Weekly 56-Hour and Fortnightly 90-Hour Driving Limits
The two ceilings
Under assimilated drivers’ hours rules you must respect both:
- 56 hours — maximum driving time in a week
- 90 hours — maximum driving time in any two consecutive weeks
This article covers those weekly / fortnightly driving totals only.
What “a week” means here
For these driving limits, the week used with the assimilated rules is the fixed week from 00:00 Monday to 24:00 Sunday (as applied in the standard drivers’ hours framework used in UK guidance). Plan totals inside that calendar week, not a personal “my week starts when I finish weekly rest” invention for this particular ceiling.
Why both limits exist
You could stay under 56 hours every single week and still break 90 over a fortnight if two heavy weeks sit next to each other. Example pattern: 56 + 56 = 112 in two weeks — illegal on the fortnightly cap even if each week alone hit exactly 56.
A legal day can still break the week
Daily driving (9 or 10 hours) and breaks can all look correct day-by-day while the running weekly total creeps over 56. The tachograph and analysis software add driving across the week — they do not forgive “but Tuesday was quiet”.
Practical checks
- After each duty, know roughly how many driving hours you have left this week.
- Before a long run at the end of the week, check the fortnightly pair (this week + last week).
- Do not assume Article 12-style exceptional daily flexibility rewrites 56 or 90 — those weekly/fortnightly driving ceilings remain hard limits.
Examples
OK: Week A 50h driving, Week B 40h → week caps OK; fortnight 90h exactly on the edge if it sums to 90.
Fail: Week A 56h, Week B 40h → each week ≤56, but A+B = 96 > 90.
Fail: Mid-week you already have 52h driven and plan another 9h day with no reduction in later duties.
Driver habit
Treat 56/90 like fuel range: glance at the remaining “driving kilometres in hours” before you accept an extra loaded leg on Friday night.
