Question: How do the drivers hours rules apply to emergencies?

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on drivers’ hours relaxations
section_headers: Health and safety legislation
section_content: As well as the drivers’ hours and working time rules, transport operators, as
employers, are required, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the
health and safety of their employees while at work and others who may be put
at risk by their work activities. In addition, they have a legal duty as an
employer to manage risks from fatigue.
That is why when the department does relax the drivers’ hours and working time
rules we remind operators, in our notification of the relaxation, that as
employers, they remain responsible for the health and safety of their drivers
and other road users and that they must ensure that driver safety is not
compromised by expecting them to drive whilst tired.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued
advice on managing the risks of fatigue and this includes good practice advice
on shift lengths. HSE guidance on managing shift work advises that employers
should avoid shifts that are longer than 8 hours where work is demanding,
safety critical or monotonous and that they should limit shifts to a maximum
of 12 hours (including overtime). It also advises that they should encourage
and promote the benefit of frequent and regular breaks to reduce the risk of
fatigue.

Drivers’ hours: rules, guidance and list of temporary relaxations

*[HSE]: Health and Safety Executive

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
The advice given is to abide by the rules which is sort of fine but it doesn't give the exact exemptions and when you can avoid the rules, that would be helpful. The question wasn't really WHY follow the rules, it was how to apply them during the emergency. This answer should be more broad to include that answer.
This response does answer the question in the second paragraph stating that they can relax the hours rules and then goes into some of ramifications of that and how to stay safe in that situation

Reviewer ratings:
Could be Improved
Acceptable

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on drivers’ hours relaxations
section_headers: Emergency relaxations
section_content: Both the GB and EU drivers’ hours rules automatically cease to apply in
emergency situations where immediate preventative action is needed to avoid,
amongst other things, danger to the life or health of people. The definition
of an emergency is contained in domestic legislation (The Drivers’ Hours
(Goods Vehicles) (Exemptions) Regulations
1986 and the Drivers’
Hours (Passenger Vehicles) (Exemptions) Regulations
1970).
The department’s advice about emergency situations is if your journey is
necessary to enable someone to:
1) provide goods or services to protect public health, and/or
2) meet their or others’ basic needs for day to day living, and/or
3) provide medical treatment
and there is a risk of danger to the life or health of people if your journey
is not carried out; then you should make use of the emergency exemption.
Operators do not need to ask the department for a temporary ‘urgent’ exemption
for these type of journeys. The emergency exemptions cease to apply once the
situation is under control and there is no longer a need for immediate
preventative action.
The department would not normally expect drivers in emergencies to:

drive for more than 11 hours in one day
have less than 9 hours of daily rest
work for more than 7 days before the start of the regular or reduced weekly rest (if operating under the EU rules), or
have less than 24 hours weekly rest

In addition, drivers operating under the EU drivers’ hours rules should ensure
they take a 45 minute break after 4.5 hours driving.
The relevant provisions of the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations
2005 will not
apply, to the extent that they conflict with the requirements of responding to
the emergency. Drivers will, however, remain subject to all other requirements
of the Working Time Regulations in an emergency event.
The practical implementation of any changes should be through agreement
between employers, employees and (where available) driver representatives.
Employers must, where possible, agree any extension of working time with
employees or other workers, before that work starts.
The drivers in question must note on the back of their tachograph charts or
printouts the reasons why they are exceeding the normally permitted limits.
This is usual practice in emergencies and is, of course, essential for
enforcement purposes.
Operators should maintain records of when standard drivers’ hours have been
deviated from, along with a justification of why this was needed. The
responsibilities of operators, transport managers and the wider supply chain
may be examined after the current events. It is important that on subsequent
inspections and checks it can be clear that a relaxation was used
appropriately, was well implemented and in a way to reduce fatigue (for
example in relation to shift patterns).
[GB]: Great Britain
  [EU]: European Union

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
The answer is comprehensive. The explanations are full and details are provided fully. The answer is that you don't have to follow rules if you are performing delivery or driving of urgent materials which might be of use during the pandemic.
This response answers the question in the first sentence saying those rules no longer apply. It then goes on in great detail about how this should be handled during the pandemic with links to relevant information

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Excellent

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on drivers’ hours relaxations
section_headers: Relaxation of drivers’ hours rules
section_content: This document provides advice on the relaxation of drivers’ hours rules, in
the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. This document should be considered in
conjunction with the extensive existing guidance provided on drivers’
hours.
The drivers’ hours and working time rules are in place to protect road safety
and the working conditions of drivers and to reduce the risk of drivers being
involved in fatigue-related accidents. As such, any relaxation of these rules
should only be considered where genuinely necessary and when other supply
chain management interventions are unable to alleviate issues. The Department
for Transport wishes to make clear that driver safety must not be compromised.
Drivers should not be expected to drive whilst tired - employers remain
responsible for the health and safety of their employees and other road users.

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer is almost bad but not quite because it provides a link or document reference when you might need to ignore rules. The poorness of the rule falls in the fact that it is frequent when the rule is a void or ignoreable one.
This is a good response that directly answers the question. It speaks of the relaxation of hours rules and provides an external link to more information about guidance for the subject.

Reviewer ratings:
Could be Improved
Acceptable