Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 lays down rules on driving times, breaks and rest periods for commercial drivers. Agreement on the text was reached after conciliation between the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

The Regulation was published in the Official Journal on 11 April 2006, along with Directive 2006/22/EC which sets out the system of inspection and percentage of working days for roadside vehicle checks. The new rules came into force in April 2007. However, the use of digital tachographs became mandatory in May 2006.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:102:SOM:EN:HTML

Implementation in the UK will be overseen by the Department for Transport.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_control/documents/contentservertemplate/dft_index.hcst?n=9334&l=2

The Department carried out a consultation on the implementation of the new rules the result of which was published at:  http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/closed/newregulationondrivershours/multisumdrivhrs

The Community Drivers' Hours and Recording Equipment Regulations 2007, CIF were published on 2 July 2007:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/20071819.htm

The above rules cover driving time for commercial road users, as distinct from overall working time. The DfT has produced separate guidance for implementing the Working Time Directive with respect to road transport.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/freight/road/workingtime/rdtransportworkingtimeguidance

Last updated 23 July 2007