A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Malaysia and Singapore) is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, which is commonly defined as a large goods vehicle (LGV) or heavy goods vehicle (HGV) (usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck). Driver shortages have been reported on a global basis. In 2021, Poland's 120,000 shortfall in driver numbers was reported as the most significant driver deficit in Europe. No shortages were reported in Africa at that time.Rowsell, J., "What will it take to resolve the HGV driver shortage?" in Supply Management, October-December 2021, page 54
Duties and functions Truck drivers provide an essential service to industrialized societies by transporting finished goods and raw materials over land, typically to and from ports, manufacturing plants, retail, and distribution centers. Truck drivers are responsible for inspecting their vehicles for mechanical items or issues relating to safe operation. Others, such as driver/sales workers, are also responsible for sales, completing additional services such as cleaning, preparation, and entertaining (e.g., cooking or making hot drinks) and customer service. Truck drivers work closely with warehouse associates and warehouse workers who assist in loading and unloading shipments.
Types
There are three major types of truck driver employment: Owner-operators (also known as O/Os, or "doublestuffs") are individuals who own the trucks they drive and can either lease their trucks by contract with a trucking company to haul freight for that company using their own trucks or haul loads for multiple companies and are self-employed independent contractors. Others also lease and make payments on trucks with the aim of purchasing them within two to five years. Company drivers are employees of a particular trucking company who drive trucks provided by their employer. Independent owner-operators are those with the authority to haul goods who often drive their own trucks, possibly owning a small fleet anywhere from one to ten, but occasionally as few as two or three.
Job categories
Owner-operators, owner-drivers, and company drivers can be in these categories:
Auto haulers transport cars on specially built trailers and require specific skills to load and operate specialized trailers. Boat haulers move boats ranging in size from bass boats to full-size yachts up to long using specialized low boy trailers that can be set up for each size of boat. Boats wider than or require permits to move and are considered oversize loads. Dry van drivers haul the majority of goods over highways in large trailers. Contents may be perishable or nonperishable goods. Dry bulk pneumatic drivers haul bulk sand, salt, and cement, among other things. They have specialized trailers which enable them to use pressurized air to unload their products. Commonly known among truckers as Flow Boys. Flatbed drivers haul an assortment of large bulky items, such as tanks, steel pipes, or lumber. Drivers require the ability to balance the load correctly. LTL drivers (location-to-location) or "less than truck load" generally refers to localized delivery jobs where goods are delivered by the driver at multiple locations, sometimes involving the pulling of double- or triple-trailer combinations. Reefer drivers haul refrigerated, temperature-sensitive, or frozen goods. Local drivers work only within the limits of their local areas. These areas may include crossing state lines, but drivers usually return home daily. Household goods drivers, or bedbuggers, haul personal effects for families moving from one home to another.
Regional drivers may work over several states near their homes and may be away from home for short periods. Interstate drivers (otherwise known as "over-the-road" or "long-haul" drivers) often cover distances of thousands of miles and are away from home for days, weeks, or even months on end. For time-critical loads, companies may opt to employ team drivers to cover more miles than a single driver. Oversize load drivers transport oversize loads that exceed standard regulations. Special permits are required to transport oversize shipments. Team drivers refer to pairs of drivers who take turns driving the same truck in shifts (sometimes spouses), or several people in different states who split up the haul (line haul) to avoid being away from home for long periods. Tanker drivers (tank truck drivers; in truck driver slang, tanker yankers "tankies") haul liquids, such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, milk, and crude oil, and dry bulk materials, such as plastics, sugar, flour, and cement in tanks. Liquid tanker drivers need special driving skills due to the load balance changing from the liquid movement. This is especially true for food grade tankers, which do not contain any baffles and are a single compartment (due to sanitation requirements). Fuel oil/petroleum drivers require special certifications. Vocational drivers drive vocational trucks such as tow trucks, dump trucks, garbage trucks, or cement mixers. Drayage drivers move cargo containers (aka "piggy backs"), which are lifted on or off the chassis at special intermodal stations. Bullrack drivers haul livestock locally, regionally, or nationally. The term bullrack refers to double-deck trailers used strictly for hauling cattle.
Hours regulations
Australia
In Australia, drivers of trucks and truck/trailer combinations with gross vehicle mass greater than must rest for 15 minutes every 5.5 hours, 30 minutes every 8 hours, and 60 minutes every 11 hours (includes driving and non-driving duties). In any 7-day period, drivers must spend 24 hours away from their vehicles. Truck drivers must complete a logbook documenting hours and kilometres spent driving.
Canada In Canada, driver hours of service (HOS) regulations are enforced for drivers who operate a "truck, tractor, trailer, or any combination of them that has a gross vehicle weight in excess of or a bus that is designed and constructed to have a designated seating capacity of more than 24 persons, including the driver." However, there are two sets of hours of service rules: one for above 60th parallel north and one for below. Below latitude 60 degrees, drivers are limited to 14 hours on duty in any 24-hour period. These 14 hours include a maximum of 13 hours driving time. Rest periods are 8 consecutive hours in a 24-hour period, as well as an additional 2-hour period of rest that must be taken in blocks of no fewer than 30 minutes.
The concept of "Cycles" refers to the total amount of time drivers can be on duty in a given period before they must take time off. Cycle 1 is 70 hours in a 7-day period and cycle 2 is 120 hours in a 14-day period. Drivers using cycle 1 must take off 36 hours at the end of the cycle before being allowed to restart the cycle again. Cycle 2 is 72 hours off duty before being allowed to start again.
Receipts for fuel, tolls, etc., must be retained as MTO officers can request them to further verify the accuracy of information contained in drivers' logbooks during inspections.
European Union
In the European Union, drivers' working hours are regulated by EU (EC) No 561/2006, which entered into force on 11 April 2007. The nonstop driving time may not exceed 4.5 hours. After 4.5 hours of driving, drivers must take a break period of at least 45 minutes, which can be split into 2 breaks, the first being at least 15 minutes and the second being at least 30 minutes.
The daily driving time shall not exceed 9 hours and may be extended to at most 10 hours no more than twice each week. The weekly driving time may not exceed 56 hours. In addition to this, a driver cannot exceed 90 hours driving in a fortnight. Within each 24-hour period after the end of the previous daily or weekly rest period, drivers must take a new daily rest period. An 11-hour (or more) daily rest is called a regular daily rest period. Alternatively, drivers can split a regular daily rest period into two periods. The first period must be at least 3 hours of uninterrupted rest and can be taken at any time during the day. The second must be at least 9 hours of uninterrupted rest for a total minimum rest of 12 hours. Drivers may reduce daily rest periods to no fewer than 9 continuous hours, but this can be done no more than three times between any two weekly rest periods; no compensation for the reduction is required. Daily rests between 9 and 11 hours long are referred to as reduced daily rest periods. Daily rests may be taken in a vehicle as long as it has suitable sleeping facilities and is stationary.
'Multi-manning'
Multi-manning refers to (at least) two drivers driving the same vehicle during each period between two consecutive daily rests or between a daily rest and a weekly rest period. Another driver is optional for the first hour of multi-manning but mandatory for the remainder of the period. This allows for vehicles to depart from operating center and collect a second driver along the way, provided this is done within an hour of the first driver starting work. Vehicles manned by two or more drivers are governed by the same rules as single-manned vehicles apart from daily rest requirements. When vehicles are manned by two or more drivers, each driver must have a daily rest period of at least 9 consecutive hours within the 30-hour period starting at the end of the last daily or weekly rest period. Organizing drivers' duties in such a fashion enables a crew's duties to be spread over 21 hours. The maximum driving time for a two-man crew taking advantage of this concession is 20 hours before a daily rest is required (although only if both drivers are entitled to drive 10 hours). Under multi-manning, the 'second' driver in a crew may not necessarily be the same driver from the duration of the first driver's shift but could be any number of drivers as long as the conditions are met. Whether second drivers could claim the multi-manning concession in these circumstances depends on their other duties. On multi-manning operations, the first 45 minutes of a period of availability is considered a break so long as the co-driver does no work.
Journeys involving ferry or train transport
When drivers accompany vehicles transported by ferry or train, daily rest requirements are more flexible. A regular daily rest period may be interrupted no more than twice, but the total interruption must not exceed 1 hour in total. This allows for a vehicle to be driven on to a ferry and off again at the end of the crossing. When the rest period is interrupted in this way, the total accumulated rest period must still be 11 hours. A bunk or couchette must be available during the rest period.
Weekly rest
A regular weekly rest period is a period of at least 45 consecutive hours. An actual working week starts at the end of a weekly rest period and finishes when another weekly rest period is commenced, which may mean that weekly rest is taken in the middle of a fixed (Monday–Sunday) week. This is perfectly acceptable as the working week is not required to be aligned with the 'fixed' week defined in the rules, provided compliance of all relevant limits. Alternatively, drivers can take a reduced weekly rest period of (a minimum of) 24 consecutive hours. If a reduction is taken, it must be compensated for by an equivalent period of rest taken in one block before the end of the third week following the week in question. The compensating rest must be attached to a period of rest of at least 9 hours – effectively either a weekly or daily rest period.