45-minute break rules for truck drivers: when to take it and how to split it

After 4 hours 30 of driving the driver stops for at least 45 consecutive minutes, unless a rest period starts. The break can be split in two, in one order only: at least 15 minutes first, then at least 30. That is Article 7 of Regulation (EC) 561/2006. Thirty followed by fifteen does not work.

When the break is due

The count runs on driving time, not on the clock. The 4 hours 30 add up every stretch of driving since the last rest or the last complete break, even when short stops break it up (Article 4(q)). A queue at the toll, ten minutes at the warehouse gate: the count does not reset.

It resets when the break is complete. With 45 minutes in one go, or with the second 30-minute part, the 4 h 30 counter goes back to zero.

If a daily rest starts at 4 hours 30, no break is needed.

What you can do on a break

No work. The regulation defines a break as a period in which the driver does no driving and no other work, used only for recuperation (Article 4(d)).

Watching the loading, signing the delivery note, tightening the straps: all other work. Eating, sleeping, a walk round the services: break.

Travelling to collect a vehicle away from base is not a break either, unless on a ferry or train with a sleeper berth (Article 9(2)).

Sequences that count and sequences that don’t

Sequence	Total driving	Result
drive 4 h 30, break 45 min	4 h 30	valid
drive 2 h, break 15 min, drive 2 h 30, break 30 min	4 h 30	valid, 15 then 30
drive 3 h, break 15 min, drive 1 h 30, break 30 min	4 h 30	valid, 15 then 30
drive 4 h 30, break 30 min, drive on	4 h 30	not valid, no 15-minute part before
drive 2 h, break 30 min, drive 2 h, break 15 min, drive 30 min	4 h 30	not valid, wrong order

The first part can sit anywhere inside the driving period. The second one closes it.

The last case, step by step

It is a common mistake. The driver sets off at 06:00 and drives until 08:00. He stops for 30 minutes, until 08:30. He drives until 10:30, then stops for 15 minutes. He leaves again at 10:45 and drives until 11:15.

Total driving: 2 + 2 + 0.5 = 4 hours 30. Breaks: 30 + 15 = 45 minutes. On paper the sums add up.

Article 7 says otherwise. The text asks for 15 minutes “followed by” 30, and here the second stop is 15. On our reading the first 30-minute stop, being at least 15, counts as the first part. Before going past 4 hours 30, then, another break of at least 30 minutes was needed. Stretching the 10:30 stop to 11:00 would have done it, or stopping for at least 30 minutes at 11:15, on 4 hours 30 of driving, before setting off again.

None of the Commission guidance notes published by DG MOVE deals with this case. We flag it at the end.

Two drivers on board

With multi-manning the break can be taken in the moving vehicle. The driver who is not driving takes the 45 minutes while the other one drives, provided he does not assist the driver (Article 7, fourth subparagraph).

The break before extra hours

In exceptional circumstances Article 12 allows up to 2 hours of driving beyond the daily and weekly limits to get back to base or home for a regular weekly rest. The condition: a 30-minute break taken right before the extra driving. The reason goes on the printout or duty roster by hand, at the latest on arrival.

Coaches only

Since Regulation (EU) 2024/1258, occasional passenger services can split the break into two breaks of at least 15 minutes each. For goods drivers nothing changes. It stays 15 plus 30.

What to do in practice

If you split the break, take the short stop first: a coffee at the services mid-morning is your 15 minutes. Save the long stop, 30 minutes or more, for the end of the block. If the first stop ran long, the second one still has to reach 30. And keep your hands off the load during the stop.

The full picture of driving and rest is in our guide to EU driving hours rules. For longer rests see the one on reduced weekly rest. The driving time calculator also tells you how much driving is left before the break.

What this article does not cover. Official guidance on how a first 30-minute stop followed by a 15-minute one is treated: the Commission guidance notes do not cover it, and the reading given here is ours. Penalties, which are set nationally. Working time under Directive 2002/15/EC. Text read: the consolidated version of 31.12.2024 on the EU Publications Office site. General information, not legal advice.