Impact of farmers’ protests on drivers: how to avoid violations and fines

Today, the activity of the business in the context of the protests of Polish farmers has presented drivers with a number of challenges that affect their work. Unfortunately, this leads to the choice of longer routes and delays, which in turn violates the norms of work and rest.

During the winter months, farmers and transporters from Poland and neighboring countries of the European Union took to the streets in protest against the agricultural policy of the EU, the Green Deal and the import of goods from our country. Strikers lead to serious violations: blocking of national and regional roads and difficulties on the Ukrainian-Polish border.

The Poles’ protest creates significant difficulties for logistics companies and long-haul drivers working with special standards:

1. driving period:

• per day – 9 hours;
• per week – 56 hours;
• 2 weeks in a row – 90 hours;
• without a break – 4:30 p.m.;

2. rest period

• per day – 11 hours;
• per week – 45 hours.

In the event that the driver, due to circumstances, had to use a longer alternative route or temporarily stop traffic, cannot comply with the specified rules, the driver may use Article 12 of Decree 561/2006:

“Provided that traffic safety is not violated and the vehicle can safely stop, the driver may deviate from the requirements of Articles 6-9 in cases where it is necessary to ensure the safety of passengers, the vehicle or cargo. The driver must note the reasons for such deviation manually on on the registration sheet of the registrar, on the extract from the registrar or in the shift log no later than before arriving at a place where a safe stop of the vehicle is possible.”

Therefore, if a driver is forced to break the rules due to the circumstances specified in Article 12, he has the right to write down these reasons in printed form if the standards cannot be met. Otherwise, fines may be applied to the driver or carrier.