European Court of Justice: Drivers are no longer allowed to spend their rest time in their vehicle
The European law makers have announced that it will be no longer permitted for professional drivers to spend their rest time in their vehicle.
This conclusion was presented by the Attorney General Evgeni Tanchev of the European Court of justice (EuGH) in Luxembourg.
Behind this decision is the Belgian transportation company Vaditrans BVBA’s legal action suit against the Belgian government. Vaditrans goal was to force the retraction of a decree made in April 2014 that in the event of a violation of the alleged prohibition, a fine of 1,800 EUR would follow. The Belgian State Council called on the EuGH for clarity in the context of a preliminary ruling. A final decision from the Court of Justice has not been communicated yet, but the EuGH generally closely follows the opinion of the Attorney General. At this time, the Court of Justice has not yet dealt with the question of whether in Article 8 section 6 and 8 of regulation Nr. 561/2006 established regular weekly rest periods for drivers can be spent in their vehicles.