ECG — 2025-01-13
News from ECG
The transport industry in Europe lacks 500,000 drivers, and the average age of drivers is 47 years. To raise awareness of the importance of driver conditions, ECG - the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, has signed a pledge with other industry actors to improve drivers’ well-being.
The pledge focuses on ensuring a safe environment for drivers and their healthy well-being by spreading awareness, educating, and advocating – a goal ECG fully supports.
ECG represents a particular industry sector that employs drivers of car transporters and works continuously with special initiatives to ensure a safe working environment for these drivers.
Health & Safety
ECG’s Health & Safety working groups represent the logistics service providers as well as car and trailer manufacturers. The focus is primarily on reducing accidents in loading and unloading operations, especially falls from height, which have caused serious incidents.
“We have created guidelines for safe loading and unloading in different languages, which our member companies use to educate drivers”, says Andreea Maria Serbu, Senior Manager External Affairs, ECG.
ECG collects accident statistics, but reporting is not mandatory, making conclusions difficult. However, a clear trend is that most accidents occur from roll-offs, when the car is not properly secured, or when the driver slips or falls.
Health & Safety is one of the strategic objectives of the ECG Roadmap 2025, with a special focus now on retailer deliveries where there is much work to be done to improve and promote a safer environment. A special working group will shortly launch a process to support safer deliveries.
“In many cases, there are no dedicated parking spaces, and the driver is forced to park in the middle of the road to unload cars, where there could be speed limits of 50-70 km/h, creating a dangerous environment”, Andreea Maria Serbu says.
Another critical focus is helping the service providers raise awareness of unsafe environments at the delivery points with the vehicle manufacturers. The purpose is to make the dealerships treat the drivers the same way they treat their customers, with safer loading places, access to toilets, and even to be offered a cup of coffee. In 2019 the International Road Transport Union (IRU) launched a charter, which ECG also signed, to improve the treatment of drivers at delivery sites.
The lack of drivers
According to statistics from the IRU the average age of truck drivers in the transport sector is 47. More than one-third of truck drivers are 55 or older, and many will retire in the coming years. Less than 5% are under 25, highlighting the lack of attractiveness as a career choice.
According to the ECG Confidence & Cost Trends Survey, 70% of member companies had a shortage of qualified truck drivers in 2024 as a result. Significant action is needed now to improve the situation.
“The EU should harmonise rules enabling drivers to become professional drivers younger than they do today. Some Member States only allow a driving license for trucks from the age of 21. Additionally, incentives should be provided to support the cost of becoming a professional truck driver”, says Andreea Maria Serbu.
The pledge signed by ECG and partners such as ESC, UETR, Dekra, Truckerslife, the Spanish Shippers Council and more, is initiated by ESPORG, an organization promoting sustainable parking solutions.
ESPORG General Manager Dirk Penasse says, “Professional drivers are indispensable to our society. They work in the bloodstream of European industry. Without the transport industry, citizens' daily lives cannot function.”