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Vehicle and Driver

Vehicle and driver belong together. A driver's parameters complement the parameters of the vehicle. Most of these parameters are optional. The only required parameter is the availability of the driver.

Parameters of the vehicle

  • Capacity: The vehicle has a limited capacity. So while one transport alone may fit on the vehicle, a sequence of several transports may not fit. The load that the vehicle carries is measured in various dimensions (think of weight, ground area, height, volume, count, and many more). The capacities of a vehicle is the maximum that can be transported by the vehicle in all these dimensions. The counterpart of the capacities are the quantities of the transports.
  • Driving time and distance: The necessary information about the vehicle to asses the driving time and distance between stops is collected in a profile. This parameter is explained in detail on a separate concept page on profiles and countries.
  • Vehicle location: With startLocationId and endLocationId, the location where the vehicle is at the beginning or has to be at the end of its route can be specified. 
  • Route start: With routeStartInterval, the possible start time of the route can be limited to lie within a given interval or even to be an exact point in time.
  • Limits: A user may want to limit the driving distance (maximumDistance). A limit on driving time or travel time can be specified for the driver (see below).

Parameters of the driver

  • Availability time: The availability of the driver must be specified. Driving time and service time must only be scheduled within this time interval. It can be up to 24h long.
  • Breaks: Drivers need to take breaks. In most countries, there are compulsory rules when to take the time for a break at the latest. These rules can be set up manually via the parameter breakRule. However, for the most common rules like those stated in Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 or the Hours of Service Regulations of the FMCSA, presets are defined that make the manual set-up unnecessary (via workingHoursPreset). These parameters are explained in detail on a separate concept page on drivers' working hours. A code sample illustrates the use of this feature.
  • Logbook: Without a logbook, breaks are scheduled as if the driver had never worked before. If this assumption is not correct, a logbook of the conducted work should be given (via workLogbook). Again, this parameter is explained in detail on a separate concept page on drivers' working hours.
  • Limits: The driving time and/or the travel time of the driver may be limited, for example when working hours regulations apply. These limits can be set via the parameters maximumDrivingTime and maximumTravelTime. A limit may be indirectly set when a workingHoursPreset is used. If a workLogbook is given, the already conducted work counts towards the limits. The latter two parameters are explained in detail on a separate concept page on drivers' working hours. A code sample illustrates the use of this feature.