EU Cuts Truckers’ Hours

LONDON — European Union transport ministers have agreed to a plan that will reduce the number of hours truckers may work.

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The plan, which was approved by transport ministers during their Dec. 21-22 meeting in Brussels, must still be passed by the European Parliament. It would limit European truckers to 48 hours of work a week. They would be allowed to drive up to 60 hours in a week on occasion, as long as their driving time over four months averaged out to no more than 48 hours per week.

In addition, a 30-minute break would be required after six hours of work and a 45-minute break after nine hours on the job.

The EU’s transport council has been working on new hours-of-service regulations for two years now, but has been stymied by the concerns in some countries whether owner-operators should be subject to the rules.

For the full story, see the Jan. 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.