Truck driver
As a truck driver commonly referred to someone who guides a truck in long-distance freight traffic.
Origin of the term
The term remote driver comes from a time in which the goods by road was outside a near zone of 50 kilometers heavily regulated through licensing and quotas, as well as price regulations. The distinction between local and long-distance truck driver pulled the phrase itself. With the liberalization of road freight transport since 1998, making the restrictions on the long-distance transport have ceased to exist, the term truck driver is basically obsolete, yet it is still very common. In the term truck drivers myths of freedom and space to live on. In addition to the word truck drivers also keep the synonyms " captain of the Highway", trucker, driver, chauffeur. The official job title for the truck driver is a professional driver (BKF ).
Special
A truck driver for heavy truck requires a special license and if he performs marking required transport of hazardous materials, whether an ADR certificate. He also needs a driver card to carry with you on the means of a control device (digital tachograph) speeds, driving times and other data are recorded. The driver must comply with the prescribed driving hours and rest periods. Police, the ITM or in Germany, the Federal Office for Goods Transport (BAG ) control in the company or on the streets the records and the state with regard to road safety and load security ( LaSi ). Due to many automated workflows in his professional life through modern digital technology the remote driver needs an education.
Across Europe, the big truck, semi - articulated wagons, which are mainly driven by long-haul truckers, up to 16.5 m, articulated trains can even be up to 18.75 m long. In Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland even a maximum length of 26.50 m is allowed. The weight of the vehicles can be up to 40 t ( in combined transport up to 44 tonnes ), Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland even up to 60 t.
In addition, truck drivers should have a good eye and a sense of the movement of the truck to maneuver the vehicle if necessary to the nearest centimeter. Motorists without truck driving experience often underestimate these requirements and have therefore for the truck driver situation with little understanding.
Truckers everyday
A truck driver spends naturally much time away from his home town and is often separated from his family on weekends. His tours are often not planned so that the driver is back home before the start of Sunday driving ban. He then has to wait in a parking lot the end of the ban on driving. The drivers often have to go again on Sunday from 22 clock, so that they can unload at a distant customers on Monday morning. This means night work for long-distance drivers, with the associated health problems. A disturbed circadian rhythm and fatigue are common causes of accidents, are involved in the truck.
With the development of on-board computers held from about 1990, the electronic achievements in the truck tray. The Federal Government had then award a contract to air and space industry for the commercial vehicle monitoring system 2000 ' MENUS 2000'. The satellite monitoring ( GPS) opens up new possibilities in the PC of the company with complete real-time control of the truck and the driver today.
The relevant provisions concerning compliance with certain weekly contiguous rest periods (45 or 24 hours) leave open whether rest periods are granted on a weekend or during the week. There is often no guarantee that the 45 - hour rest period may be taken on the weekend. For the drivers and their families, it is important that the rest period takes place at the home and not in other places. In § 10 paragraph 2 of the Federal collective bargaining agreement for the goods and furniture Highway (BMT remote. ) Was regulated so that the driver may spend at least two Sundays at the site or at the home and are entitled to five additional vacation days per calendar year. The validity of the collective agreement has in fact been terminated by notice in 1993. It works only for certain, for many years employed truck driver after.
However, economic constraints and a tough competition tempt transporters in practice again and again to flout the rules on driving times and rest periods. Cost and time pressure in the freight forwarding industry are often passed on to the employed truck driver, in turn, do not settle out of concern for their job to defend against it. Due to the ever increasing traffic to find parking on highway parking, rest areas and truck stops has become increasingly difficult. This results in an increased risk of accidents if drivers are following unsuccessful finding a parking space, despite fatigue forced to continue driving. A growing problem is the theft, or theft of the vehicle or charge, eg so-called "Plan Slasher " trying to steal goods from the cargo area. Guarded truck safety parking is scarce and cost about 25 euros per night.
The job of a truck driver, motor vehicle driver ( lorry drivers) has been declining in the development of the socially insured employment ( Professional Code 714 ) for the period from 1999 to 2005 and in 2007 about 792,000 motorists were on 30 September 2007 account. A third of all professional drivers in 2007 was older than 50 years and half were 35-49 years old. While in March 2007 by the Federal Employment Agency, 16,210 motorists were still being sought, driving workforce was reduced from January 2009 for the first time since about three years.
Due to the positive economic developments in the transport sector in 2008, there was an increase of about 34,000 motorists, so that at the September 30, 2008 nearly 803,000 motorists were employed. Due to the financial and economic crisis, about 118,000 motorists were registered as unemployed in June 2009, thus came from the year 2008, only about 30,000 new drivers added as unemployed. There were in 2009 more than 54,000 German haulier of goods by road, of which 21 % or 11,340 self-propelled individual entrepreneurs and 57 % micro-enterprises. Fears that became insolvent up to 5,000 hauliers would have meant a loss of over 60,000 jobs. After the recovery of the economy from mid-2010 reinforced truck drivers were searched again. Shortage of drivers caused more problems than or toll liberalization and as a major cause called Mr. Hensel, Chairman of the Committee on Vocational Training in the BGL, the aging of the crew. " We therefore expect even with subdued economic climate with an annual demand 25000-30000 new drivers alone for commercial freight traffic ."
Working time and wages
According to § 21a Arbeitszeitgesetz weekly working time of mobile workers within four months shall not exceed an average of 48 hours per week. This results in a maximum monthly working time of 208 hours. Preparedness and other waiting times at loading and unloading points are often not paid and therefore the merit of the truck drivers in general is bad. From a sociological point of view include truck drivers very often to the working poor, so to the people who live in poverty despite work. In June 2007, the gross hourly wages fluctuated between € 12.58 in Baden -Württemberg and € 6.66 in Thuringia. Often a fixed standard monthly wage is paid. The hourly wage for professional drivers is according to a report in the February 2010 issue of the journal truckers in Schleswig- Holstein at € 9.99, € 11.04 Bavaria, Saxony -Anhalt, € 6.73, € 6.66 Thuringia and Lower Saxony 9, € 41.
Distances in long-distance transport
The increasing use of digital technology it is now possible to control the truck driver from a distance throughout. Thus, e.g. any time, not only the location but also vehicle data is retrieved from the disposition by the use of telemetry. Depending on the type of forwarding the tours are planned before departure to the last detail. Truck drivers frequently lay distances of thousands of kilometers distant lands back. The average daily mileage at full capacity, driving time and a prescribed speed of 60 km / h out of town and up to 80 km / h on motorways and dual carriageway roads with a central force lane limit for heavy trucks is legal 600 to 800 km.
Exceeding the driving times and the speeds over long distances but rather with 800 to 1200 km Daily performance anticipated, in which the daily output eg failed in Germany because of increased congestion and in Norway for bad roads is lower than in other states with better / emptier roads, such as Spain or France.
Comparing the daily production of trucks in long-distance transport in Europe, for example, with those in the U.S., it is found that there double the average daily output is common. However, this is not primarily due to higher travel speeds of the truck (usually there are 65 mph ≈ 105 km / h, instead of in Europe usually driven 90 km / h ), but on the fact that the rest period only applies in Europe, if the truck is parked. In the United States, where there is also driving and rest time rules, it is also considered idle time when a driver sleeps while the other drives the truck more. In addition, the European Sozialvorschiften do not allow real doubling of weekly driving time of a truck when using a second driver. Although double the labor costs, a truck in Europe can be legally moved into a two-man operation only about 60-70% longer than in the one-man operation. Therefore, the two-man operation of a truck or bus is worth commercially in Europe only in low-wage countries or at a very sophisticated vehicle and personnel scheduling. This has the disadvantage that two truck drivers must reside together in the cab about 20 hours for the staff.
Workplace of the truck driver
Trucks for long-distance transport are usually equipped in the cabin with reclining chairs. The often large and high cab versions relatively large storage cupboards are available. In modern motor vehicles are also being more common speed control systems, (stand ) air conditioners and heaters, small refrigerators, etc. Despite this modest comfort, the driver has only 4 m³.
In long-distance traffic within their own country the truck driver is usually every weekend at home, in the international long-distance transport, however even weeks can be between the home visits.
To increase the efficiency increasingly rolling systems are introduced and the riders divided flexibly to changing day Routes for variable periods of use. This is a departure from the long-standing tradition in which each driver had a solid truck in which he had established himself comfortable.