Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilDangos y teitl llawn

CHAPTER I U.K. INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

Article 1 U.K.

This Regulation lays down rules on driving times, breaks and rest periods for drivers engaged in the carriage of goods and passengers by road in order to harmonise the conditions of competition between modes of inland transport, especially with regard to the road sector, and to improve working conditions and road safety. This Regulation also aims to promote improved monitoring and enforcement practices F1 ... and improved working practices in the road transport industry.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Art. 1 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Drivers' Hours and Tachographs (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/453), regs. 1(3), 56 (with reg. 114); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Article 2 U.K.

1. This Regulation shall apply to the carriage by road:

(a) of goods where the maximum permissible mass of the vehicle, including any trailer, or semi-trailer, exceeds 3,5 tonnes, F2 ...

[F3 (aa from 1st July 2026, of goods in international transport operations or in cabotage operations, where the maximum permissible mass of the vehicle, including any trailer or semi-trailer, exceeds 2,5 tonnes, or]

F4 (aa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b) of passengers by vehicles which are constructed or permanently adapted for carrying more than nine persons including the driver, and are intended for that purpose.

[F5 2. This Regulation shall apply, irrespective of the country of registration of the vehicle, to carriage by road undertaken exclusively within the United Kingdom.

2A. This Regulation shall apply to carriage by road of goods undertaken in the United Kingdom by a vehicle where the motor vehicle or tractor is registered in the United Kingdom or a member State and where that carriage is undertaken exclusively within the area consisting of the United Kingdom and the European Union.]

[F6 3. Subject to paragraph 2A, the AETR shall apply, irrespective of the country of registration of the vehicle, to carriage by road undertaken in the United Kingdom where that carriage is part of international road transport operations undertaken in part outside the United Kingdom.]

Textual Amendments

F2 Word in Art. 2(1) omitted (24.12.2022) by virtue of The Drivers’ Hours, Tachographs, International Road Haulage and Licensing of Operators (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1260), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(a)

F3 Art. 2(1)(aa) inserted (24.12.2022) by The Drivers’ Hours, Tachographs, International Road Haulage and Licensing of Operators (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1260), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(b)

F4 Art. 2(1)(aa) omitted (3.3.2021) by virtue of The Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/135), regs. 1, 2(2)(b)

F5 Art. 2(2)(2A) substituted for Art. 2(2) (21.4.2025) by The Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment and Modification) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/402), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(a)

F6 Art. 2(3) substituted (21.4.2025) by The Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment and Modification) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/402), regs. 1(1), 2(2)(b)

Article 3 U.K.

This Regulation shall not apply to carriage by road by:

(a)

vehicles used for the carriage of passengers on regular services where the route covered by the service in question does not exceed 50 kilometres;

(aa)

[F7 vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum permissible mass not exceeding 7,5 tonnes used for:

(i)

carrying materials, equipment or machinery for the driver’s use in the course of the driver’s work; or

(ii)

for delivering goods which are produced on a craft basis,

only within a 100 km radius from the base of the undertaking and on the condition that driving the vehicle does not constitute the driver’s main activity and transport is not carried out for hire or reward;]

(b)

vehicles with a maximum authorised speed not exceeding 40 kilometres per hour;

(c)

vehicles owned or hired without a driver by the armed services, civil defence services, fire services, and forces responsible for maintaining public order when the carriage is undertaken as a consequence of the tasks assigned to these services and is under their control;

(d)

vehicles, including vehicles used in the non-commercial transport of humanitarian aid, used in emergencies or rescue operations;

(e)

specialised vehicles used for medical purposes;

(f)

specialised breakdown vehicles operating within a 100 km radius of their base;

(g)

vehicles undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance purposes, and new or rebuilt vehicles which have not yet been put into service;

(h)

vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum permissible mass not exceeding 7,5 tonnes used for the non-commercial carriage of goods;

(ha)

[F8 vehicles with a maximum permissible mass, including any trailer or semi-trailer, exceeding 2,5 tonnes but not exceeding 3,5 tonnes that are used for the transport of goods, where the transport is not effected for hire or reward, but on the own account of the company or the driver, and where driving does not constitute the main activity of the person driving the vehicle;]

(i)

commercial vehicles, [F9 which are used for the non-commercial carriage of passengers or goods and which have a historic status according to:

• — in relation to England and Wales and Scotland, regulation 3 of the Community Drivers' Hours and Recording Equipment Regulations 2007;

• — in relation to Northern Ireland, regulation 4 of the Community Drivers' Hours and Recording Equipment (Exemptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 in Northern Ireland.]

Textual Amendments

F7 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs.

F8 Art. 3(ha) inserted (24.12.2022) by The Drivers’ Hours, Tachographs, International Road Haulage and Licensing of Operators (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1260), regs. 1(1), 2(3)

F9 Words in Art. 3(i) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Drivers' Hours and Tachographs (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/453), regs. 1(3), 58; 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Article 4 U.K.

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

(a)

‘carriage by road’ means any journey made entirely or in part on roads open to the public by a vehicle, whether laden or not, used for the carriage of passengers or goods;

(b)

‘vehicle’ means a motor vehicle, tractor, trailer or semi-trailer or a combination of these vehicles, defined as follows:

• ‘motor vehicle’: any self-propelled vehicle travelling on the road, other than a vehicle permanently running on rails, and normally used for carrying passengers or goods,

• ‘tractor’: any self-propelled vehicle travelling on the road, other than a vehicle permanently running on rails, and specially designed to pull, push or move trailers, semi-trailers, implements or machines,

• ‘trailer’: any vehicle designed to be coupled to a motor vehicle or tractor,

• ‘semi-trailer’: a trailer without a front axle coupled in such a way that a substantial part of its weight and of the weight of its load is borne by the tractor or motor vehicle;

(c)

‘driver’ means any person who drives the vehicle even for a short period, or who is carried in a vehicle as part of his duties to be available for driving if necessary;

(d)

‘break’ means any period during which a driver may not carry out any driving or any other work and which is used exclusively for recuperation;

(e)

‘other work’ means all activities which are defined as working time in [F10 regulation 2 of the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 in England and Wales and Scotland, or in regulation 2(2) of the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 in Northern Ireland] except ‘driving’, including any work for the same or another employer, within or outside of the transport sector;

(f)

‘rest’ means any uninterrupted period during which a driver may freely dispose of his time;

(g)

‘daily rest period’ means the daily period during which a driver may freely dispose of his time and covers a ‘regular daily rest period’ and a ‘reduced daily rest period’:

• ‘regular daily rest period’ means any period of rest of at least 11 hours. Alternatively, this regular daily rest period may be taken in two periods, the first of which must be an uninterrupted period of at least 3 hours and the second an uninterrupted period of at least nine hours,

• ‘reduced daily rest period’ means any period of rest of at least nine hours but less than 11 hours;

(h)

‘weekly rest period’ means the weekly period during which a driver may freely dispose of his time and covers a ‘regular weekly rest period’ and a ‘reduced weekly rest period’:

• ‘regular weekly rest period’ means any period of rest of at least 45 hours,

• ‘reduced weekly rest period’ means any period of rest of less than 45 hours, which may, subject to the conditions laid down in Article 8(6), be shortened to a minimum of 24 consecutive hours;

(i)

‘a week’ means the period of time between 00.00 on Monday and 24.00 on Sunday;

(j)

‘driving time’ means the duration of driving activity recorded:

• automatically or semi-automatically by the recording equipment as defined in [F11 Article 2(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014], or

• manually as required by [F12 Article 37(2) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014];

(k)

‘daily driving time’ means the total accumulated driving time between the end of one daily rest period and the beginning of the following daily rest period or between a daily rest period and a weekly rest period;

(l)

‘weekly driving time’ means the total accumulated driving time during a week;

(m)

‘maximum permissible mass’ means the maximum authorised operating mass of a vehicle when fully laden;

(n)

‘regular passenger services’ means national and international services [F13 which provide for the carriage of passengers at specified intervals along specified routes, passengers being picked up and set down at predetermined stopping points] [F14 and, in particular, include special regular passenger services] ;

(na)

[F15 “special regular passenger services” means services by whomsoever organised, which provide for the transport of specified categories of passengers to the exclusion of other passengers, in so far as such services are operated under the conditions specified for regular passenger services and, in particular, include—

(i)

the carriage of workers between home and work;

(ii)

the carriage of school pupils and students to and from the educational institution;]

(nb)

F16 ...

(o)

‘multi-manning’ means the situation where, during each period of driving between any two consecutive daily rest periods, or between a daily rest period and a weekly rest period, there are at least two drivers in the vehicle to do the driving. For the first hour of multi-manning the presence of another driver or drivers is optional but for the remainder of the period it is compulsory;

(p)

‘transport undertaking’ means any natural person, any legal person, any association or group of persons without legal personality, whether profit-making or not, or any official body, whether having its own legal personality or being dependent upon an authority having such a personality, which engages in carriage by road, whether for hire or reward or for own account;

(q)

‘driving period’ means the accumulated driving time from when a driver commences driving following a rest period or a break until he takes a rest period or a break. The driving period may be continuous or broken [F7 ;]

(r)

[F17 ‘ non-commercial carriage ’ means any carriage by road, other than carriage for hire or reward or on own account, for which no direct or indirect remuneration is received and which does not directly or indirectly generate any income for the driver of the vehicle or for others, and which is not linked to professional or commercial activity.]

Textual Amendments

F7 Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs.

F10 Words in Art. 4(e) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Drivers' Hours and Tachographs (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/453), regs. 1(3), 59(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F11 Words in Art. 4(j) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Drivers' Hours and Tachographs (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/453), regs. 1(3), 59(b)(i); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F12 Words in Art. 4(j) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Drivers' Hours and Tachographs (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/453), regs. 1(3), 59(b)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F13 Words in Art. 4(n) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Drivers' Hours and Tachographs (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/453), regs. 1(3), 59(c); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F14 Words in Art. 4(n) inserted (21.4.2025) by The Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment and Modification) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/402), regs. 1(1), 2(3)(a)

F15 Art. 4(na) substituted (21.4.2025) by The Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment and Modification) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/402), regs. 1(1), 2(3)(b)

F16 Art. 4(nb) omitted (21.4.2025) by virtue of The Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment and Modification) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/402), regs. 1(1), 2(3)(c)

F17 Inserted by Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs.