Regulations for driving time and rest periods

Temporary exceptions September 2024

Temporary exceptions from the rules on driving time and rest periods are in force from 6 September to 13 September 2024, or until the E18 at Lundeslettene in Tvedestrand reopens to traffic if this should happen first.

These are the exceptions:

• Daily driving time must not exceed 10 hours (originally 9 hours)
• Weekly driving time must not exceed 60 hours (originally 56 hours)
• Total driving time over two consecutive weeks must not exceed 100 hours (originally 90 hours)
• A driver may have an unlimited number of reduced daily rest periods between two weekly rest periods (originally limited to three)

If you have a SMART tachograph, your GPS position will be marked when you as the driver enter start and end countries.
If you have a first-generation digital tachograph, you must specify the start and end location on a printout from the tachograph.

The regulations in brief

The regulations apply in the EEA and Switzerland. If you are driving into, from, in or between countries outside the EEA, the AETR agreement (European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles engaged in International Road Transport) applies. The rules are largely identical to the rules that apply in the EU/ EEA.

The rules apply to drivers of lorries and buses.

Daily driving period

• After a maximum of 4.5 hours of driving, you must take a break for at least 45 minutes.
• Breaks must be spent on rest and not used for other work.

Daily rest period

• The daily rest period must be at least 11 consecutive hours, or at least three plus nine hours of rest.
• The daily rest period may be reduced to nine hours a maximum of three times between two weekly rest periods.

Weekly driving period

• The maximum total weekly driving time is 56 hours (provided that an agreement has been entered into in accordance with the rules on working hours  for drivers).
• If you drive for two weeks in a row, the maximum total weekly driving time is 90 hours (provided that an agreement has been entered into in accordance with the rules on working hours for drivers).

Weekly rest period

• A weekly rest period of at least 45 hours must be taken after no more than six days of working.
• The weekly rest period can be reduced to 24 hours every second week (a corresponding rest period must be taken to compensate for the reduction).

Tachographs provide correct records of the hours driven

If you are covered by the drivers’ hours regulations, a tachograph must be fitted in your vehicle. The tachograph keeps track of the driving time and tells you when to take a break. If the vehicle is equipped with a digital tachograph, you need a driver card. Such cards, known as DIFAS cards (DIFAS is the name of the NPRA’s electronic driver card register), must be ordered from a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office. If the vehicle is equipped with an analogue tachograph, you need diagram charts that must be replaced at the end of the daily driving period.

The purpose of the regulations is to ensure road safety, fair competition on equal terms and good working conditions for the driver.