Out Of Scope tacho driving is any driving that takes place on non-public roads, off-road, and in a limited number of highly specific cases on public roads too. In this blog, we'll cover the different reasons you might set your tachograph to "OUT", and list a few examples.
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When Should You Use The Out Of Scope Tacho Setting?
There is no legal or regulatory requirement to set an activity as Out Of Scope! The option exists so that drivers don't use up precious daily/weekly driving time on activities that, by law, don't accumulate any driving time.
This means that if you don't want to record any Out Of Scope driving as such, you don't have to - but it'll count towards your driving hours.
Out Of Scope Tacho Rules: Non-Public Areas
Any driving that takes place on a non-public road can be performed under Out Of Scope tacho rules. Either use the OUT setting on your tachograph to mark driving time as Other Work, or for manual entries, Out Of Scope hours can be input as Other Work.
However, if the vehicle enters a public road, all subsequent driving time for that shift is considered In Scope, and will count towards your driving time.
What are common examples of non-public Out Of Scope tacho driving?
- Driving lorries at a quarry.
- Moving vehicles around in a yard, without going on any public roads.
- Driving agricultural vehicles at a farm.
Out Of Scope Tacho Rules: Public Roads
In some cases, certain vehicles, used for specific purposes, can use Out Of Scope tacho mode while using public roads. If an activity is exempted from EU tachograph laws, you'll be able to put set the tachograph to Out Of Scope for the duration of that activity (you can read a full list of exemptions by clicking here). Some common examples are:
- If the vehicle is travelling for maintenance purposes, such as a visit to a nearby garage.
- Driving a vehicle between depots, with no other commercial purposes.
- Recovery vehicles operating within 100km of their base.
- Vehicles working in the agricultural, forestry, fishery, or farming sectors, used to transport goods within 100km of the vehicle's base.
- PSVs operating on a regular schedule, on a route less than 50kms in length.
Summary: Out Of Scope Tacho Rules
In summary, drivers of vehicles with a tachograph installed have the option to mark periods of work as Out of Scope, ensuring their driving time doesn't contribute to their Drivers' hours (EU legislation) - only working hours (the UK's WTD legislation). Using the "OUT" option on the tachograph means that all subsequent work will be marked as having taken place outside the jurisdiction (or, literally, out of scope) of the EU Drivers' hours rules.
A bit about TachoMagic
We've been offering tachograph analysis services for over 15 years, and during that time we've become one of the UK's leading tachograph experts. When paired with our Automatic Download Devices, our tachograph systems save our customers buckets of time - and we're affordable too!
If you're interested in what we do, drop us an email at admin@tachomagic.com, or call 01138770190 and we'll see what we can do for you.
Further Reading:
If you've found our post, "FAQ: Out Of Scope Tacho Rules" useful, you'll probably find these interesting too:
- What are the tacho rules for ferry crossings?
- Driving & Rest rules made simple
- Do you need a tachograph for private use?
