Professional driver practice
Drivers hours, tachograph and CPC
Twenty questions on drivers hours, the tachograph and Driver CPC. The same rules in Ireland and the UK, and the thing that gets more drivers prosecuted abroad than anything else.
20 questions, about 15 minutes, free and no sign-up. You get the right answer and the reason after every question.
The interactive test needs JavaScript. Every question and answer is written out below, so you can still revise from this page.
Want this result kept, and the next steps sent to you?
Optional, and free. We email you the score with what it means for Ireland and for the UK, and we keep it on file so that when a role comes up at your level we already know you can do it.
Revision
Every question and answer, written out
Read them, learn them, then come back and take the test.
Driving time
The maximum daily driving time is normally:
The answer: 9 hours
Nine hours a day, which you may extend to ten hours twice in a week.
How often may you extend the daily driving time to 10 hours?
The answer: Twice a week
Twice in any week. Every other day it is nine hours.
The maximum weekly driving time is:
The answer: 56 hours
Fifty-six hours in a fixed week.
The maximum driving time over any two consecutive weeks is:
The answer: 90 hours
Ninety hours over two consecutive weeks, so a 56-hour week must be followed by a lighter one.
Breaks
You must take a break after driving continuously for no more than:
The answer: 4 hours 30 minutes
A break or breaks totalling 45 minutes after no more than four and a half hours of driving.
That break must total at least:
The answer: 45 minutes
Forty-five minutes, which may be split into 15 minutes then 30 minutes, in that order.
Rest
The normal daily rest period is:
The answer: 11 hours
Eleven hours, which you may reduce to nine hours three times between any two weekly rest periods.
A reduced daily rest of 9 hours may be taken:
The answer: three times between weekly rests
Three times between any two weekly rest periods.
The normal weekly rest period is:
The answer: 45 hours
An unbroken 45 hours, which may be reduced to 24 hours every other week with compensation.
A reduced weekly rest is:
The answer: 24 hours
Twenty-four hours, and it may be taken every other week only. The shortfall has to be paid back.
Tachograph
Your driver card should be:
The answer: inserted at the start of your shift and kept in for the whole day
The card is personal to you and records your whole duty day. Never lend it and never drive on someone else's.
If your tachograph stops working mid-journey you should:
The answer: make manual records and get it repaired within the required time
Keep manual records and have it repaired within the time the rules allow. Carrying on with no record at all is what gets drivers prosecuted.
"Other work" on the tachograph includes:
The answer: loading, unloading, paperwork and vehicle checks
Everything you do for the employer that is not driving and not a break counts as other work and is part of your working time.
CPC
Driver CPC periodic training is:
The answer: 35 hours every 5 years
Thirty-five hours over five years, usually taken as five seven-hour days. It keeps your driver qualification card valid.
You are driving professionally and your Driver CPC card has expired. You:
The answer: must not drive professionally until it is valid again
No valid CPC, no professional driving. Both you and the operator can be prosecuted.
Daily checks
Before you move off, a walk-round check should include:
The answer: tyres, lights, mirrors, load security, leaks and bodywork
The daily walk-round is the driver's legal responsibility, and defects must be reported before the vehicle moves.
You find a defect that makes the vehicle unsafe. You should:
The answer: report it and not drive until it is fixed
Report it and park it. Driving a vehicle you know is unsafe puts the offence on you.
Loads
Who is responsible for making sure the load is secure?
The answer: The driver, along with the operator and loader
The driver carries responsibility for the load on the road, whoever put it on. If it is not right, do not take it.
Your rights
You are asked to run over your hours to finish a delivery. You should:
The answer: refuse and record the reason
The hours are the law and the penalty lands on you. A decent operator will not ask. If one does, tell us.
The bigger cause of drivers being prosecuted abroad is usually:
The answer: hours and tachograph infringements
Hours and records. Get these right from day one and the rest of the job is straightforward.
The real thing
The official test
Book and study on the body's own site. Their question bank is much bigger than ours and theirs is the one that counts.
Know where you stand
Your rights at work, and who to call if something is wrong
What you are owed in Ireland and in the UK, in plain language, with the phone number of the body that enforces it. Free, and it applies whether you came through us or not.