When are you exempt from the driving & rest time rules within agriculture and forestry?
In Denmark, the decree on driving and rest periods allows for national exemptions and dispensations – including for agricultural and forestry companies. In order to use these exemptions and perform exempted driving, several factors must be considered, such as what type of driving is performed and how far away from the company's headquarters you drive.
In the following example, both company A and company B perform exactly the same task, but only one of them is exempt from the driving & rest time rules:
- Company A, residing in Herning, grows its own potatoes and transports them in a truck under 7500 kg to a production company in Aarhus. As the distance is 77 km, the driving is exempt from the driving & rest time rules.
- Company B, located in Struer, performs the exact same task, but is 107 km as the crow flies from Aarhus and is therefore subject to driving and rest time regulations.
The difference lies in the distance – as soon as the 100 km radius limit is exceeded, the driving is covered by the regulations.
If you stay below 100 km, you are exempt from the regulations.
Where can the regulations be found?
The rules for national exemptions and dispensations can be found in chapter 2 of the driving and rest time regulations.
Here it says in § 2 b:
Vehicles used by agricultural, horticultural, forestry, livestock and fisheries companies within a radius of 100 km from the company's registered office are exempt from the driving/rest time regulations.
In addition, § 2 c states:
Agricultural and forestry tractors used for activities within 100 km from the company's registered office are also exempt.
This is decisive for the example with company A and B, where the distance alone determines whether the driving is exempt or not.
It is important to note that these exemptions only apply nationally.
Our recommendations for exempted driving
At Tachografservice A/S, we recommend that you always have your driver card in the tachograph, even when driving is exempt:
- This ensures that you can document which drivers have driven the vehicle.
- The Danish Road Traffic Authority (Færdselsstyrelsen) may, upon inspection, require documentation for exempted driving and the name of the driver.
- Even if the driving is exempt within the 100 km zone, the tachograph must still be used correctly and set to “OUT”.
- For documentation and control of working time, all data is collected in the tachograph if a driver card is always used.
Are you unsure whether your driving is subject to driving and rest time regulations?
Contact us on tel. 70 222 337 or info@tachografservice.dk, and we will help you find out whether your driving is exempt and ensure that you have the necessary equipment to keep track of your data.