Set maximum driving hours for truck drivers, UAE transport companies told

Department of Transport recommends haulage firms adopt maximum length of driving shifts with specific rest breaks.

The Department of Transport has recommended a maximum shift and regular breaks for drivers. Pawan Singh / The National

ABU DHABI // Transport managers are being encouraged to adopt an hours-of-driving rule for their lorry drivers in a bid to ensure they have adequate rest.

“We are going to suggest a maximum shift, which varies from 10 to 11 hours and 30 minutes,” said Mohammed Nasser Al Otaiba, director of freight division at the Department of Transport on Monday. “The maximum driving before a break could vary from 2 hours and 30 minutes to 2 hours.”

For example, if a lorry driver works for 2 hours and 30 minutes, he must take a 30-minute break. A four-hour trip would require a break of 45 minutes to one hour.

The DoT gathered case studies from three companies in Abu Dhabi, and limitation sets were consistent. The maximum driving per shift varies from eight to 10 hours, while the minimum daily rest varies from eight to 12 hours.

However, Mr Al Otaiba, who was speaking at the launch of Abu Dhabi's Multi-Modal Freight Master Plan, said the DoT was not setting a driving limit for lorry drivers.

"Today, we are not talking about any enforcement," he said. "This is more of a voluntary guidance for the private sector. We don't as a government come with a stick. We are starting with a carrot. Driver fatigue, training and safety on the roads are all serious matters we are looking into."

Enforcement of lorry drivers’ working time will come later, he said.

“It will be enforced in 2030. We have a long way,” Mr Al Otaiba said. “We are urging the private sector to adopt an effective system for safety inspections and vehicle maintenance, a driver training curriculum, incorporating these in their budget to make freight transport more efficient, safe and fair.”

Dr Osama Adnan Tomeh, a freight planning consultant at the DoT, said it would depend on the effectiveness of the awareness campaigns.

The DoT intends to further research, develop, and consult on more defined limits for drivers that will, over time, be given the force of law, according to its guidebook called “Stop Sleepy Drivers”.

It has also come up with manuals on better lorry maintenance, a driver’s guide to daily lorry safety checks and guidance for owner-drivers on the prevention of lorry driver fatigue.

The road fatality rate has fallen from 19.3 per 100,000 people to 11 per 100,000, with 17 per cent of these fatal accidents being lorry related, Mr Al Otaiba said.

“Lorries cause fewer deaths on the road. But they cause multiple deaths and damage to property,” he said.

“We need to make sure that goods are transported in a safe manner, improve road safety and security and work on an integrated framework for the efficiency of the freight sector.”