Tour Notes · Published
A coach driver in the EU may drive 9 hours a day, 10 hours twice a week, must take a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving, and needs a daily rest of at least 11 hours, reducible to 9 hours three times between weekly rests (Regulation (EC) No 561/2006). On tour, the late concert usually sets the next departure.
Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 applies to every vehicle built to carry more than nine persons including the driver, within the EU and between the EU, Switzerland and the EEA (Article 2). For journeys partly outside that area, such as to the United Kingdom, the AETR agreement applies instead.
Two amendments matter for touring. Regulation (EU) 2020/1054, part of the Mobility Package, lets a co-driver take the 45-minute break in the moving coach. Regulation (EU) 2024/1258, in force since 22 May 2024, added flexibility for occasional passenger services, which is what a group charter for a concert tour is.
The regulation also names tour operators: they must ensure that agreed time schedules respect it (Article 10(4)). This article summarises the consolidated text of 31 December 2024 and is not legal advice.
In our quotes the driving-time plan is part of the price: if a day needs a second driver, the quote says so, as described on our page on ground service for orchestras.
The limits apply per driver and are the same in every EU country (Articles 6 to 8); Member States may only be stricter for journeys wholly within their territory (Article 11).
| Rule | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daily driving time | 9 hours, 10 hours at most twice a week | Art. 6(1) |
| Weekly driving time | 56 hours | Art. 6(2) |
| Two consecutive weeks | 90 hours | Art. 6(3) |
| Break | 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving, or 15 plus 30 minutes; on occasional services also 2 x 15 minutes | Art. 7 |
| Daily rest | 11 hours, or 3 plus 9 hours; reduced 9 to 11 hours, three times between weekly rests | Art. 4(g), 8(4) |
| Weekly rest | 45 hours, or reduced to at least 24 consecutive hours with compensation | Art. 4(h), 8(6) |
The next departure is set by the 24-hour window that opens when the driver's previous rest ended, because the new daily rest must fall inside it (Article 8(2)). The start of the concert day matters as much as the end.
A worked example with assumed times: the driver starts at 09:00, the concert ends at 22:30, load-out and the hotel run end at 23:45. The window closes at 09:00, leaving 9 hours 15 minutes: a reduced daily rest, earliest departure 08:45. If the driver's day starts at 13:00 instead, a full 11-hour rest fits and the coach leaves at 10:45.
So with a regular rest the driver's day spans at most 13 hours, with a reduced rest 15 hours, split rests aside. Three late nights between two weekly rests use up all reduced rests. And a break must be time without driving or any other work (Article 4(d)): a driver who helps with load-out is working.
A second driver is needed when a day's driving would exceed one driver's 9 or 10 hours, or when the rest no longer fits the window; an overnight stop is the alternative where the leg can be split. With two drivers (multi-manning), each keeps his own limits, and each needs a new daily rest of at least 9 hours within 30 hours (Articles 4(o) and 8(5)).
We measure each leg in pure coach driving time, not in kilometres or car times.
| Pure driving time of the leg | What the rules require | How we plan it |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 4.5 hours | One driver; break once driving reaches 4.5 hours | Concert day possible if arrival leaves room for load-in and rehearsal |
| 4.5 to 9 hours | One driver, at least one full break | Travel day, or concert day only if arrival works backwards from the call |
| 9 to 10 hours | One driver, at most twice a week | Exception, checked against the whole week |
| Over 10 hours | Second driver or overnight stop | The quote shows the second driver or the hotel night |
| Night leg 22:00 to 06:00 under the 12-day rule | Multi-manning, or 3-hour driving periods | Second driver as standard |
A driver on a single occasional passenger service may postpone the weekly rest for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods after a regular weekly rest (Article 8(6a)). Since 22 May 2024 this covers national and international services alike.
Conditions: afterwards two regular weekly rests, or one regular and one compensated reduced rest; the required tachograph; driving between 22:00 and 06:00 multi-manned or in 3-hour periods; and a journey form on board (Article 16(4)). Without the derogation, the weekly rest starts after six 24-hour periods at the latest, and a regular weekly rest may not be taken in the coach (Article 8(8)).
Every concert day is planned backwards from the call time, every driver's day forwards from the end of his last rest. In our planning we:
About the author: Ulf Zimmermann
Ulf Zimmermann is the founder of ensemble.tours. After training with a local tour operator, he has been organising ground transport for music groups for over 30 years. He has personally accompanied ensembles on tours across Europe and to the Americas, and has driven tour coaches for music groups throughout Europe.
Links checked on 13 October 2026
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