The safety of a professional driver is one of the key aspects that affects the effectiveness and efficiency of road transport. Both safety while driving and while stopping plays an important role in ensuring not only the health and life of drivers, but also the protection of transported loads and other road users. The main aspects of the safety of professional drivers are safety related to driving – including driving technique, technical condition of the vehicle and compliance with road regulations, as well as safety during stops – including securing the vehicle and cargo against theft, and taking care of the driver’s health and rest during breaks. on the road.

Modern technologies

As technology advances, modern trucks are equipped with advanced safety systems that help drivers drive safely and responsibly. These include:

• Blind Spot Monitoring System: Uses sensors, cameras or radars to monitor areas that are not visible to the driver, especially when changing lanes.
• Emergency Brake Assist: Reacts automatically when it detects a danger of collision with an obstacle or another vehicle.
• Lane Departure Warning System: Monitors the vehicle’s position on the road and warns the driver when approaching a lane divider without using the turn signal.
• Electronic Stability Control: Helps maintain vehicle stability by monitoring steering movement, vehicle speed and other factors.

The main problems of drivers

Sanitary conditions and an insufficient number of parking spaces are one of the most striking elements that may make drivers dislike their job – these are the conclusions from the report of the Polish Road Transport Institute “Earnings of professional drivers in Poland 2023 – safety and condition of parking infrastructure”. As an active participant in the TSL market for over 30 years, we have seen major changes in this field, but they still lag behind the development of road transport in the EU.

Sanitary conditions

The profession of a truck driver attracts both men and women, so the limited number of toilets and non-compliance with sanitary conditions constitute significant difficulties for the comfort of work. 7 out of 10 drivers believe that the condition of sanitary infrastructure is low or very low. In many places there are not even separate toilets for women. Access to running water, especially drinking water, should be standard, but drivers often have to ask for or pay for water in a can. This is especially visible in parking lots in Germany. Almost 1/3 of drivers believe that Poland has the best parking spaces. Germany also came next. An interesting case is the Czech Republic, which has safe parking lots, but is relatively poorly equipped. Only 3% indicated our neighbors as a place with good infrastructure. The situation is different in France. The local stops can be described as well-equipped (18%), but dangerous.

Safety when parked

39% of respondents consider parking lots to be dangerous or very dangerous. In the assessment of parking safety, Poland scores best, receiving positive opinions from more than half of drivers. However, Spain, France and Italy are mentioned as countries where drivers feel least safe. It is there that most thefts of diesel oil, cargo, documents and valuables from the cabin, as well as violent attacks by migrants on trucks heading to England, are recorded. A separate problem is that drivers are reluctant to call the police after discovering refugees in their car because they are afraid of being accused of complicity in a crime. It is often very difficult for them to prove that they knew nothing. Another accusation against Western services, not directly related to communication, is that officers simply cannot cope with crime, especially in the case of illegal immigrants. Both the trailer and the truck chassis are places where it is relatively easy to hide (or something), so they are sometimes used by illegal immigrants and smugglers. At SKAT, to prevent such situations, we use the UK Truck Check application from Inero. Thanks to it, we can control whether our driver performs all the necessary activities to minimize the risk of bringing illegal immigrants to England.

Definitely, according to the industry, we need more parking lots with security, cameras and good fencing, because in such places the level of safety is the most important for drivers.

No monitoring and lighting

The low level of security in parking lots is often due to the lack of monitoring and insufficient lighting at night. Drivers emphasize that the problem is also the insufficient operation of security services.

Truck drivers, known for dealing with problems on their own, often avoid calling for help even when situations require it. Modern technologies, which are becoming more and more available also in truck cabins, can significantly improve communication and thus influence safety. Therefore, the issue of communication should not be neglected, which is a task not only for the drivers themselves, but also for their employers and clients.

Small number of parking lots

There are still too few parking lots or they are designed unergonomically – so that their layout allows for accommodating a much smaller number of vehicles (especially truck sets) than would result from the available space. It is true that more and more countries are testing innovative solutions in this area, but many of them are not approved by drivers. We are talking here about the so-called column parking lots in Germany. Their design assumes that truckers will place their cars one behind the other, depending on the length of the planned stop. However, practice shows that not everyone respects the declared time, thus blocking the exit of those who parked behind them.

Additionally, the location of parking spaces between noisy objects makes it difficult to rest normally during breaks. Also worth mentioning is the lack of special ramps for clearing snow from trucks and frequent bans on changing tires, which further complicates the work of drivers.

Parking lots and loading and unloading areas are crucial for transport, but drivers’ opinions about them are divided. 31% consider them bad, 28% good, and 4 out of 10 respondents have no clear opinion. Overall, 69% of respondents consider the condition of parking infrastructure in Europe to be poor.

How can you increase driver safety on foreign routes?

Cars should be properly equipped: with anti-theft mechanisms, vehicle monitoring, the E-Call system with the option of automatic notification not only of an accident, but also of a robbery, telematics solutions, including geofencing (a system that sends signals to designated people or institutions if the car deviates from the set route, will be outside the specified zone or its cargo space will be violated). Additionally, it is necessary to invest in better parking infrastructure, ensure appropriate sanitary conditions and increase the level of security through monitoring and appropriate lighting of parking spaces. It is also worth supporting the development of technologies that facilitate communication and risk management, which may significantly affect the comfort and safety of work in this demanding profession.