A drivers’ hours calculator for HGV drivers in the UK and EU
This drivers’ hours calculator reads a simple log of your day — when you started driving, did other work, were available or took a break — and shows how much driving you have left under the GB/EU drivers’ hours rules for goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes: the 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving, 9 hours of driving a day (10 hours twice a week), 56 hours a week and 90 hours in two weeks. It also tells you the latest time your daily rest must start and when your weekly rest is due.
A second mode applies the GB domestic rules (10 hours of driving and 11 hours on duty a day) for drivers who are exempt from the assimilated rules. It is a planning aid for drivers, transport planners and trainees — not a tachograph record and not legal advice. Everything runs in your browser.
How to use the Drivers’ Hours Calculator (UK / EU)
- Pick GB/EU rules or GB domestic rules.
- Enter the time your last daily or weekly rest ended, then add a row each time your activity changed.
- Set the date and the current time (or press Now).
- For GB/EU rules, enter your driving earlier this week and last week, how many 10-hour days and reduced rests you have used, and when your last weekly rest ended.
- Read the driving available now, which rule limits it, and your rest deadlines. Copy the summary or download the log as a CSV for a spreadsheet.
Drivers’ Hours Calculator (UK / EU) features
Every limit at once
Break rule, daily, weekly and two-week driving, daily rest and weekly rest deadlines — the smallest wins and is named.
Split breaks
Recognises 15 minutes followed by 30 minutes; other work and availability never count as a break.
Rest deadlines
Latest start of an 11-hour, reduced 9-hour or split 3 + 9 daily rest, and of the weekly rest.
Overrun warnings
Driving past 4.5 hours without a break, over 9 or 10 hours, or over 56 and 90 hours is listed.
The GB/EU (assimilated) rules used here
Sources: GOV.UK “Drivers’ hours: Assimilated rules” (previously called EU rules) and DVSA guidance “Drivers’ hours and tachographs: goods vehicles”, section 1, updated 1 July 2026 — both read 24 October 2026. They apply to goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes driven in the UK or to, from or through the EU.
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Daily driving | 9 hours; 10 hours at most twice in a fixed week |
| Weekly driving | 56 hours in a fixed week (Monday 00:00 to Sunday 24:00) |
| Two-week driving | 90 hours in any two consecutive fixed weeks |
| Breaks | 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving, or 15 minutes followed by 30 minutes |
| Daily rest | 11 hours; or 9 hours up to 3 times between weekly rests; or 3 + 9 hours; within 24 hours of the end of the last rest |
| Weekly rest | 45 hours, or reduced to 24 hours (compensated in one block before the end of the third week after); no later than the end of six 24-hour periods |
Worked example
A driver’s rest ends at 06:00. They do 30 minutes of checks, drive 06:30–10:00, take 45 minutes’ break, drive 10:45–13:45, unload for 45 minutes and drive again from 14:30. At 15:30 they have driven 7 h 30 min; the unloading was other work, not a break, so 4 hours have been driven since the last break and only 30 minutes remain before a 45-minute break. After it, 1 hour more is allowed today. The 11-hour daily rest must start by 19:00, or a reduced 9-hour rest by 21:00. With 18 hours driven earlier in the week and 52 last week, 30 h 30 min of the 56 hours and 12 h 30 min of the 90 hours are left.
What this calculator does not cover
- Multi-manning (9 hours’ rest within 30 hours), daily rests interrupted by a ferry or train, and the 1- or 2-hour extension to reach home or base.
- International rules on two consecutive reduced weekly rests, compensation tracking, the AETR rules, and the bus and coach domestic rules.
- Working time rules (average 48 hours a week, breaks after 6 hours of work), which apply alongside drivers’ hours.
- For the US federal rules, use the hours of service calculator; to plan a trip in days, the road trip planner.
Drivers’ Hours Calculator (UK / EU) FAQ
How many hours can an HGV driver drive in a day in the UK?
Under the GB/EU rules, 9 hours, or 10 hours on up to two days in a fixed week. Under the GB domestic rules, 10 hours.
When must I take a 45-minute break?
After no more than 4.5 hours of driving. You may split it into at least 15 minutes followed by at least 30 minutes, taken during the 4.5 hours.
Does other work count as a break?
No. A break is time with no driving and no other work, used only to recuperate. Loading, unloading and paperwork are other work.
What is the 90-hour rule?
You may not drive more than 90 hours in any two consecutive fixed weeks, even if each week is under 56 hours.
Is there a drivers’ hours calculator in Excel?
You can download your day’s log from this page as a CSV file and open it in Excel or any spreadsheet.
Can I use this instead of my tachograph?
No. It is a planning aid only. Your tachograph record, your operator and DVSA guidance decide what is legal.