Hundreds of untrained truckers could be pulled off the road

Hundreds of lorry drivers could find themselves pulled over to the side of Belgium’s roads this weekend, as the deadline of a new EU law requiring every driver to follow a training course is reached.

The warning comes from ACV-Transcom, the union representing haulage and logistics personnel. As the deadline of 10 September approaches, the union reports having received calls from members whose employers have still not organised the training every driver must follow, explained Jan Sannen of the union.

The new law makes it obligatory for any driver of a heavy goods vehicle to have passed a training course of a minimum of 35 hours, spread across five days. The responsibility is on companies to organise the training. The requirement was announced in 2009.

Sannen said that some companies appear to assume that there will be a grace period or that they may be able to take on drivers who have passed their training under another employer. “Of course that’s not the way it’s meant to be,” he said. “The transport firms have had seven years to organise courses. That’s time enough.”

The union is now advising drivers who have not passed the course to stay off the road; driving without the training certificate is tantamount to driving without a licence. Fines can run up to €12,000 and a five-year ban. Employers who send out untrained drivers risk a fine of €6,000 per case.

Photo: Jean-Luc Flémal/BELGA