As of Monday 21st April 2025, there will be new regulations which require changes to the drivers’ hours rules for HGV operators.
Operators will be required to produce 56 days of driver’s records on international journeys instead of the previous requirement of 28 days. This includes digital data, analogue charts, and any manual records.
This comes after the ruling changed as of December 31st 2024, drivers must be able to produce 56 days of records instead of the previous 28 days.
In addition to this, drivers must follow AETR rules for journeys to and from the UK and Non-EU countries.
So, what are AETR rules?
This is an international agreement that governs drivers’ hours and rest periods for professional drivers operating in international road transport. They are mostly the same as EU rules however there are some differences:
- You can work for more than 4 consecutive weeks without returning to your home or where the vehicle is usually based.
- You can only take 1 reduced weekly rest period (less than 45 hours) at a time – this must be followed by 1 full weekly rest period.
- You can only interrupt your regular daily rest period (11 hours) during ferry crossings.
Most types of vehicles that are exempt from EU rules are also exempt from AETR rules. However, all vehicles weighing 3.5 Tonnes or more that are carrying hand-crafted goods must follow AETR rules.
You can find out where you must follow AETR rules here: https://www.gov.uk/drivers-hours/aetr-rules
HGV operators must also ensure they retrofit a smart tachograph 2 by August 18th 2025 if their vehicle is currently equipped with a smart tachograph 1.
They will also need to fit a smart tachograph 2 by July 1st 2026 if the GVW is between 2.5 – 3.5 Tonnes.
The DVSA will be updating guidance soon which will also include the following:
- A definition of what goods are in relation to driver’s hours.
- Clarity on national derogation for radio or television broadcasting
- An updated list of countries for the EU and Non-EU
- An updated list of what regulations apply to drivers’ hours and working time
- Replacing any reference to ‘EU Law’ with ‘Assimilated drivers’ hours rules’.
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