Can I Spend My Weekly Rest in the Truck?
A reduced weekly rest can be taken in a stationary cab with sleeping facilities. A regular 45-hour weekly rest cannot — it must be in proper accommodation.
It depends which weekly rest you mean. A reduced weekly rest can be taken in the cab, as long as the vehicle is stationary and has suitable sleeping facilities. A regular weekly rest of 45 hours cannot — it has to be taken in proper accommodation away from the vehicle. Getting this wrong is a specific, enforceable infringement, so it's worth being clear.
What the rule says
GOV.UK's assimilated drivers' hours guidance allows reduced weekly rest periods to be taken in a vehicle "as long as it has suitable sleeping facilities for each driver and is stationary." But it goes on: "it is not permitted to take regular weekly rest periods and any weekly rest of more than 45 hours which include compensation for previous reduced weekly rest in a vehicle." Those longer rests "must be taken in suitable gender-friendly accommodation with adequate sleeping and sanitary facilities such as a hotel, hostel, guest or boarding house, chalet, static caravan or rental accommodation."
The line, in plain terms
Reduced weekly rest (24 up to 45 hours): cab is fine. Regular weekly rest (45 hours or more), and any weekly rest carrying compensation for an earlier reduction: cab is not allowed, proper accommodation required. This mirrors the daily rest position, where the cab is acceptable for daily and reduced weekly rests, but it draws a hard boundary at the full weekly rest. The reasoning is welfare — a 45-hour-plus rest shouldn't be spent living in the cab.
Why it catches drivers and operators out
On long-distance and continental work it's tempting to treat every rest the same, but the regular weekly rest is different, and roadside enforcement can and does check it. For operators the risk is bigger than a single driver's fine: a pattern of drivers spending regular weekly rests in the cab is the kind of thing that draws Traffic Commissioner attention to an operation's systems. Where a driver takes a full weekly rest is a planning decision, not just a driver choice.
What to do
Plan accommodation for regular weekly rests before the trip, not on the night. Keep reduced weekly rests to the cab if you like, but book a room (or get the driver home) for the full 45-hour rests and any that include compensation. The free drivers' hours calculator helps you see when a regular weekly rest is due so you can plan ahead, and the daily and weekly rest rules cover the weekly-rest position in full. For operators, evidencing where and when drivers took each weekly rest is part of the record HaulGuard's per-vehicle plans help you keep audit-ready.