What Is the 168-Hour Rule for HGV Drivers?

Every week, HGV drivers have exactly 168 hours. That’s seven days, 24 hours a day. But you can’t drive all of them. The 168-hour rule isn’t a secret trick or a motivational slogan-it’s a legal limit built into EU and UK driver hours regulations to keep drivers safe and roads clear of fatigue-related crashes. If you’re training for your HGV licence, or already driving professionally, understanding this rule isn’t optional. It’s the foundation of everything you do behind the wheel.

What exactly is the 168-hour rule?

The 168-hour rule means that over any rolling 168-hour period (that’s one full week), an HGV driver cannot drive more than 90 hours. It doesn’t matter if those hours are spread out or bunched up-count them all. If you drive 20 hours on Monday, 18 on Tuesday, 15 on Wednesday, and so on, you still have to add them all up by the end of the week. Once you hit 90, you stop driving until the next week resets.

This rule exists because human beings aren’t machines. Studies from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work show that drivers who exceed 90 hours per week are nearly twice as likely to be involved in a fatigue-related accident. The body doesn’t adapt to long hours. Sleep debt builds up. Reaction times slow. Decision-making gets sloppy. The 168-hour rule exists to force rest before it’s too late.

How does it work with daily limits?

The 168-hour rule doesn’t replace daily rules-it works alongside them. Each day, you’re limited to 9 hours of driving, with a maximum of 10 hours twice a week. You also need a 45-minute break after every 4.5 hours of driving. But here’s the catch: those daily limits are easy to track. The weekly 90-hour cap is where most drivers get caught out.

Imagine you’re a new HGV driver training for your Class 2 licence. You’ve been driving 8 hours a day, five days a week. That’s 40 hours. Sounds safe, right? But then your employer asks you to cover a shift on Saturday-another 10 hours. Sunday, you drive 8 more. That’s 58 hours. Then Monday rolls around, and you’re scheduled for 12 hours. You’re already at 70. Tuesday, you drive 10 more. You’ve hit 80. Wednesday, you drive 9. You’re at 89. You think you’ve got room. But then Thursday, you drive 2 more hours. You’ve gone over. You’ve broken the 168-hour rule. And now you’re not just at risk-you’re breaking the law.

Who enforces the 168-hour rule?

It’s not just your employer’s responsibility. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) in the UK, and similar bodies across Europe, use digital tachographs to record every minute of driving time. These devices are mandatory in all HGVs over 3.5 tonnes. They don’t just log speed and location-they track driving time, rest periods, and breaks. During roadside checks, enforcement officers can download your tachograph data with a simple card reader. If your weekly hours exceed 90, you and your company can face fines, penalty points, or even suspension of your operator’s licence.

Some drivers think they can ‘game’ the system by switching vehicles or using multiple cards. That’s a myth. Tachographs link to your driver card, not the vehicle. Every hour you drive, whether in a 7.5-tonne van or a 44-tonne articulated lorry, counts toward your 90-hour limit. The system doesn’t care what you’re driving-it cares how long you’ve been behind the wheel.

Why do companies push drivers past the limit?

It’s not always about greed. Many hauliers operate on razor-thin margins. Delays at ports, weather disruptions, and last-minute deliveries mean drivers are often pressured to ‘just do one more run.’ Some dispatchers don’t even know the rules. Others do-and they ignore them.

But here’s the truth: pushing drivers past 90 hours per week is a false economy. A single accident caused by fatigue can cost a company hundreds of thousands in repairs, legal fees, insurance hikes, and lost contracts. The UK Department for Transport estimates that fatigue-related crashes cost the economy over £1 billion annually. That’s not a statistic-it’s real families, real trauma, real losses.

Smart operators don’t just follow the rules-they build schedules around them. They plan rest days. They use software that auto-calculates weekly hours. They train their drivers to speak up when they’re close to the limit. That’s the difference between a company that survives and one that collapses after a single violation.

How to track your 168-hour week

You don’t need to be a math genius to stay under 90 hours. Here’s how to do it simply:

1. Write down every driving hour at the end of each day. Use a notebook, phone app, or spreadsheet.
2. Don’t rely on memory. Fatigue makes you forget. Write it down even if you drove 6 hours.
3. At the end of each week, add them up. If you’re at 85 or higher, plan your next week carefully.
4. Use your tachograph printouts. Most modern units let you print a weekly summary. Keep a copy.
5. Set a personal limit: stop at 85 hours. Give yourself a 5-hour buffer. That’s how professionals do it.

There are free apps like Driver Hours Log and HGV Hours Tracker that sync with your tachograph card. They show you a visual chart of your weekly usage. If your line hits red, you know you’re in danger zone. Use them. They’re not optional tools-they’re your safety net.

What happens if you break the rule?

Breaking the 168-hour rule isn’t like getting a parking ticket. It’s a criminal offence. If you’re caught driving over 90 hours in a week:

• You can be fined up to £5,000 per offence.
• Your driver’s licence can be suspended.
• Your employer can be prosecuted for allowing it.
• Your company’s operator licence can be revoked.
• You may be barred from driving HGVs for months or years.

One driver in Manchester lost his licence for 12 months after being caught driving 98 hours in a week. He thought he was just helping out. He didn’t realize the tachograph had recorded every minute. He now works in warehouse logistics. He’ll never drive an HGV again.

How to stay compliant during training

If you’re in an HGV training course, your instructor should be teaching you this from day one. But not all schools do it right. Ask your trainer: “How do you track weekly driving hours during training?” If they say, “We just follow the daily rules,” walk away.

Good training schools use real tachograph simulators and weekly logs. They make you calculate your own hours. They test you on the 168-hour rule in your theory exam. If your course doesn’t do this, you’re not getting full training-you’re getting a ticket waiting to happen.

During your practical training, keep your own log. Even if your instructor says it’s not needed. Build the habit now. When you get your licence, you’ll be miles ahead of drivers who learned the hard way.

What about rest days and weekly rest?

The 168-hour rule doesn’t replace mandatory rest periods. You still need:

• 11 hours of daily rest (can be reduced to 9 hours three times a week).
• One 45-hour weekly rest period (uninterrupted).
• Or two 24-hour rest periods in a rolling two-week period.

These are separate from your driving hours. You can drive 90 hours and still be in violation if you didn’t take your weekly rest. The rules stack. Missing one break can trigger multiple offences.

Think of it like a bank account. Driving hours are withdrawals. Rest is deposits. You can’t keep withdrawing without depositing. Eventually, you go bankrupt. And when you do, it’s not just your money-it’s your life.

Final takeaway: It’s not about the hours-it’s about the rhythm

The 168-hour rule isn’t a punishment. It’s a gift. It forces you to plan. To rest. To live. Professional drivers who thrive aren’t the ones who drive the most. They’re the ones who know when to stop. They sleep well. They eat right. They show up fresh. That’s the real skill.

If you’re training to be an HGV driver, make this rule your first priority. Write it on your dashboard. Say it out loud every morning. “I have 90 hours this week. I won’t go over.” That mindset separates the good drivers from the great ones.

Because in this job, the longest haul isn’t the one across the country. It’s the one you make every week-staying alive, staying legal, and staying in control.