The draft Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (draft Regulations) together with an explanatory memorandum were published on 14 January 2019. The key provisions will come into force on exit day.

For road transport operations undertaken exclusively within the UK after exit day, the rules currently set out in the EU Drivers’ Hours Regulation (561/2006) and the EU Tachograph Regulation (165/2014) (together the EU Regulations), relating to drivers’ hours and tachographs will continue to apply, as set out in retained domestic versions of those Regulations.

For road transport operations between the UK and EU Member States, Switzerland, or non-EU EEA Member States, the rules contained in the European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles engaged in the International Road Transport of 1 July 1970, as amended (“the AETR”), will apply, in place of the EU Regulations, after exit day. The AETR is a United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Agreement and the UK, the 27 EU Member States, and a further 21 countries (including EEA Member States Norway and Lichtenstein, but not Iceland), are contracting parties to it. As the EU Regulations and the AETR contain the same rules, international road transport operations will be subject to the same drivers’ hours and tachographs requirements from exit day as before exit day.

Part 2 of the draft Regulations, which comes into force 22 days after the draft Regulations are made, amends existing legislation to fully implement the existing provisions of the EU Regulations and the AETR, including by creating three new offences, amending two existing offences and making various other consequential amendments.