rest time or more than 45 hours in a place of residence every three weeks, the MEP is suggesting that this period is increased to 4 weeks and that workers have the choice of taking this rest at home or in another place of their choice. Flexibility is the reason invoked for justifying this kind of amendment.
The discussions on this report are expected to be extremely difficult because the Commission proposal is the subject of major differences, particularly at the Council of the European Union (see EUROPE 11919).
Shift to smart tachograph for entire fleet by 2 January 2020? Although the MEP's proposals on rest time are geared towards greater flexibility, it is a different matter with his suggestions for the smart tachograph. The embedded smart tachograph is one of the key points in the negotiations on the first “Mobility" package and the question of this tool being essential in monitoring respect of the future provisions regulating international transport. Although several different political forces are not fundamentally against the basic proposals from the European Commission presented on 31 May last, they do consider that the obligation of embedding smart tachograph on vehicles is an absolute necessity in the short and medium-term and without which they say it will be impossible to apply the future rules (see EUROPE 11811).
According to the Commission's proposal, application of the smart tachograph will only be binding on the entire European fleet as from 2034, Van de Camp is clearly more ambitious because he would like this cut-off date to be set for 2 January 2020. He is also suggesting that the member states should also be equipped with the technological and logistical means to ensure the appropriate use of data generated by these smart tachographs from 2020.
Mr van de Camp is also calling for national databases to be created that register the activities of lorry drivers, in an effort to facilitate the collection and exchange of appropriate information.
Finally, with regard to monitoring, lorry drivers should, according to the draft report, be able to translate information to the authorities on their activities over the previous 56 days and not the past 28 days, which is currently the case. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)