Step 1. The big picture
In one sentence…
Driving and rest times for passenger transport are based on Regulation (EC) 561/2006. The aim is to limit driver fatigue and protect passengers and other road users; in the exam you must know both the figures and the purpose of each break or rest period.
Step 2. The syllabus
2.1Purpose of the rule
The regulation of driving times does not exist to organise schedules; it exists to prevent fatigue from degrading attention, reaction and decision-making.
- In passenger transport, driver fatigue also affects people who have no control over the driving.
- When a question raises delays or pressure to keep the service running, remember that safety and the required rest period take precedence over the convenience of the journey.
- The correct answer usually respects the time limit even if it seems less efficient, because the rule aims to prevent accumulated risk.
2.2Break after continuous driving
After 4.5 hours of driving you must take a break of at least 45 minutes, unless you start a rest period instead.
- The key figure links two pieces of data: the maximum continuous driving time and the minimum length of the required break.
- Do not confuse a break with just any stop if the driver remains on call for the service or the purpose of a rest is not met.
- In the exam, if 4.5 hours appears, immediately check whether the answer respects the 45 minutes or starts a rest period in line with the rule.
2.3Daily driving
Ordinary daily driving is 9 hours and can be extended to 10 hours only twice a week.
- The extension does not turn 10 hours into the general rule; it is a limited possibility that must fit within the regulatory margins.
- If a question mentions several extended days, check how many times the exception is used within the week.
- Do not make up for a daily excess by thinking only of resting afterwards; you must first respect the limit that applies to that working day.
2.4Weekly and two-week limits
Weekly driving must not exceed 56 hours, and over two consecutive weeks it must not exceed 90 hours.
- These limits accumulate alongside breaks and rest periods; they cannot be fixed at the last minute if the maximum has already been exceeded.
- The two-week limit prevents two intense weeks in a row from creating a workload incompatible with safe driving.
- When the question gives several days, add them up carefully and separate the weekly limit from the two-consecutive-week limit.
2.5Daily rest
The normal daily rest period is 11 hours, with reductions possible only within the regulatory margins.
- Resting means genuinely being separated from driving and its demands, not simply waiting for an incident to end.
- If the question mentions availability, waiting or interruptions, work out whether that counts as rest or is only time linked to the service.
- Reductions must not be memorised as free licence to cut rest short; they apply only when the current rule allows it.
2.6Weekly rest
The normal or reduced weekly rest period must be organised within the deadlines set by the rule and with compensation where applicable.
- Do not study it separately from the weekly limit: both control the build-up of fatigue over several days of service.
- If a question talks about reduced rest, check whether the corresponding compensation appears or is completely ignored.
- Correct planning avoids reaching the end of the week with no legal margin left to keep driving.
2.7Method for solving scenarios
First underline whether the case asks about a break, daily driving, the weekly limit, the two-week limit, daily rest or weekly rest.
- Note the key figures in groups: 4.5 hours and 45 minutes; 9 hours and 10 twice a week; 56 and 90; 11 hours.
- Rule out answers that mix up rest with waiting, availability or a simple stop without checking whether they meet the regulatory purpose.
- Always remember the purpose: preventing fatigue in passenger transport, even when the route or timetable puts pressure on you to continue.
Step 3. Key points
If you only have a minute before the exam, revise this.
- 1.Memorise 4.5 hours of driving and a 45-minute break.
- 2.Remember 9 hours daily, extendable to 10 hours twice a week.
- 3.Add up 56 hours weekly and 90 hours over two consecutive weeks.
- 4.Distinguish break, daily rest, weekly rest, waiting and availability.
- 5.Apply the normal daily rest of 11 hours as the baseline.
- 6.Check whether a reduced weekly rest requires compensation.
- 7.Solve scenarios by adding up times before choosing an answer.
- 8.Link each limit to preventing fatigue and passenger safety.
Step 4. Exam traps
Mistakes the DGT uses again and again on this topic.
- Confusing rest with simple waiting time or availability.
- Forgetting that the purpose of the rule is to prevent fatigue in passenger transport.
- Treating the extension to 10 hours as the ordinary daily rule.
- Looking only at the working day and not adding the weekly or two-week limit.
- Believing a short break counts the same as the 45 minutes required after 4.5 hours.
- Ignoring compensation when the question mentions reduced weekly rest.
Step 5. Quick check
Four real exam questions on what you have just read.
In a bus subject to Regulation 561/2006, after accumulating four and a half hours of driving without a valid split break, and without starting a rest period, what is the minimum ordinary uninterrupted break?
Step 6. Frequently asked questions about driving and rest times
- In a regular passenger service subject to Regulation (EC) 561/2006, how may the 45-minute break be split?
- 15 minutes followed by 30 minutes. Into a break of at least 15 minutes followed by one of at least 30 minutes, interspersed within the driving period to meet the break required after four and a half hours. Reversing the order to 30 then 15 minutes is not sufficient in this regular service. Since 2024, occasional passenger services have an additional option: two breaks of at least 15 minutes each, totalling at least 45 minutes.See full question
- In adverse weather while driving a D1 or D bus, the correct action is to:
- Adapt driving to the grip and visibility conditions. Adverse weather requires driving to be adapted to the new grip and visibility conditions.See full question
- In rain, when driving a D1 or D bus, it is advisable to:
- Reduce speed and increase the safety distance. Rain reduces grip and increases braking distance, so speed should be reduced and the safety margin increased.See full question