According to the driving work hours’ regulation, can freight-handling be accounted as driving?
- No. Other than breaks and waiting periods, all other vehicle related activities are not accounted as driving.
- Correct answer: Yes. Freight handling, arranging, loading and unloading is lawfully accounted as driving hours.
- Yes, but not more than one hour a day.
- No. Only actual driving, and not any other vehicle related action, is accounted as driving.
Why this is the answer
The correct answer in the official bank: Yes. Freight handling, arranging, loading and unloading is lawfully accounted as driving hours.
Under the driving work hours regulation, driving is not only the time the vehicle is moving. Handling, arranging, loading and unloading freight are also counted as driving hours. Freight work tires the driver, and the limits on driving hours exist to prevent fatigue. So loading and unloading time is not rest, and it is not capped at one hour a day.