How to organise drivers' work between working time, driving and rest

In brief

To organise a driver properly, it is not enough to know how many hours they have driven. Driving time, working time and availability/rest time are different concepts governed by overlapping rules.

A driver may have driven little but already accumulated many working hours through loading, unloading and other activities. Or they may have spent time waiting which, depending on the conditions and predictability, has a different classification. The dispatcher must therefore plan around the person's real capacity, not just the truck's availability.

Three concepts not to confuse

Driving time

This is time recorded as driving and regulated principally by Regulation (EC) 561/2006 for vehicles and transport operations within its scope.

Working time

For mobile road-transport workers, it includes not only driving but also other activities performed at the employer's disposal: loading, unloading, cleaning and technical maintenance, formalities and activities related to transport safety.

Periods of availability and rest

The rules distinguish periods when the worker is not required to remain at the workstation but must be available to answer possible calls to start or resume driving or other work, under certain conditions, from rest periods when they may freely use their own time.

Mobile working time

Legislative Decree No. 234 of 19 November 2007 transposes into Italian law Directive 2002/15/EC on the organisation of the working time of persons performing mobile road-transport activities.

The European definition expressly includes the following in working time:

• driving;
• loading and unloading;
• cleaning and technical maintenance;
• activities intended to ensure the safety of the vehicle and load;
• administrative formalities directly connected with transport;
• certain waiting periods during which the worker cannot freely use their own time, especially where the foreseeable duration of the wait is not known in advance.

This distinction is crucial at depots: waiting two hours does not automatically mean two hours of rest.

Driving and rest periods

Regulation 561/2006 lays down specific rules. Among the main ones, within its ordinary scope:

• daily driving normally up to 9 hours, extendable to 10 twice a week;
• a maximum of 56 driving hours in one week;
• a maximum total of 90 hours over two consecutive weeks;
• after 4 hours and 30 minutes of driving, a break of at least 45 minutes, unless a rest period starts, with split breaks possible under the applicable conditions;
• daily and weekly rests with the rules and possible reductions/compensations provided by the legislation.

The Mobility Package also introduced rules on the driver's return and weekly rests, including the prohibition on taking the regular weekly rest in the vehicle.

Loading, unloading and waiting

Loading and unloading are listed by Directive 2002/15/EC among work activities. Waiting time may also fall within working time when the driver cannot freely use their own time and does not know the foreseeable duration in advance, according to the criteria in the rules and national/collective framework.

From July 2025, Italian road-haulage legislation also changed the rules for waiting time at loading and unloading operations, introducing a 90-minute allowance for each operation and a compensation scheme in the cases and under the conditions provided by the new Article 6-bis of Legislative Decree 286/2005. This is an economic/contractual issue distinct from the classification of working time, but operationally the two meet in the same yard.

Weekly limits on working time

The framework deriving from Directive 2002/15/EC and Legislative Decree 234/2007 generally provides for an average weekly working time of 48 hours, with the possibility of reaching 60 hours provided the average does not exceed 48 hours over the reference period set by the rules. Rules also apply to breaks and night work.

Practical management also depends on the collective agreement, the employment relationship and any permitted derogations. When planning human resources, the company must coordinate with its employment adviser and responsible managers.

Plan without relying only on the calendar

A sound plan should show at least:

• assigned activities;
• expected times;
• available driving time;
• rests to be observed;
• other expected working hours;
• any waiting already accumulated;
• unavailability and leave;
• planned returns.

The dispatcher need not make legal calculations by hand every minute, but should avoid scheduling a second job simply because an empty slot appears in the diary.

Practical example

A driver leaves at 06:00, drives for 2 hours, waits 90 minutes at the warehouse without knowing the actual duration in advance, takes part in loading operations, drives another 2 hours and unloads. At 13:30 they may have driven only 4 hours, but their working day contains many other activities.

Assigning a long trip in the afternoon by looking only at driving hours can produce incomplete planning. The picture of driving, working time and rest must be considered together.

Dispatcher checklist

• Does the transport fall under Regulation 561/2006?
• How many driving hours has the driver already completed?
• When is the next break/rest due?
• How much non-driving work has already been carried out?
• Have waiting periods been classified under the company procedure?
• Does the weekly plan also comply with working-time rules?
• Are returns and weekly rests planned?
• Are tachograph and planning information consistent?