What Are Periods Of Availability (POA)?
The Period Of Availability setting on tachographs can be used when Drivers have to wait for a predefined amount of time, and are aware of the wait in advance. It's one of the four legally recognised tachograph activity settings, alongside Driving, Other Work, and Rest.
What conditions must a Period Of Availability (POA) satisfy?
In order to set your tachograph to POA, the following conditions must be met:
- The Driver must be aware in advance that the POA will take place - even if it's only a few minutes in advance.
- The Driver must know in advance roughly how long the POA will last.
- The Driver must be permitted to leave their workstation (in this case, the cab) during their POA.
- The Driver must be able to take calls, resume Driving, or otherwise begin working again on request.
Examples of Periods Of Availability (POA)
So how does this work in practice? Here are some common examples of Periods Of Availability:
Scheduled Deliveries
A Driver arrives for a scheduled delivery early and has to wait for collection. This is POA because the driver knew about the scheduled times in advance.
Now let's say, for example, the delivery is unexpectedly late. If the Driver is informed in advance of the delay, and that it will take an hour, it can be classed as POA. But if the Driver is left with no idea how long things will take, it has to be recorded as Other Work.
Vehicle Maintenance
A Driver arrives for work, but is informed that they won't be able to drive for three hours while their vehicle undergoes repairs. After an hour of POA, they are asked to help with some yard work, which ends up taking an hour and a half. The final 30 minutes are spent waiting.
These three hours would be recorded as an hour of POA work, an hour and a half of Other Work, and another 30 minutes of POA work.
Breakdowns
If a vehicle breaks down and the Driver is informed how long it will take to recover, they can record the waiting period as POA. If the Driver is not informed how long it will take until recovery, this period would have to be recorded as Other Work.
Trains & Ferries
When travelling on a train or ferry, POA mode can be used, in tandem with the tachograph's train/ferry mode (if your tachograph has that setting available). It is recommended to use Other Work rather than POA if the train or ferry will be taking you to another country, however, because POA contributes to Driver break time in many European countries, but not in the UK. This can easily lead to confusion and miscalculations around your driving time, so it's safer to use Other Work and put up with the extra hours.
Relief Drivers / Double-Manning
Relief Drivers travelling as passengers may record this time as POA, as long as they are not partaking in other work, such as navigating.
How To Record A Period Of Availability (POA)
Periods Of Availability - often represented on tachographs as 'Available', or 'POA' - is one of the 4 legally recognised tachograph activities. With the vehicle stopped and your Driver Card inserted, use the arrow buttons to cycle to the Period Of Availability option. The symbol for this resembles a crate, as it is often selected while Drivers are waiting for their vehicles to be loaded, deliveries to be made, etc.
Can Drivers Record Break During a Period Of Availability?
If the driver knows exactly when they will be required to resume work, and know they have enough time, then there's nothing stopping them from taking some, or all of their break during a Period Of Availability. This time must be recorded as Rest, however, not POA.
Differences In POA Break Rules Between The UK And The EU
Under EU law, POA also contributes to break time, so almost all tachograph units are programmed to automatically count POA as break time (since they are all manufactured in the EU). However, in the UK, POA doesn't contribute to break or Working Time.
This can lead to tachographs observing a break where none has been taken, thus resetting the driving time on the display. When using the Period Of Availability setting in the UK, it's important to do your own break time calculations without relying on your tachograph display - this can easily catch people out.
It's also worth noting that Periods Of Availability don't contribute to working time, under the UK's Working Time Directive (WTD).
Summary: Period Of Availability Tachograph Rules
In summary, the Period Of Availability setting on tachographs can be used when Drivers have to wait for a predefined amount of time, and are aware of the wait in advance. As long as these two requirements are met, chances are it can be considered a POA!
Common examples include waiting for vehicles to be loaded, arriving early for a scheduled delivery and waiting for the difference, waiting for a recovery vehicle when the time of arrival is known - and there are many more.
What Do We Know About Tachographs Anyway?
A whole lot, actually! TachoMagic is a tachograph analysis bureau based in Leeds, and we've been analysing tachograph data for over 15 years, hence our extensive knowledge and experience. Our automatic reports are quick to read and easy to understand, allowing our customers to deal with infringements in a matter of minutes. And if you want up-to-date tacho data at your fingertips, we also have automatic remote download devices available on our shop page.
If you've got any driver & vehicle data that needs analysing, feel free to get in touch!
Further Reading:
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