Changes are sweeping through the trucking industry as a response to the alarming increase in road fatalities involving lorries. While the U.K. numbers aren’t as high as U.S. statistics, heavy goods vehicles remain disproportionately involved in accidents compared to other motorists. Knowing which aspects of the job have shifted is vital for protecting your drivers and avoiding penalties. Here are the latest trucking safety reforms.
What’s Changing for U.K. HGV Operators?
There’s a sharper focus on fatigue, training and tech for U.K. transport and logistics to enhance road safety, improve working conditions and perhaps attract more HGV operators into the industry.
1. Updated Driving Hour Regulations
Fatigue has long been a leading cause of road crashes in the country, contributing up to 20% of all collisions. The U.K. government has rolled out stricter rules on how long HGV drivers can work to combat fatigue-related accidents.
- Daily limits: Drivers can operate up to nine hours a day, which can extend to 10 hours, but only twice a week.
- Reduced weekly driving limits: The rules now cap the maximum driving time at 56 hours per week and 90 hours per fortnight.
- Break requirements: Drivers must take a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of continuous driving.
- Enhanced rest periods: Mandatory rest periods must be at least 45 hours every two weeks to guarantee operators get enough downtime.
2. Tachograph Compliance
Compliance with stricter tachograph usage and data recording reflects driver speed, distance travelled, driving time, breaks and rest periods.
3. HGV Licence
The new training modules also highlight changes to licensing laws to reflect updated safety and compliance standards. Meanwhile, revised entry criteria prioritise safety over rapid onboarding, specifically focusing on the minimum age and competency standards.
U.S. Trucking Regulation Updates
Reforms on the American side focus more on tech-led changes and federal crackdowns. Modernisation and road safety minimise deaths caused by large truck collisions. There has been an upward trend since 2009, with fatalities reaching 5,472 in 2023. Many of these involve lorries, civilian passenger vehicles, motorcyclists and pedestrians.
1. Speed Limiter Mandate
The U.S. Department of Transportation has withdrawn the proposal to require speed limiters on heavy-duty freight haulers. This decision came after months of speculation that vehicles weighing over 26,000 pounds must adhere to a strict 65-mph speed limit.
2. Expanded ELD Requirements
Trucks with pre-2000 engines may soon need mandatory electronic logging devices, a move aimed at tightening driving hour enforcement across all vehicle types, not just newer models.
Crucially, ELDs can measure running engine time, making it easier for operators to change the fuel and engine air filters after 250 hours of use and keep track of other preventative maintenance. Poor upkeep can lead to safety issues that can turn into road accidents.
3 Automatic Emergency Braking Systems
Efforts are ongoing to require AEB systems on Class 3 vehicles with a weight exceeding 4,536 kilograms, realising the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s petition to establish a standard involving brake systems in heavy trucks. They are already a standard in many EU countries and reduce front-to-rear collisions by up to 50%.
4. Safety Measurement System Overhaul
Another shift in 2025 is the proposed move to simplify violation severity weights to a basic fit or unfit scale, replacing the previous system that ranged from one to 10. Stakeholders expressed concerns about the reduced granularity, as it placed greater pressure on carriers to maintain perfect records. The reforms also heavily weigh behavioural violations like speeding or reckless driving in safety scores.
5. Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Enforcement
From November 2024 onward, states must revoke the commercial driver’s license of people who test positive for drug or alcohol violations until they complete a federally mandated return-to-duty process. This reform is a direct effort to remove high-risk motorists from the roads.
How Do the U.K. and U.S. Compare on Trucking Safety Reforms?
The U.K. leans heavily on precautionary, policy-driven safety, whereas the U.S. favours tech mandates and compliance penalties. One of the starkest differences in American policy is the more decisive influence of industry lobbying and the presence of state-level variation, which can be confusing for fleets operating across state lines. This results in a more fragmented approach, contrasting with Great Britain’s emphasis on uniform national compliance.
The differences in driving time may also be due to geography. Since the U.K. is a much smaller country with denser road networks, trips are generally shorter, making a nine-hour driving day sufficient. In contrast, the vast distances between states necessitate longer hauls, so more flexible limits such as the 11-hour daily maximum are in place.
The U.K.’s proposed Safe System Strategy aligns with Vision Zero principles, which aim to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads by 2041. In the U.S., reform stems more from data-based performance tracking and public safety scores, forming a market-based accountability model.
Though they use different approaches, both countries prioritise monitoring and rest hours. The U.K. mandates tachographs, while American operators rely on ELDs. As for additional technologies, new trucks in Britain are adopting automated braking systems, while those efforts are still underway in the U.S.
Safer Roads Begin with Reforms
Change is something to accept, not resist, especially concerning human lives on the highway. These distinctions reflect differing principles and means to achieve the same result — safer roads. Staying abreast of the latest industry regulations leads to smoother operations for operators and drivers alike. As regulators on both sides of the Atlantic tighten the rules, now is the time to get ahead.
Evelyn Long, Editor-in-Chief of Renovated Magazine
