When does the truck actually arrive?
Distance divided by speed is a fantasy. This puts the real EC 561/2006 rules on it — the 45 minute break every 4.5 hours, the daily rest, the weekly rest — and gives you an arrival time you can promise a customer.
Trip
Crew
Already used this week
Delivery deadline
Optional — leave empty if there is no fixed slot.
| 08:00 | Loading | 1 h 30 min |
| 09:30 | Driving | 4 h 30 min |
| 14:00 | Break 45 min | 0 h 45 min |
| 14:45 | Driving | 4 h 30 min |
| 19:15 | Break 45 min | 0 h 45 min |
| 20:00 | Driving | 1 h 0 min |
| 21:00 | Daily rest | 9 h 0 min |
| 06:00 | Driving | 4 h 30 min |
| 10:30 | Break 45 min | 0 h 45 min |
| 11:15 | Driving | 4 h 30 min |
| 15:45 | Break 45 min | 0 h 45 min |
| 16:30 | Driving | 1 h 0 min |
| 17:30 | Daily rest | 9 h 0 min |
| 02:30 | Driving | 4 h 30 min |
| 07:00 | Break 45 min | 0 h 45 min |
| 07:45 | Driving | 3 h 26 min |
| 11:11 | Unloading | 1 h 30 min |
The rules this uses
- Drive at most 4 h 30 min, then take a 45 minute break — it can be split into 15 min followed by 30 min.
- Daily driving is 9 hours, extendable to 10 hours twice in a week.
- Daily rest is 11 hours, reducible to 9 hours up to three times between two weekly rests.
- Weekly driving is capped at 56 hours, and 90 hours across any two consecutive weeks.
- A weekly rest of 45 hours is due after six 24-hour periods; it can be cut to 24 hours if compensated later.
- With two drivers, the daily rest drops to 9 hours and must fall within 30 hours of coming on duty.
Questions drivers and dispatchers ask
How far can a truck drive in one day?
Nine hours of driving, or ten twice a week. At a realistic 68 km/h average that is roughly 600–680 km a day, not the 900 km a map tells you. Two drivers on the same truck cover about 1,300 km in a 24 hour period.
When does the 45 minute break have to be taken?
Before driving time since the last break reaches 4 hours 30 minutes. You can split it into 15 minutes followed by 30 minutes, in that order — the other way round does not count.
Can the daily rest be shortened?
Yes. The 11 hour daily rest can drop to 9 hours three times between two weekly rests, with no compensation required. It can also be split as 3 hours plus 9 hours, which then counts as a full 12.
How many hours can a driver work in a week?
56 hours of driving in a fixed week, and no more than 90 hours across two consecutive weeks. So a 56 hour week has to be followed by a 34 hour one.
Does loading and waiting count as driving time?
No, but it is other work or period of availability, and it eats into the daily rest window all the same. A three hour wait at the ramp pushes your arrival by three hours even though the tachograph shows no driving.
What changes with two drivers?
The truck barely stops. Each driver keeps their own 9 or 10 hour driving limit and 45 minute breaks, but they cover each other, so the vehicle can run close to 20 hours in a day. The pair need a 9 hour rest within 30 hours of starting.