America or Europe? What Does Working Time Look Like?

America or Europe? What does a driver's working time look like and on which continent are the trucks better?

Some of us remember the time of political transformation in Poland and in neighboring countries. "Western fashion" then affected almost every aspect of everyday life. Of course, the greatest inspiration was the USA, associated with freedom and a different lifestyle that we wanted to introduce and apply in our country as quickly as possible. Truck drivers in central Europe knew Hollywood hits such as "Convoy" or "Duel" by heart, and they tried to make their vehicles resemble the chrome-covered tractors from across the ocean as much as possible. Today, the transport industry has undergone many changes, both in Europe and the USA. Tomasz Czyż, a GBOX expert from the INELO Group, will bring us closer to the still different everyday reality of truckers in the United States and present the biggest differences separating transport in Europe and the USA.

A dream on wheels for every driver

American trucks with a cab like an apartment

An American truck – probably everyone, upon hearing that phrase, imagines a huge tractor with an exhaust system pointed toward the sky, painted with an airbrush and gleaming with chrome. These vehicles are a permanent part of pop culture not only in the States, but all over the world. Brands such as Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo – for us Europeans, these names (apart from Swedish Volvo) sound very exotic, while on the other side of the globe they are vehicles known to everyone, hundreds of which we will encounter on the local highway that we are just traversing in our pickup to visit friends who live "only" 5 hours' drive away. – The first interesting fact is that Americans usually do not give distances in miles but express them as driving time, so we are rather unlikely to encounter the statement "it is 300 miles to place X." American trucks have also lost the style and class we know from films; the general outline of these vehicles' bodies has remained the same, but today plastic and materials we also know at home dominate. Still, the differences between European trucks remain very large. First of all, American trucks have an extended front. In Europe, the CoE (Cab over Engine) solution is used, meaning, as the English name indicates, engines are placed under the driver's cab, while in America the power unit is traditionally placed in front of the cab. This means that in a truck in the USA we will find much larger driver's cabs. Behind the seats we do not have just a bed, but almost a small apartment. Much more space is allocated for storage, larger refrigerators, microwaves, places for a separate table and a sofa, etc. European cabs, due to legal restrictions on truck dimensions, are much more modest; the only place where the driver can stand freely is the area between the driver's and passenger's seats. For the same reason, in Europe we are rather unlikely to encounter a tractor with the engine in front of the driver; vehicles built according to the CoE principle travel around the Old Continent – says Tomasz Czyż, GBOX expert, INELO Group.

European trucks are not inferior at all; they are certainly... more powerful

A stronger Europe or traditional USA?

European models, led by manufacturers such as Scania, DAF, Mercedes, Volvo, and MAN, feature much more modern solutions, drawing on new technologies that are appropriately adapted to transport realities. Americans, attached to tradition, adopt these solutions somewhat more slowly. – Contrary to appearances, today's trucks from across the great water are equipped with weaker power units. In Europe, standard power is around 500 hp; American engines, for example those from the VNL series produced by Volvo, achieve about 420–450 hp. Fuel tank capacities also favor vehicles from Europe, which may seem strange because, after all, much greater distances are covered in the United States. However, due to the previously mentioned differences in cab size, a fuel tank of 1,200–1,500 liters is rare in America – adds Tomasz Czyż.

Speed and range – key differences

One of the most important differences is also the speed achieved. In the USA it is 65 mph, while in Europe it is usually around 53–55 mph.

Driver working time in the USA, or rather Hours of Service, and 1,491 miles in one day

Driver working time – regulations and violations

The equivalent of regulations related to drivers' working time, governed in Europe by European Union Regulation No. 561/2006, is "Hours of Service" in the USA. At first glance, they look similar – there is a specified driving time, working time, required daily rest, as well as rest after completing a specified number of working days. The first significant difference is the approach to driving by drivers in double crews. – In the United States, a shared break is not required for both truckers. When one of them has used up his hours, he can go rest in the back of the cab. The only legal requirement is to secure the bed with a safety net. In Europe, we cannot legally take a nap in a comfortable position – the second driver must travel in the passenger seat. Sleeping on a special bed in a truck while driving is punishable by a fine on our continent. In the USA, a vehicle with a double crew practically never shuts off; it can be in motion all the time. The only stops are related to refueling or unloading. This solution is used in particular by courier companies on so-called line-haul; vehicles with shipments practically do not stop on the route at all – says Tomasz Czyż. – Theoretically, therefore, a truck with a driver crew is able to cover a distance of about 1,491 miles in the USA within one day, of course if road conditions allow. Such a "marathon" therefore requires a very resilient and well-coordinated pair of drivers. Lower speeds achieved by trucks in Europe and more restrictive working time regulations allow a double crew on the Old Continent to cover as much as 621 miles less, that is about 870–932 miles per day.

Hours of Service:

• A driver may work 14 hours a day – of which a maximum of 11 hours may be used for driving.
• Each working day can begin after the required 10-hour daily rest.
• Each subsequent 7- or 8-day cycle can begin after the required 34-hour rest.
• Work cycles may be a maximum of 8 days long.
• A driver has available a maximum of 60 hours of driving in a 7-day cycle, or 70 hours in an 8-day cycle.
• After 8 hours of continuous driving, the driver must take the required 30-minute break.
• A driver in a team may take 10-hour rest while the other driver operates the vehicle.

Whereas in Europe digital tachographs have been mandatory in vehicles since 2006, in the United States a similar regulation requiring such devices was only introduced at the end of 2017. – Drivers across the ocean use electronic devices for recording driver working time called ELD, or Electronic Logging Device, which we can consider the equivalent of European digital tachographs. The ELD works with the truck's onboard computer; special telematics systems collect information on the vehicle's geolocation and process data from the engine. The ELD most often takes the form of a tablet mounted on the dashboard or as a special smartphone application that connects wirelessly to a device installed in an invisible place.

Before the introduction of this solution, American truckers settled their driver working time simply by entering mileage into a special logbook. The introduction of ELD is a huge technological leap – in the USA we do not have driver cards, tachographs as we know them in Europe, etc.; we simply log into the system, and the device collects all data on the route we have covered. Breaking driver working time regulations is punishable by a penalty from the body known as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Each violation may carry a penalty of up to 11,000 dollars. In the case of gross violations and an unlawful approach to drivers, the carrier may face criminal liability, and even imprisonment – adds Tomasz Czyż. What is more, every fine received by a professional driver is entered into a special register accessible to every American employer. So just a few minutes online are enough to check any trucker.

The work of drivers in the USA and Europe is still divided by considerable differences, but there is one common denominator – digitalization. While Europe opted for long-term implementation of changes in several steps, the United States introduced a great revolution, moving in one go from paper logbooks to advanced telematics systems. Drivers' working time and the differences visible to the naked eye between tractors used in the USA and Europe will probably remain unchanged, but the technology supporting the functioning of the transport industry will be very similar on both continents.

Summary

GBOX expert from the INELO Group, Tomasz Czyż, compares the work of drivers in the USA and Europe. American trucks have larger, residential cabs, but weaker engines (420–450 hp) and smaller fuel tanks, while European ones reach about 500 hp and drive faster (up to 55 mph). In the USA, a double crew can cover as much as 1,491 miles per day because sleeping while driving is legal, while in Europe the limit is 870–932 miles. They also differ in the history of digitalization – in Poland tachographs have been mandatory since 2006, while the States introduced the ELD system only in 2017, making a leap from paper logbooks to telematics. Penalties for violations reach 11,000 dollars.