Overview

• Why a Blue Draft?
• What will the Rule contain?
• Principles
• Proposed Changes
• Background
• Matters to be taken into Account
• Issues Considered
• Layout of this Discussion Document

Content

Section 1.     Introduction

• 1.1     Title
• 1.2     Date
• 1.3     Transition
• 1.4     Interpretation

Section 2.     Responsibilities

• Why we must manage driver fatigue
• 2.1     Roles, duties and responsibilities
• 2.2     Required Records

Section 3.     Work Time Limits

• 3.1     Definitions
• 3.2     Standard Hours
• 3.3     Rest Breaks
• 3.4     Calculating the day and week
• 3.5     Particular Situations
• 3.6     Variation of Hours

Section 4.     Logbook Coverage

• 4.1     Who must use logbooks
• 4.2     When Logbook entries must be made
• 4.3     Secondary or parallel employment
• 4.4     Alternative approved records

Section 5.     Logbook Exemptions

• 5.1     General Duty of Proof
• 5.2     Emergency Service Exemptions
• 5.3     General Exemptions, by Vehicle Type
• 5.4     General exemptions, by service
• 5.5     General Exemptions by Situation
• 5.6     Particular or Personal Exemptions
• 5.7     Application for an exemption
• 5.8     Exemption notices must be carried
• 5.9     Director may require Logbook Use

Section 6.     Managing Logbooks

• 6.1     Logbook Records
• 6.2     Managing the Records

Section 7.     Alternative Fatigue Management Programmes

• 7.1     Entry
• 7.2     Effect
• 7.3     Administration

Section 8.     Training

• 8.1     Process
• 8.2     Content

Appendix:     Logbook Design

• Sample Logbook Form

 

Overview

Why a Blue Draft?

This initial draft has been prepared to give key industry representatives an outline of what is proposed to be included in the Yellow Draft of the Rule.

Part of the changes to transport legislation introduced in June 2004 will be to take the detail of work time (driving hours) limits out of the Transport Act 1962 and place it in the Rule. Having an idea of what the Rule will contain is therefore necessary to understand how the law will affect a transport service, business or individual driver. A chart of key proposed changes is included on the next page of this document.

Rules, as a form of regulation, do not include background information that explains why a particular solution is proposed. In this Blue Draft, we are able to state the proposals in plain language and to add some useful context. A Blue Draft is prepared where there are a range of policy issues that require discussion.

This draft is not definitive. Details may alter, and must do so if the Land Transport Act Bill changes during the parliamentary process. Overview (introductory) comments that the Yellow Draft Rule will include are abbreviated, since most of the intended audience for this document has been involved in previous discussions.

There will be an opportunity for you, and the public at large, to provide formal comment on the Rule when it appears as a Yellow Draft for consultation.

 

What will the Rule contain?

• · a summary of roles, duties and responsibilities
• · transition arrangements
• · definition of standard hours of work for commercial drivers
• · definition of who must use logbooks, and who is exempt
• · the requirements for filling in and maintaining logbooks
• · links to alternative fatigue management programmes
• · the requirements for logbook design

 

Principles

The inclusion of a “chain of responsibility” provision in the Bill means that the Rule will have wide application. Within the constraints of the legal requirements for a Rule, we will endeavour to make it:

• · clear
• · comprehensive
• · easy to comply with, and
• · easy to enforce.

 

Proposed Changes

(Either in the Act or in the Rule)

Removing the distinction between driving and on duty	The Act will define “work time” as including both driving and all other work-related activities
Moving detail out of the Act	The Act will define: responsibilities, coverage, record-keeping, offences, and penalties that a court can impose. The detail of the limits on hours, when rest breaks must be taken, and who must maintain logbooks, will all be stated in the Rule.
New limit to working day	The existing limits (11 hours driving, or 14 hours on duty with a minimum 9-hour break between working days) will be replaced by a limit of 13 hours of work time in a working day. The break between working days will be a minimum of 10 hours. This reduces the length of the working day by 1 hour, but provides more flexibility about what work can be done inside that frame.
New limit to working week	The week was 66 hours driving or 70 hours on duty – it will now be 70 hours of work time. This maintains the number of hours that can be legally worked before a 24-hour break is required.
Short break requirements differ by type of service	Standard requirement is break after 5½ hours work time; varies for taxis and urban bus services. Note that there is no extension of the time allowed between breaks when “non driving” work is done.
New chain of responsibility	Extends liability for causing or allowing a breach of work time requirements past the employer to any person who requires or directs a driver to breach the legal limits.
Penalties for breaching hours	Divided into two levels less than 60 minutes “over” (or rest breaks missed) will have fine, optional directed course, optional disqualification (if applied, minimum is one month). 60 minutes or more “over” mandatory disqualification (as now)
Defences - delays	Unavoidable delay remains; “emergency” is also added to cover situations such as a civil defence emergency or where a severe crash imposes delays on a vehicle.
Tour Bus Drivers	Existing tour bus exemption will have to be replaced by provisions within the Rule. Can count meal breaks as “rest”.
Emergency services	Can attend incidents but may not exceed hours for routine tasks.
Penalties for logbook offences	Normally dealt with by infringement notice (roadside “ticket”). This would be an “instant fine” plus driver demerits. If in court, fines or optional disqualification (current penalty is at least one month mandatory suspension.
Logbook Coverage	Largely conforms to the 2003 Logbook Notice. A few detail changes however are proposed for the rule: class 2 GSVs are exempt if driven within 50km radius of normal business location or temporary base of operations urban bus drivers on regular routes, or undertaking limited charter work, are exempt previous personal exemption for individuals whose principal employment is not driving is removed (largely picked up by class 2 GSV exemption)
Logbook Formats	Completely new form will be introduced, with less detail needed to comply with the legal requirements.
Exemptions and Variations	Individual exemptions etc will be far less common than is the case now – the Rule will set out criteria for applications, and will set limits to what can be granted. Retrospective exemptions (after hours have been exceeded) will not be available.
Fatigue Management Programmes	The Rule will set out the entry criteria, and the legal requirements for drivers covered by an FMP (called a “scheme” in the Act).
Transition Arrangements	Existing logbook forms, and exemption notices, continue until Rule has been in force for 6 months. From that point, only new logbook forms may be used, and prior exemptions all cease to be valid.

 

Background

Driver fatigue as a risk factor for commercial drivers has been recognised for some time. The most comprehensive study in the NZ context has been:

Fatigue and Fitness for Duty of New Zealand Truck Drivers
Charlton and Baas [Ternz], 2000

They quote a 1994 study¹ that defines driver fatigue as involving “conflict between the desire to rest and the inclination … to continue driving to their planned destination…”

The main effect of fatigue is described as “progressive withdrawal of attention from road and traffic demands”.

Several factors impact on fatigue levels, but the principal contributors are recognised as:

• · the length and nature of work
• · sleep deficit
• · circadian factors (time of day or night)

Studies in NZ and elsewhere have suggested that fatigue is under-reported as a cause of crashes, and may be a contributory factor in 20% or more of all incidents.

LTSA initiated discussion about driving hours in a discussion paper put out for public submission in 1998, followed by a statement of its preferred policy in 2000. This policy proposed to introduce a simplified accounting for hours, and align penalties so that breaching hours attracted more severe sanctions than omissions in a logbook. This approach underpinned the development of policy as expressed in this document.

¹ Brown, I.D., 1994: "Driver Fatigue" in Human Factors, 36, pp. 298-314

 

Terminology – Work Time

Proposed changes to law use the term “work time” to describe time spent driving, or doing other work-related duties. The related provisions in the Transport Act 1962 made a distinction between “driving” and “on duty” hours.

 

Transition

The Rule will come into effect when signed by the Minister. A transition period of 6 months will follow. In that period, previous individual or company exemptions, with necessary modifications, will continue to have effect, and previous logbook forms can be used to meet the requirements of the new Rule.

 

Matters to be Taken into Account

Section 164 of the Land Transport Act 1998 provides a list of factors to be considered when a Rule is produced. These can be summarised as considering the existing levels of risk in a particular activity or service, in comparison with land transport safety in general.

The need to maintain safety has to be seen in the context of the costs of implementation and any relevant international obligations (such as conventions to which NZ is a signatory).

 

Issues Considered

Changes in Requirements

The simpler way that work time is accounted for produces quite substantial changes from the legislation and logbook provisions set up in 1988. The Rule will differ, in many details, from previous requirements.

 

Clarification of Coverage

The Rule, when brought into full effect after a transition period, will replace all previous exemptions and variations.

 

Alternative Management Options

The Rule will provide a link between the standard requirements and approved alternative Fatigue Management Programmes (FMPs). These are schemes designed and managed by individual transport operators.

 

Alternative Means of Recording

A number of operators have introduced real-time electronic reporting for their fleets. The Act allows such systems to be used as an alternative to logbooks, and the Rule must reflect this in a way that benefits operators.

 

Reduction of Compliance Costs

A combination of exempting drivers from logbook requirements, where adequate records of hours worked are in place, and the introduction of simpler logbook forms, should reduce overall compliance costs. The Rule will also reduce the number of situations where drivers have to make application to the LTSA for a specific exemption from either work time limits or logbook use.

 

Sanctions

The Rule has to reflect proposed changes in the Act, and distinguish between administrative offences, such as errors or omissions in a logbook, and substantive breaches of work time requirements. It will also reflect the extended requirement to retain and produce records of operations, and wider liability for persons who contribute to work time offences.

 

Layout of this Discussion Document

This document uses a variety of formats to distinguish each type of text.

Ordinary text gives a summary of the content proposed for inclusion in the Rule. Where emphasis is needed (for a key requirement) the statement is set in from the margin, and is shaded to highlight the provision; for example:

Text in italics provides background or explanation – which would not be included in the final form of the Rule. For example:

This requirement gives effect to the definition of “work time” proposed for the Act, which extends these hours to any paid employment.

Some examples are added to help readers to understand how the requirements work in practice.

Examples are always put in a separate shaded frame.

Content

Section 1.     Introduction

1.1     Title

The working title is the “Land Transport Rule: Work Time (Driving Hours) and Logbooks Rule”. It will follow changes to the Land Transport Act 1998 that transfer driving hours requirements previously stated in the Transport Act 1962.

 

1.2     Date

The Rule will come into effect on the date that the Minister sets. This must follow changes to the Land Transport Act 1998.

 

1.3     Transition

Initial Transition (to 6 months)

For the first 6 months:

• · drivers can use either the new logbook forms (as prescribed in the Rule) or current logbook forms (designed for use under the Transport Act 1962) to record work time undertaken during that period
• · previous written exemptions from logbook use, or variations to work time, whether provided to an individual driver or to the persons employed by an operator, continue, with necessary modifications, to have effect.

Transition beyond 6 Months

• · all prior exemptions cease to have effect, and
• · only the new logbook form described in the Rule can be used to record work time.

 

1.4     Interpretation

In this document, unless stated otherwise:

• · “The Act” is the Land Transport Act 1998
• · “Director” is the Director of Land Transport Safety
• · “Record” includes an original logbook entry page, and any carbon or other self-produced copy, whether duplicate or triplicate, held in or removed from a logbook.

Section 2.     Responsibilities

Why we must manage Driver Fatigue

The primary reason for managing driver fatigue is to reduce the number – and therefore the cost - of crashes involving commercial motor vehicles

The need to manage driver fatigue is required by statute, particularly in amendments to:

• · the Land Transport Act 1998 (referred to as “the Act” in this document), which set limits to the hours that can be legally driven; and
• · the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, which requires employers to consider a range of workplace hazards, including fatigue. (Physical and mental fatigue are both listed as hazards in section 2, definitions, of the HSE Act).

Both Acts will therefore create a ‘duty of care’, where individuals are expected to take reasonable steps to make sure that no one else suffers harm arising from their action or their failure to act.

The Act and the Rule will set standards, and provide mechanisms to discourage risky behaviour.

 

2.1     Roles, Duties and Responsibilities

Operators

“Operator” in this context includes Transport Service Operators, managers or principals of firms that employ drivers, as well as logistics brokers who arrange transport contracts, or firms that have an established contractual arrangement with owner-drivers.

Operators must:

• · ensure that drivers in their employ, or contracted to them, observe work time requirements
• · ensure that, where required, logbooks are maintained accurately
• · collect logbook copies where applicable
• · collect data and maintain records.

These duties will be set in the Act.

Drivers

Drivers must monitor their work time hours to ensure that they comply with the legal limits. They must also keep records, including logbooks where required.

Dispatchers

Dispatchers must

• · avoid creating breaches of work time requirements when setting schedules, and
• · take account of hours already worked by drivers in assigning tasks beyond those initially rostered.

The Act will create a wider “chain of responsibility”, so a dispatcher who directs staff in a manner where work time requirements are likely to be breached could be charged with an offence of allowing work time to be exceeded.

 

2.2     Required Records

The Act will require (as the current law already does) that a variety of records are kept where a firm employs drivers subject to work time requirements. Sole operators also have to maintain records. The requirement to keep records applies whether or not logbooks have to be maintained.

Offences would include failure to keep the required records or to produce records when an enforcement officer requests them.

Records must be maintained for a period of at least 12 months beyond the date or dates to which they refer. The same timeframe extends to the requirement to keep logbooks and copies of logbook pages for 12 months.

For a logbook, the last date on which an entry was made sets the period.

The Act (section 136) already allows enforcement officers to make investigations for a longer period than the usual 6-month limit for summary offences before laying a charge .

Wages

Wage records include records of wages, salaries and any allowance or performance payments made to any employee.

Time records

Time records include schedules and rosters drawn up by an operator for all drivers employed by or on contract to them, or any information collected in respect of hours worked and wages or salaries paid to drivers. Where variations to the roster occur, these must appear as annotations on the main document.

Section 3.     Work Time Limits

The Act will impose work time restrictions on drivers of vehicles that either require a class 2,3,4, or 5 driver licence to operate or are used in a transport service.

3.1     Definitions

Currently, the Transport Act 1962 makes a distinction between time spent driving and time spent doing other work (“on duty”) but this will be removed.

Work Time

“Work time” is defined in section 2(1) of the Act. Work time includes any paid employment, even where that employment has no direct link to a transport activity. This extends to work done for more than one employer in any working day. Paid leave, however, is not counted as work time.

Work time hours are extended to include any driving of a vehicle subject to work time requirements and requiring a class 2,3, 4 or 5 licence when driven to or from a place of work and a residence or temporary accommodation, or a garage or depot.

This means that even though the “paid” day may be a set number of hours, the work time total may extend beyond that period.

A call-out of emergency service volunteers for a priority response is counted as work time, but refer to the section on emergency response below.

Within the general definition of work time, the Act will also transfer some existing examples of what types of activity might be seen as work. Loading or unloading any vehicle and any time spent on maintenance or administration form part of work time. The only exception is where, on a day off work, a driver cleans his or her own vehicle (and is not paid for that task).

Rest Breaks

To qualify as “rest time”, a break must be continuous and of at least 30 minutes duration. It cannot include any activities that would be judged as part of work time.

The other restriction is that it must not include any time spent in a moving vehicle associated with the business.

Exceeding Hours

There are two ways in which the work time hours may be exceeded. A driver subject to the provisions of the Rule must not:

• · work hours in excess of the legal limit, or
• · fail to take the rest periods prescribed for that class of service, whether this is by missing them and working on, cutting them short, or continuing to ‘work’ in a different way (even where this does not include driving).

Breaks

Breaks must be continuous to qualify as rest time.

The Rule will identify three types of break:

• · a “rest break” of at least 30 minutes, taken within a working day
• · a “10-hour break” which divides two working days
• · a “24-hour break” which divides two working weeks.

 

3.2     Standard Hours

This section needs to be read in conjunction with the provisions that specify when rest breaks are to be taken, and any variations on a standard day, and those that explain how to calculate a working day and when a 24-hour break must be taken.

 

3.3     Rest Breaks

Standard Rest Break Requirement

The standard requirement for drivers of vehicles subject to work time requirements is:

Variations for drivers of taxis, urban buses and tour buses are listed below.

Taxis

For the purposes of this clause, “taxi” has the meaning defined in section 2(1) of the Act.

For all taxi drivers:

Work time, for a taxi driver, includes time spent:

• · on a taxi rank available for hire
• · driving, whether carrying a fare-paying passenger or not; and
• · in an office doing recording or administration work.

During any rest break, there can be no driving, and the available for hire flag must not be on.

Urban Buses

For the purposes of this clause, an “urban bus” is a large passenger service vehicle (as defined in section 2(1) of the Act) used on regular routes within a city or region to convey fare-paying passengers.

For urban bus drivers:

Tour Buses

Tour Bus drivers have a defined variation of the normal work time requirement, in that they can use meal breaks to meet their rest break requirement. The Director may also vary the work time limits, in accordance with s 166 of the Act.

A tour is defined for this purpose as a trip to carry distinct groups of people, where stops are made at sites of interest. A tour must have a defined schedule, of more than 24 hrs’ duration, and carry a constant group of passengers during that period. The tour must be the only rostered duty in any natural day for the driver in question.

The Director must provide an approval for this variation. All approvals are to state the name of the company and the tours (as defined in a company brochure) to which this variation applies.

Mixed Driving

The general principle to be applied when driving of more than one vehicle category (as defined above) occurs in a single working day, is that:

 

3.4     Calculating the Day and Week

Calculating a Day

For this purpose, we distinguish a “natural day” from a “working day”.

A natural day is the normal way we calculate dates: 24 hours measured from midnight to midnight. A natural day is the basis on which a driver fills in a logbook page.

A working day allows for shift work, where the hours worked continue across the normal midnight divide.

A working day starts when an individual comes from a break of at least 10 hours, and commences employment of whatever sort. The working day resets whenever a continuous break of at least 10 hours has been taken. Work time hours may be extended past paid employment by a requirement to drive a vehicle that is subject to work time requirements and requires a class 2, 3, 4 or 5 driver licence to operate.

Any prosecution for exceeding work time limits must use the basis of a working day or working week (see below) for calculating whether those limits have been exceeded.

Calculating a Week

In the same way, we distinguish between a natural week (7 days, Sunday to Saturday, marked on a calendar) and a working week.

The limits to the working week are calculated by adding up the total work time hours since the last continuous break of at least 24 hours.

 

3.5     Particular Situations

Ferries

Scheduled vehicle ferry trips of more than one hour’s duration count as a “rest break” for a driver. Time spent in the vehicle while the ferry is in motion is counted as part of the rest break in this situation.

The period allowed to be counted as ‘rest’ is from departure to docking for the vessel. If a driver is maintaining a logbook, ferry departure and arrival times are noted as the start and end of a rest break.

While a driver may be called on to attend the vehicle before docking, this is normally balanced by leaving the vehicle before the ferry departs from the dock. The one-hour rule is designed to exclude short barge trips and to ensure that at least 30 minutes of a quality rest period is available.

Emergency Services

Emergency services have, within the constraints of this Rule, a limited capability to vary work time hours in order to respond to priority events.

For the purposes of this clause, an emergency service includes NZ Fire Service and other fire-fighting parties, NZ Police, and Ambulance services.

The dispatcher must examine alternatives, including cover available from another station, before sending someone at the end of their legal work time hours. The driver must take the required 10-hour break before reporting for their next shift.

The principles stated above are also applicable to volunteer fire-fighters or ambulance drivers, even when they have worked a full day before being called out in the evening to attend a fire, road crash, or other emergency event.

This variation does not extend to driving undertaken for routine tasks but only for driving directly connected to a major incident. Drivers may not, for example, transfer a fire appliance between stations if that would take them beyond their allowed work time hours for that day.

Unforeseen Events and Emergencies

The Act will allow a defence against a charge of exceeding work time on the grounds of unavoidable delay (as it does now) or an emergency.

A schedule that takes no account of routine delays caused by normal traffic conditions does not allow a defence on these grounds. Increased journey times in this situation cannot be said to be “unforeseeable”.

An “emergency” has to be:

• · a state of emergency, or
• · an incident attended by an emergency service, or
• · any event requiring immediate action to save life or prevent serious injury.

 

3.6     Variation of Hours

The authority for the Director to consider variations of work time, and the conditions attached to that power, will be stated in the Act.

Situations in which Variation may be sought

An operator may apply for a variation of either:

• · allowable work time, or
• · required rest breaks

to meet short-term operational requirements.

Any such variation may not exceed 14 days in duration.

A variation under this clause may not be applied retrospectively.

Operators who regularly wish to vary work time in this fashion should consider applying to create a Fatigue Management Programme (FMP), as outlined in section 7, if that option is made generally available.

Process for seeking a Variation

An operator seeking a variation must apply in writing to the LTSA, stating:

• · the operational requirement
• · the period for which the variation is sought
• · the schedule of hours that will be worked if the variation is approved
• · the drivers involved (by name or job description)
• · any proposed change to the required rest breaks
• · any mitigating factors in the proposed variation (e.g. no driving 0001 - 0600)

The Director, or LTSA staff with delegated responsibility, may approve or decline such an application, but must advise the applicant in writing. An approval may have conditions attached to it.

Drivers working temporarily within any agreed variation must carry a copy of the approval with them at all times while operating any vehicle subject to work time requirements.

All drivers working within the terms of a variation must observe the limits and conditions stated in the approval.

Section 4.     Logbook Coverage

4.1     Who must use Logbooks

The Act will require logbooks to be used by drivers subject to work time requirements, unless they are exempted by:

• · the Rule, or
• · an (individual) exemption provided by the Director.

Proposed exemptions are detailed in section 5.

 

4.2     When Logbook entries must be made

Driving any vehicle requiring a logbook means that a logbook must be maintained for the required period. This applies even where the majority of the working day or the working week is spent on duties other than driving.

The advice that LTSA will suggest to drivers is – if in doubt, keep a logbook. There is no offence for keeping one when it’s not required by law!

Required Time Period for maintaining a Logbook

The requirement is that:

Working days are divided by the last 10-hour break. The current logbook must show the required detail (section 6) of when the previous 10-hour break was taken.

Working weeks, of up to 70 hours of work time, are divided by 24-hour breaks. The current logbook must show the required detail of when the previous 24-hour break was taken. This sets the period which logbooks must cover:

This requirement extends to the logbooks that must be carried by a driver during a working week. The Act will transfer the existing requirement that the logbook in current use, and any previous logbook that covers prior working days, must be carried.

 

4.3     Secondary or Parallel Employment

The requirement to keep logbooks is not altered in any way when someone works for more than one employer, even when that employer is not involved in a transport service.

 

4.4     Alternative Approved Records

Existing legislation empowers the Director to approve alternative forms of recording work time hours. These may include approved electronic recording systems or devices. Alternative recording forms are, with necessary modifications, “logbooks” for the purposes of the Rule.

Application for New Approvals

Any developer of alternative recording systems, or manufacturer or importer of electronic recorders for use in vehicles involved in transport services may apply to the Director in writing to have the system or recorder approved.

The application must specify:

• · the data that will be collected
• · how drivers using the system will be identified
• · what measures are in place to prevent tampering with the devices or records and,
• · how enforcement officers may access records.

Any approval must be publicised by a Notice in the NZ Gazette.

Effect of Approval

Any driver whose work time hours are being recorded by an approved alternative system or device is not required to maintain a logbook. He or she is, however, required to produce any record as required by the approval when required to do so by an enforcement officer.

Any omission or false statement in an electronic recording device is an offence equivalent to such an omission or false statement made on a (conventional) logbook record.

Section 5.     Logbook Exemptions

5.1     General Duty of Proof

It is the responsibility of any driver to offer proof, on demand by an enforcement officer, that they are complying with the conditions of any exemption provided under the Rule, or issued by the Director.

 

5.2     Emergency Service Exemptions

Armed Forces

Drivers of any vehicle subject to work time requirements and operated by an armed service or Joint Forces HQ are exempt from logbook use.

Police

All vehicles operated by NZ Police are exempt from logbook use.

Ambulance Services

Drivers of purpose-built ambulances are not required to maintain logbooks. The exemption extends to incident control vehicles that would otherwise be subject.

NZ Fire Service

Drivers of fire appliances and other response vehicles, such as mobile incident command posts, are not required to maintain logbooks.

Other Fire-fighting Parties

Drivers of fire appliances and tenders maintained at airports, on industrial sites, or as part of a Rural Fire party, are not required to maintain logbooks.

 

5.3     General Exemptions, by Vehicle Type

Farm Vehicles

Drivers of vehicles owned by the holder or manager of a farm do not have to maintain logbooks if these conditions are met:

• · the vehicle is used in an agricultural operation related directly to the management of that farm, or
• · it is used on a road to transport farm products, farm implements, stock, or farm requisites of any kind, and
• · it is driven within a 50-kilometre distance of that farm.

Other Agricultural Vehicles

Drivers of combine or forage harvesters travelling less than 50 kilometres on roads in a natural day do not have to maintain logbooks.

Motor Homes

Drivers of motor homes that meet the conditions described below are not required to maintain logbooks.

A motor home has to be permanently fitted out for occupation – which would normally include sleeping, cooking and washing facilities. More than half the vehicle floor area (counting both tractor and trailer if a combination vehicle) has to be fitted out for occupation to comply.

Owners who wish to have a letter confirming that they are not subject to logbooks should write to the Director, specifying the vehicle’s registration number, make and the manufacturer’s gross laden weight. They should also enclose at least two clear photographs (one exterior, one interior) of the vehicle.

Other Recreational Vehicles

Drivers of recreational vehicles otherwise subject to work time requirements are not required to maintain logbooks. A recreational vehicle for the purposes of this clause includes a combination vehicle requiring a class 2 licence to operate, such as a vehicle towing a large caravan or boat trailer. This exemption does not extend to any transport service vehicle (as defined in s2(1) of the Act).

A Class 2 licence is required where the gross combined weight is over 4,500 kg.

 

5.4     General exemptions, by service

Goods Service Vehicles used within 50km of base

Drivers of goods service vehicles do not have to maintain a logbook if the following conditions are met:

• · the vehicle can be driven by a person holding a current class 2 driver licence; and,
• · the vehicle is operated within a 50 kilometre radius of the vehicle operator’s usual business location; or,
• · the vehicle is driven within a 50-km radius of the base of operations during the previous 24 hours.

The usual business location is defined for this purpose as the depot or other location where the vehicle is normally garaged when not being driven.

The base of operations is defined for this purpose as a site office established to manage a contract of works or a local depot, to which drivers report daily for tasking.

Logbooks must be maintained in any working week where such vehicles are moved between locations and exceed the 50km radius.

Vehicle Recovery Services

Drivers of vehicle recovery service vehicles are not required to maintain logbooks. They must complete and retain tow authorities as an equivalent record of work time hours.

Urban Bus Services

Bus Drivers working regular rosters within a city or region do not have to maintain logbooks if the following conditions are met:

• · the schedule does not require driving before 0500 hours or after 2200 hours
• · the routes are registered with the relevant regional council, and
• · the routes driven do not exceed 100 km from terminus to terminus.

Rostered work must be a constant schedule, including the required rest periods, allocated to an individual driver in writing.

Drivers must carry a copy of their current roster during their work time hours and show it on demand to an enforcement officer.

Additional off-peak charter work, undertaken between 0800 and 1800 hours, is counted as part of the rostered work for this purpose. A charter is defined as driving a bus for a specified group as part of an event or activity (such as a school sports day).

Logbooks must still be maintained for bus driving:

• · outside the specified hours
• · for routes or charter tasks where the point-to-point distance is over 100 km
• · when work is undertaken that extends the rostered day
• · when the working week includes driving another vehicle where logbooks are a requirement (e.g. a taxi).

Education Service Buses

Drivers of school bus services contracted by the Ministry of Education are not required to maintain logbooks.

Vehicles not used for Hire or Reward.

Drivers of goods service vehicles that can be driven on a class 2 licence, and are:

• · not operated for hire or reward, and
• · driven within 50km of the normal business location

are not subject to work time requirements and are not required to maintain a logbook.

 

5.5     General Exemptions by Situation

Off-road vehicles

Drivers of vehicles used exclusively off-road are not required to maintain logbooks.

All such driving must occur within off-road areas to which the public does not have access as of right. This is extended for construction vehicles that cross roads, provided that they are working within a defined work zone, and under the control of an approved temporary traffic management plan.

Logbooks may still be required where a working day includes driving other vehicles that do not meet this description.

Aircraft Refuelling

The driver of an aircraft refuelling vehicle that does not travel on roads, or is driven only within a 3 kilometre radius of the control tower of a designated international airport, is not required to maintain a logbook.

Vehicles under Repair or being Demonstrated

Drivers of vehicles engaged solely in the:

• · manufacture;
• · mechanical repair or road testing, or,
• · sales, servicing, or demonstration of new or used vehicles

are not required to maintain logbooks where the driving occurs within a 50 kilometre radius of the enterprise’s business location.

This exemption does not extend to drivers in any vehicle recovery service.

Vehicles under Test

Drivers of vehicles driven solely for the purpose of obtaining evidence of vehicle inspection are not required to maintain logbooks.

The vehicle must be driven directly between the nearest location at which evidence of vehicle inspection can be issued, and the operator’s normal business location.

Improvised Recovery

Drivers of vehicles required to carry out improvised recovery are not required to maintain logbooks.

The vehicle used to effect the recovery cannot be fitted for or normally used in a vehicle recovery service. It may lift, carry or tow a disabled vehicle.

This exemption includes situations where one vehicle is immobilised or breaks down by the roadside, and is assisted back to the road or to base (usually by providing a tow) by a vehicle that is not normally used for this task.

Territorial Authorities

Territorial authority employees for whom driving is secondary to their principal employment are not required to maintain logbooks.

The employee may not have driving named as a task in their job description. The vehicle must be one owned or leased and operated by the territorial authority. This exemption is not available for the driving of a passenger service vehicle.

Rubbish Collection

Drivers of vehicles operated solely as part of a domestic rubbish collection service operated by or on contract to a territorial authority are not required to maintain a logbook. The driving must occur between the hours of 0500 and 1900, Monday to Saturday.

Services on Great Barrier, Stewart or Chatham Islands

Drivers of vehicles used only on these islands are not required to maintain logbooks.

 

5.6     Particular or Personal Exemptions

Persons Unable to Complete Logbooks

A person who suffers from a medical condition that results in a physical inability to keep logbooks may, upon application to the Director, be issued with a notice that confirms that the named individual is not required to maintain a logbook.

The application must include a statement by a registered medical practitioner providing the grounds for granting the exemption.

Other Particular Exemptions

The Director may consider, within the existing criteria in section 166 of the Act, an application for exemption on the grounds that logbook use is clearly unreasonable or inappropriate in the particular case.

 

5.7     Application for an Exemption

In any application for an exemption from logbook use, not covered elsewhere in this section, applicants should consider which of the following details might be relevant to their particular situation:

• · the contact details of the applicant or company representative
• · the type of transport operation or operations undertaken
• · the range of duties which drivers are expected to undertake
• · the drivers to be included (by name or by job description)
• · the management arrangements in place to monitor work time requirements
• · the safety record and practices of the operation.

 

5.8     Exemption Notices must be Carried

Any individual granted a specified exemption from the use of logbooks by the Director must carry that exemption at all times when driving a vehicle subject to work time requirements.

Where an exemption is issued to drivers specified in an application made by a company, copies of the exemption must be made and given to each driver to whom the exemption applies. The copy must add the contact details for a company representative.

 

5.9     Director may require Logbook Use

Where the Director has reasonable grounds to believe that a driver or drivers employed by or contracted to an operator are exceeding work time requirements, he or she may require by notice in writing that logbooks be maintained.

This requirement may specify that any individual driver, or all drivers, must comply, not withstanding any exemption granted otherwise by the Rule. The Director may specify a period for and attach conditions to the requirement to maintain logbooks.

Section 6.     Managing Logbooks

This section outlines the legal requirements for maintaining a logbook. Examples and suggestions as to how these conditions can be met will be included in the Rule or in supplementary information. Careful reading of section 3, to understand how a working day and working week are calculated, is also recommended.

6.1     Logbook Records

A logbook is a record of all the work time hours undertaken by an individual, and stays with that individual until completed.

It is an official document, which can be produced in court as evidence. The Act will transfer existing offences:

• · omitting required details, or
• · making a false statement in a logbook, or
• · having more than one logbook in use to cover the same period of time.

Form of the Logbook

The logbook must be in the form prescribed by the Rule (an example of the initial draft design is included at the end of this draft).

The logbook form must be approved by the Director prior to being printed.

Printer’s proofs of the proposed logbook, including any explanatory notes to be included on the cover or elsewhere, must be provided to the LTSA for approval.

The approval of any logbook form will specify the book code and approval code to be printed on each page.

Mandatory Requirements

Except as detailed below, each page records the required details for each natural day that the logbook must be maintained. All details must be entered legibly. The legal requirements for completing a logbook page are:

Accounting for Days off Work

Logbook pages do not have to be completed for days where no work is undertaken.

Where annual leave of one or more days has been taken, or work is resumed after one or more natural days on which no work is undertaken, it is sufficient to note in the logbook on the first work day the dates of the days off.

Events to be Recorded

 

6.2     Managing the Records

The driver must keep the logbook, and the original (driver) copy of each page must be left in the book.

Each completed duplicate (record) copy must be removed and either:

• · handed to the employer within 14 days or
• · retained (in the case of an owner/operator) as part of a separate record.

Each triplicate (enforce) copy must be left in the logbook unless it is demanded by an authorised enforcement officer.

Keeping Records

Producing Records

Logbooks and copies of logbook pages must be “produced” on demand from an enforcement officer.

An enforcement officer can be a police constable, someone working for the Police to this purpose, or a compliance officer from the LTSA.

The documents have to be handed over without delay. The enforcement officer is entitled to remove triplicate (enforce) copies from the logbook, or to make copies of any log entry.

The other way that a logbook can be produced as evidence is when it has been removed from a crash scene. This is to allow for a situation in which a driver has been incapacitated at, or removed from, the crash scene.

Section 7.     Alternative Fatigue Management Programmes

An alternative fatigue management programme (FMP) is a systematic process for monitoring and managing driver fatigue, undertaken by a transport operator, that is approved by the Director.

 

7.1     Entry Criteria

Entry criteria for operators wishing to establish their own FMP will be described here. These criteria are expected to include:

• · quality of operating records
• · history of operator safety and compliance
• · extent of existing fatigue monitoring.

Process

Operators wishing to create their own FMP must apply in writing to the Director. (Further details will be described here). The Director must advise the applicant in writing as to the outcome of their proposal.

Approval

If an application is approved, the Director must confirm this in writing, including such terms and conditions as the Director may specify. Any approval must be publicised by notice in the NZ Gazette. The Director has the right to withdraw such approval, and must advise this in writing.

 

7.2     Effect

Work time requirements

An operator whose FMP proposal has been approved by the Director may vary the standard work time requirements set in section 3, within the terms and conditions prescribed by the Director.

Logbooks

The Director may, as part of an FMP approval, either require or withdraw an obligation for drivers employed by the operator to use logbooks. The Director may require the maintenance of alternative forms of recording work time requirements.

 

7.3     Administration

Records

Records specified in an FMP approval, whether held by drivers or the operator, must be made available on demand for audit or enforcement purposes.

Identification

Drivers working for an operator with an approved FMP must carry a letter outlining the conditions of the Programme at all times while operating a vehicle subject to work time requirements.

Section 8.     Training

8.1     Process

The provisions of clauses 93 to 103 of the Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999, with necessary modifications, apply in regard to:

• · the approval of courses which address work time requirements, fatigue management and/or logbook use
• · the approval of course providers and,
• · conditions attached to such approvals.

 

8.2     Content

A course designed to cover the matters addressed in clause 8.1 must require a person who has completed the course to demonstrate the following skills and attributes:

• · an understanding of the risks associated with driving while fatigued;
• · an understanding of life management skills designed to mitigate fatigue;
• · the ability to monitor driving performance, and take appropriate counter-measures when fatigue impairment is detected;
• · an understanding of the legal requirements to limit work time; and,
• · the ability to maintain a logbook correctly.

This section sets a process to enable the approval of relevant courses, to provide the option for a court to require a driver, convicted of a logbook offence, to attend a work time and logbooks course.

Appendix:     Logbook Design

Sample Logbook Form

The logbook has to include an original and two carbon copies for each day.

Layout

The layout of the logbook form is a combination of required items, which must appear in the format given, with some space available for additional information required by an employer or driver collective.

For example, a taxi company could have the “official” information on the left and spaces to record fares on the right of the logbook page.

Using the Logbook Form

Please note that all details must be clearly legible. Mandatory requirements for completing the form are listed in section 6. Where alternative forms are given, either is an acceptable way to complete that field.

 

NAME	Either Initials and Family name	J. R. Ewing
	Or First and family name	John Ewing
DATE	Either Day/ Month/ Year as numbers	6/11/04
	Or Day/ Month/ Year in mixed format	6 Nov 04
DRIVEN VEHICLE	Vehicles subject to work time limits. Private car should not be included, even where it is used for work-related duties.
REG	Registration plate number	AHE 364
TYPE	Simple description of the class of vehicle: could include taxi, bus, shuttle, tanker	Bus
HUB READING	Hubdometer if the vehicle is fitted with one. Otherwise must use odometer reading
WORK TIME TOTALS	Times can be either a.m./ p.m. or 24-hour clock	9:17 a.m. 0917
START	Either when paid employment begins Or when driving a vehicle subject to work time requirements commences – whichever is earliest
FINISH	Either when paid employment ends Or when driving a vehicle subject to work time requirements finishes – whichever is latest
REST BREAKS	Times and locations must be entered for each break.
LOCATION	Suburb must be included if the location forms part of a designated city otherwise only the town/city column need be completed	Maori Hill Dunedin Marton
COMMENTS	Comments can include: days off or on leave notes on significant delays
SIGNED	Used only as a reminder to check details for the day. NOT a legal requirement.