The Government has brought in a temporary and limited emergency relaxation in driver hour regulations to deliver feed supplies to livestock farms to make sure essential deliveries of animal feed get through during the current extreme winter weather conditions.

This temporary relaxation of enforcement applies immediately and will run until 23.59 on 30 March 2013. It applies only to those drivers involved in the distribution of raw materials to feed mills and prepared feed to livestock farms located in Great Britain and will mean:

• Replacement of the EU daily driving limit of 9 hours with one of 10 hours;
• Reduction of the daily rest requirements from 11 hours to 9 hours;
• Postponing the weekly rest requirement by up to 24 hours, following which drivers should take their weekly rest as normal. Drivers will however be required to take a minimum rest of 24 hours beginning no later than the end of the eleventh day since the end of his/her last weekly rest period.

Defra said the requirement to take a 45 minute break after 4½ hours driving remains and will continue to be rigorously enforced.