Motor Vehicles (Carriage of Goods by Road)

L.N. 225 of 2007

TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDINANCE

(CAP. 65)

Motor Vehicles (Carriage of Goods by Road)

(Amendment) Regulations, 2007

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 54 of the Traffic

Regulation Ordinance, the Minister for Urban Development and Roads

has, in consultation with the Malta Transport Authority, made the

following regulations>-

The title of these regulations shall be the Motor Vehicles Citation.

(Carriage of Goods by Road) (Amendment) Regulations, 2007, and they

shall be read and construed as one with the Motor Vehicles (Carriage

of Goods by Road) Regulations, 2003, hereinafter referred to as “the L.N. 146 of 2003.

principal regulations”.

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended as Amends regulation

2 of the principal

follows>-

regulations.

(a) immediately after the definition “Authority” there shall

be inserted the following new definition>

“ “break” means any period during which a driver may

not carry out any driving or any other work and which is used

exclusively for recuperation<”<

(b) for the definition “carriage by road”, there shall be

substituted the following definition>

“ “carriage by road” means any journey made entirely

or in part on roads open to the public by a vehicle, whether

laden or not, used for the carriage of goods<”<

(c) for the definition “daily driving period” there shall

substituted the following definition>

“ “daily driving time” means the total accumulated

driving time between the end of one daily rest period and the

beginning of the following daily rest period or between a daily

rest period and a weekly rest period<”<

(d) immediately after the definition “daily driving time”

there shall be inserted the following new definitions>

“ “daily rest period” means the daily period during which

a driver may freely dispose of his time and covers a “regular

daily rest period” and a “reduced daily rest period” as defined

under these regulations<

“Directive 2006#22#EC” means Directive 2006#22#EC

of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 th March,

2006, on minimum conditions for the implementation of

Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3820#85 and (EEC) No.

3821#85 concerning social legislation relating to road transport

activities and repealing Council Directive 88#599#EEC<”<

(e) in the definition “driver” immediately after the words

“is carried in the vehicle” there shall be added the words “as part

of his duties”<

(f) immediately after the definition “driver” there shall be

added the following new definitions>

“ “driving period” means the accumulated driving time from

when a driver commences driving following a rest period or a break

until he takes a rest period or a break. The driving period may be

continuous or broken<

“driving time” means the duration of driving activity recorded

automatically or semi-automatically by the recording equipment

as defined in the Malta Vehicles (Weights, Dimensions and

Equipment) Regulations or recorded manually as required by

regulation 37 of the said regulations<”<

(g) immediately after the definition “holder” there shall be

added the following new definition>

“ “maximum permissible mass” means the maximum

authorized operating mass of a vehicle when fully laden<”<

(h) immediately after the definition “mobile worker” there

shall be inserted the following new definitions>

“ “motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle

travelling on the road, other than a vehicle permanently

running on rails, and normally used for the carriage of goods<

“multi-manning” means the situation where, during each

period of driving between any two consecutive daily rest

periods, or between a daily rest period and a weekly rest

period, there are at least two drivers in the vehicle to do the

driving. For the first hour of multi-manning the presence of

another driver or drivers is optional but for the remainder of

the period it is compulsory<”<

(i) immediately after the definition “operator’s licence for

the carriage of goods by road” there shall be inserted the following

new definition>

“ “other work” means all activities as defined in the

definition “working times” except driving, including any work

for the same or another employer, within or outside the

transport sector<”<

(j) in paragraph (d) of the definition “own account” for the

words starting with the words “provided that” and ending with

the words “normally used”, there shall be substituted the words

“provided that in the latter case they meet the conditions of Council

Directive 84#647#EEC of the 19 th December, 1984, on the use of

vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road”>

(k) immediately after the definition “public highway” there

shall be inserted the following new definitions>

“ “reduced daily rest period” means any period of rest

of at least nine hours but less than eleven hours<

“reduced weekly rest period” means any period of rest

of less than 45 hours, which may, subject to the conditions

laid down in regulation 29, be reduced to a minimum of 24

consecutive hours<

“regular daily rest period” means any period of rest of at

least 11 hours. Alternatively, this regular daily rest period

may be taken in two periods, the first of which must be an

uninterrupted period of at least three hours and the second an

uninterrupted period of at least nine hours<

“regular weekly rest period” means any period of rest of

at least 45 hours<”<

(l) for the definition “rest” there shall be substituted the

following>

“ “rest” means any uninterrupted period during which

the driver may freely dispose of his time<”<

(m) for the definition “tractor” there shall be substituted

the following>

“ “tractor” means any self-propelled vehicle travelling

on the road, other than a vehicle permanently running on rails,

and specially designed to pull, push or move trailers, semi-

trailers, implements or machines<”<

(n) immediately after the definition “valid” there shall be

inserted the following new definition>

“ “vehicle” means a motor vehicle, tractor, trailer or semi-

trailer or a combination of these vehicles<”<

(o) immediately after the definition “week” there shall be

added the following new definitions>

“ “weekly driving time” means the total accumulated

driving time during a week<

“weekly rest period” means the weekly period during

which a driver may freely dispose of his time and covers a

“regular weekly rest period” and a “reduced weekly rest period

as defined under these regulations<”.

In regulation 16 in the English text of the principal regulations,

for the words “road passenger transport operator” there shall be

substituted the words “road haulage operator”.

Regulation 18 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows>

“18. (1) Regulations 19 to 33 shall only apply to

international carriage of goods by road where the maximum

permissible mass of the vehicle, including any trailer, or semi-

trailer, exceeds 3.5 tonnes.

(2) The types of vehicles listed in Part I of the Fourth

Schedule shall be exempt from the provisions of this Part of the

regulations.

(3) For the purpose of this part of the regulations,

“transport undertaking” shall mean any natural person, any legal

person, any association or group of persons without legal

personality, whether profit-making or not, or any official body,

whether having its own legal personality or being dependent upon

an authority having such personality, which engages in carriage

by road, whether for hire or for own account.”

Regulation 27 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends regulation

27 of the principal

as follows>

regulations.

(a) for sub-regulation (2) (a), there shall be substituted the

following>

“(2) (a) The daily driving time, including all driving

time on the territory of the European Union or of a third

country, shall not exceed nine hours, but it may be extended

up to twice in any week to not more than ten hours.”.

(b) sub-regulation (3) shall be renumbered sub-regulation

(4)<

(c) immediately after sub-regulation (2) there shall be

inserted the following new sub-regulation>

“(3) The weekly driving time, including all driving

time on the territory of the European Union or of a third

country, shall not exceed 56 hours and shall not result in the

maximum weekly working time laid down in sub-regulation

(1) (a).”< and

(d) immediately after sub-regulation (4) as renumbered,

there shall be inserted the following new sub-regulation>

“(5) A driver shall record as other work any time spent

in activities as defined as “working time” in regulation 2 as

well as any time spent driving a vehicle used for commercial

operations, and shall also record any period of availability,

as defined in regulation 2, since his last daily or weekly rest

period. This record shall be entered either manually on a record

sheet, a printout or by the use of manual input facilities on

recording equipment.”.

Regulation 28 (2) of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows>

(a)

paragraph (a) shall be amended as follows<

“(a) A driver shall take an uninterrupted break of not

less than forty-five minutes after a driving period of four-

and-a-half-hours, unless he takes a rest period.”.

(b) in paragraph (b), for the word “breaks” there shall be

substituted the words “a break”, for the words “each distributed”

there shall be substituted the words “followed by a break of at

least thirty minutes, each distributed”, and the words “or

immediately after this period” shall be deleted< and

(c)

paragraphs (c) and (d) shall be deleted.

For regulation 29 of the principal regulations there shall be

substituted the following>

(1) A driver or any other mobile worker shall take

daily and weekly rest periods.

(2) A daily rest period of eleven hours shall be

taken within each period of twenty-four hours after the end

of the previous daily rest period or weekly rest period>

Provided that the daily rest period may be reduced to at

least nine hours no more than three times between any two

weekly rest periods.

(3) A daily rest period may be extended to make

a regular weekly rest period or a reduced weekly rest period.

(4) Notwithstanding sub-regulation (2), a driver

engaged in multi-manning shall, within thirty hours from the

end of a daily or weekly rest period, take a new daily rest

period of at least nine hours.

(5) (a) In any two consecutive weeks a driver

or any other mobile worker shall take at least>-

– two regular weekly rest periods, or-

– one regular weekly rest period and one reduced

weekly rest period of at least twenty-four hours>

Provided that the reduction shall be compensated by an

equivalent period of rest taken en bloc before the end of the

third week following the week in question.

(b) A weekly rest period shall start no later than

at the end of six twenty-four-hour periods from the end of the

previous weekly rest period.

(6) (a) Any rest taken as compensation for a reduced

weekly rest period shall be attached to another rest period of

at least nine hours.

(b) Where a driver or any other mobile worker

chooses to do this, daily rest periods and reduced weekly

rest periods away from base may be taken in a vehicle,

as long as the vehicle has suitable sleeping facilities for

each driver or mobile worker and the vehicle is

stationary.

(7) A weekly rest period that falls in two weeks may

be counted in either week, but not in both.”.

8. For regulation 30 of the principal regulations there shall be Substitutes

regulation 30 of the

substituted the following>

principal

regulations.

“30. (1) Notwithstanding regulation 29, a driver or any

mobile worker engaged in the carriage of goods who accompanies

a vehicle which is transported by ferry or train, that driver or mobile

worker may interrupt the regular daily rest period not more than

twice by other activities not exceeding one hour in total and during

that regular daily rest period, the driver or mobile worker shall

have access to a bunk or couchette.

(2) Any time spent travelling to a location to take

charge of a motor vehicle used for the carriage of goods, or to

return from that location, when the vehicle is neither at the driver’s

or mobile worker’s home nor at the employer’s operational centre

where the driver or other mobile worker is normally based, shall

not be counted as a rest or break unless the driver or mobile worker

is on a ferry or train and has access to a bunk or couchette.

(3) Any time spent by a driver driving any other motor

vehicle which is not a goods carrying motor vehicle, which is not

at the driver’s home or at the employer’s operational centre where

the driver is normally based, shall count as other work.”.

9. For regulation 31 of the principal regulations there shall be

substituted the following>

(1) A transport undertaking shall not give drivers

it employs or who are put at its disposal any payment, even in

undertakings.

the form of a bonus or wage supplement, related to distances

travelled and, or the amount of goods carried if that payment

is of such a kind as to endanger road safety and, or encourages

infringement of these regulations.

(2) A transport undertaking shall be liable, unless

proved otherwise, for infringements committed by a driver

of the undertaking, even if the infringement is committed on

the territory of another Member State or of a third country>

Provided that the contravention was not due to an

unavoidable delay in the completion of a journey arising out

of circumstances which the undertaking could not reasonably

have forseen, or the contravention was not due to the fact that

the driver had for any particular period or periods driven or

been on duty otherwise than in the employment of that

undertaking.

(3) Transport undertakings shall ensure that –

i. all data is downloaded from the vehicle’s

recording equipment at least every three months and from

the driver card at least every 28 days<

ii. all data downloaded from both the vehicle’s

recording equipment and from the driver card is kept

for at least 12 months following recording and, should

an inspecting officer request it, such data shall be

accessible, either directly or remotely, from the premises

of the undertaking.

(4) Undertakings, consignors, freight forwarders,

principal contractors, subcontractors and driver employment

agencies shall ensure that contractually agreed transport time

schedules respect these regulations.”.

10. In regulation 32 of the principal regulations, for the words

starting with the words “The Driver” and ending with the words “duty

roster” there shall be substituted the words “The driver shall indicate

the reason for such departure from those provisions manually on the

record sheet of the recording equipment or on a printout from the

recording equipment or in the duty roster, at the latest on arrival at the

suitable stopping place.”.

11. Regulation 33 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends regulation

33 of the principal

as follows>

regulations

(a) in sub-regulation (1) for the words “An employer shall

–” there shall be substituted the words “A transport undertaking

shall –”<

(b) in paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (1) for the words

“organize mobile workers’ work” there shall be substituted the

words “organize drivers’ and other mobile workers’ work”<

(c) in paragraph (b) of sub-regulation (1) for the words

“notify every mobile worker” there shall be substituted the words

“notify every driver or any other mobile worker”<

(d) in paragraph (c) of sub-regulation (1) for the words “by

each mobile worker” there shall be substituted the words “by each

driver or mobile worker”<

(e) in paragraph (d) for the words “at the request of a mobile

worker” there shall be substituted the words “at the request of a

driver or mobile worker”, and for the words “by that worker” there

shall be substituted the words “by that driver or that worker”< and

(f) in sub-regulation (2) for the words “A mobile worker”

there shall be substituted the words “A driver or any other mobile

worker”.

12. In regulation 36 of the principal regulations, the words “listed Amends regulation

36 of the principal

in Part I of the Fourth Schedule” shall be deleted.

regulations.

13. In regulation 37 of the principal regulations for the words Amends regulation

37 of the principal

“Part I” there shall be substituted the words “Part II”.

regulations.

Amends regulation

14. In regulation 47 of the principal regulations, for the words 47 of the principal

“Part II” there shall be substituted the words “Part III”.

regulations.

Regulation 54 of the principal regulations shall be repealed. Repeals

15. 54 of the principal

regulations.

16. For regulation 84 of the principal regulations there shall be Substitutes

regulation 84 of the

substituted the following>

principal

regulations.

“84. (1) The Authority shall check on the compliance of

the international haulier through random checks carried out at the

quayside, roadside or at the premises of the undertaking in

accordance with Directive 2006#22#EC.

(2) Such checks shall be carried out by authorized

inspecting officers using –

(a) equipment capable of downloading data from the

vehicle unit and driver card of the digital tachograph, reading

data, and analyzing data and, or transmitting findings to a

central database for analysis,

(b) equipment to check the tachograph sheets.”.

17. For regulation 85 of the principal regulations there shall be

substituted the following>

“85.

Quayside or roadside checks shall cover –

(a) daily and weekly driving times, breaks and daily

and weekly rest periods, as well as the preceding days’ record

sheets which have to be carried on board the vehicle and, or

the data stored for the same period on the driver card and, or

in the memory of the recording equipment and, or on

printouts<

(b) any cases where the vehicle’s authorized speed of

90 km per hour has been exceeded during the current week,

and in any case for the last day of the previous week on

which the driver has driven the vehicle<

(c) where appropriate, momentary speeds attained by

the vehicle as recorded by the recording equipment in no more

than the previous twenty-four hours’ use of the vehicle<

(d) the correct functioning of the recording equipment,

thus determining the possible misuse of the equipment and,

or the driver card, and, or record sheets<

(e) technical requirements of the regulations regulating

weights, dimensions and equipment for motor vehicles.”.

18. Regulation 86 of the principal regulations shall be substituted

as follows>

“86. Checks shall also be carried out at the premises of

internationally operating hauliers established in Malta and these

checks shall, in addition to the provisions of regulation 85, include

the following>

(a) weekly rest period and driving times between these

rest periods<

(b) observance of the two-weekly limitations of driving

times<

(c) record sheets, vehicle unit and driver card data and

printouts.”.

19. In regulation 88(5) of the principal regulations, for the words Amends regulation

88 of the principal

“of regulation 58(2)” there shall be substituted the words “of regulations regulations.

27, 28, 29 and 31”.

20. In Part 2 of the Second Schedule to the principal regulations, Amends the Second

for the words “REGULATION 10” in the title, there shall be substituted Schedule

principal

the words “REGULATION 13”.

regulations.

21. The Fourth Schedule to the principal regulations shall be Amends the Fourth

Schedule to the

amended as follows>

principal

regulations.

(a) Part I and Part II shall be renumbered as Part II and Part

III respectively<

(b) in Part II, as renumbered, for the words “Regulations

36 and 27” there shall be substituted the words “Regulation 37”<

and

(c) immediately before Part II, as renumbered, there shall

be inserted the following new Part I>

“TYPES OF VEHICLES EXEMPTED FROM THE

REQUIREMENTS

OF PART III OF THESE REGULATIONS

(Regulation 18)

1. Vehicles with a maximum authorised speed not exceeding 40

kilometres per hour<

2. vehicles owned or hired without a driver by the armed services,

civil defence services, fire services, and forces responsible for

maintaining public order when the carriage is undertaken as a

consequence of the tasks assigned to these services and is under their

control<

3. vehicles, including vehicles used in the non-commercial

transport of humanitarian aid, used in emergencies or rescue operations<

4. specialized vehicles used for medical purposes<

5. vehicles or combinations of vehicles with a maximum

permissible mass not exceeding 7.5 tonnes used for the non-commercial

carriage of goods< and

6. commercial vehicles, which have a historic status, which are

used for the non-commercial carriage of goods.”.

Mitbug[ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern — Printed at the Government Printing Press

Lm0.48 (€1.12)