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ARTICLE · 06 MARCH 2018

Heavy Vehicle National Law: recent decision clarifies work diary obligations and counting overlapping time

Cooper Grace Ward
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Drivers need to keep track of their fatigue obligations across all relevant periods (including overlapping periods).

AustraliaTransport
Tony Park
Tony Park
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In a recent decision, the South Australian Supreme Court confirmed that heavy vehicle drivers may be operating under multiple overlapping 24-hour periods. Drivers operating under multiple overlapping periods need to comply with their permitted work and rest hours across each of those periods.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Barnes was a self-employed driver of a heavy vehicle operating on 'standard hours'.

Barnes arrived in Alice Springs at 6.00 pm on 27 November 2014, at which time he ceased work. He did not work at all on 28 November 2014. He spent the day visiting friends in Alice Springs and made no entry in his work diary during that day.

He started working again at 12.30 pm on 29 November 2014. He recorded in his work diary that between 12.30 pm on 29 November 2014 and 12.30 pm on 30 November 2014 he worked a total of 14 hours, interspersed with various periods of rest. He also recorded that he rested from midnight on 29 November 2014 until 7.45 am on 30 November 2014,

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