Build the driving-break counter
Count driving time, not total time at work.
The eight-hour trigger
Under the ordinary property-carrying rule, take at least thirty consecutive minutes without driving before driving beyond eight cumulative driving hours. Count driving since the last qualifying interruption, not time since the shift began.
Three hours loading and five hours driving use eight on-duty hours, but only five hours toward this break trigger.
Follow cumulative driving across each leg. Only a qualifying interruption restarts this count.
Short stops do not restart the count
Teaching timeline · Read the day from left to right
4 h
First leg
4 driving hours
10 min
Brief stop
10 minutes: counter not reset
4 h
Second leg
4 more driving hours: total 8
Before another drive, take at least 30 consecutive non-driving minutes.
That interruption starts a fresh eight-hour driving count. It does not renew the eleven-hour allowance, extend the fourteen-hour window, or restart the cycle.
Plan a stop in advance
Choose a suitable stopping place before the driving counter runs out. Qualifying short-haul operations are excepted from this break requirement.