When you get trucking in Europe education and training it shows that you are dedicated to putting in the time and efforts to do your job properly. Continued education after you get your license keeps you current with industry changes.

Many freight companies in Europe focus their concern on safety. Many offer courses and conferences to address this issue. To obtain education and training in trucking you might want to consider the following methods:

1. Get licensed after taking formal training from trucking schools before working for truck transportation companies in Europe;

2. Attend conferences to further your experiences in trucking in Europe education and training;

3. Or learn more about European trucking companies' information and regulation changes via electronic resources.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Take a formal course to learn about trucking in Europe

Commercial trucking in Europe covers a wide range of vehicle experience from freight to forklift operation. Get your license and learn the ins and outs of professional truck driving by learning from experts in an established trucking school.

I recommend: HGV Training Bolton Manchester offers training for HGV LGV, PSV PCV, trailer and forklift FTL. It details steps you need to take to become a licensed driver and trains you according to these steps with courses specifically suited to each individual. Tockwith Training Services trains students to drive trucks and coaches. With almost 40-years experience teaching, it brings experience and knowledge to students as they meet with instructors for one-on-one instruction.

Educate yourself on issues affecting European freight companies at conferences and seminars

The trucking business in Europe is constantly evolving. Attending workshops, conferences and seminars not only offers you the opportunity to network with other professionals in your field, but it also keeps you current on industry changes.

I recommend: The International Road Transport Union (IRU) hosts seminars to educate truckers in conferences such as its 5th Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference. It covers topics like safety and meeting the World Customs Organization standards. European Agenda highlights conferences including those for the trucking industry such as the Volvo Truck Corporation Road Safety Seminar. During road safety week, experts offer tips based on research for safer driving.

Use electronic resources to further your training in European trucking issues

Keep current with trends that affect trucking companies in Europe by using interactive software and reading updates online. Electronic resources update on a regular basis, so your finger will always be on the pulse of the trucking industry.

I recommend: WareSeeker.com offers software for truck drivers in England. The programs keep truck drivers up to date with the latest truck industry information, and it links to educational resources and training sessions in your local area. European Road Transport E-Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine that focuses on Europe trucking. Read this to learn the most current trucking information on a variety of truck and transport issues.

Trucking in Europe is complex because of the many legal jurisdictions, varied terrain and sovereign borders, which your business may need to cross. If you include western Russia in Europe, then its size is slightly greater than the U.S with a terrain just as complex. You may drive across mountains, deserts, lakes and plains. One major difference, though, is that Europe still consists of many sovereign borders.

Consider these important issues when investigating trucking companies in Europe:

1. Be aware of the laws of every jurisdiction your vehicles will enter;

2. Consider the terrain your vehicles will pass through and whether they are up to the challenge; and,

3. Know what sovereign borders your vehicles will cross and the rules for doing so.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn the laws affecting European trucking companies

Because of the complexity of trucking businesses in Europe, laws must deal with the industry's many impacts on society. These impacts include unions, environment, safety and taxation. Become familiar with or hire the appropriate specialists in these areas of trucking law.

I recommend: The European Union has consolidated European trucking company laws. The European Commission's Transport Directorate-General provides a website with extensive information about road transport. Euro 4 emission regulations address some environmental concerns.

Prepare for diverse terrain with freight companies in Europe

Truckers can go from desert heat to mountain cold in a week's driving. Trucking in Europe can require driving through the deserts of Spain, over the Swiss and Italian Alps, and through heavily urbanized central Europe. A vehicle must be in top shape to handle such diverse geography.

I recommend: Freight companies in Europe can purchase transmission supplies from Alibaba.com Limited to keep their transmissions in top-shape for tough driving. Many European countries strictly forbid idling longer than a few minutes, which eliminates the engine as a source of energy drivers could use to heat or cool their sleeping cabins. Rocky Research has developed a no-idle climate control.

Know the customs European trucking companies must deal with

Although much of Europe falls into the European Union, there are still many borders European freight companies must traverse in a cross-European trip. Each border means new rules and regulations for European trucking companies.

I recommend: If your commercial trucking in Europe is in the east, Russian customs code will be of critical importance. In central Europe, trucking companies may need to pass through Swiss customs. A trucking business in Europe traveling along the eastern coast of the Adriatic may encounter customs for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Unions in Europe are often much more powerful than their counterparts in the U.S. Trucking companies in Europe must primarily work with regulations for the European Union.
• •  You may want to change trucking crews at boundaries to avoid issues in territories dominated by other unions and guilds.

Trucking in Europe involves strict regulation by the law and contact with many international borders. A European freight company must be aware of the many customs laws for different parts of Europe. The laws will be different in Russia than in Italy or Switzerland. A trucking business in Europe will also be traveling on diverse and difficult terrain with frequent changes in the climate. Operators must be in good physical condition and their vehicles should be maintained in preparation for the sporadic changes.

Trucking in Europe applications and uses highlights the many services and goods moved by freight companies in Europe. Trucking operators and the goods that are carried are vital to supplying needed provisions and sustaining commerce and trade for numerous industries. Safety is another essential key to the progress of commercial trucking in Europe. Operators and goods need to arrive at their destination timely and safely for business to prosper.

1. Truck transport companies in Europe transfer food, clothing, coffee, tobacco and other important staples.

2. European trucking companies also deliver hazardous items such as gas and petroleum as well as unusual items like funeral monuments.

3. Trucking businesses in Europe must transfer large loads and over-sized dangerous freight.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Stay abreast of the many necessary goods and materials European freight companies transfer

Trucking companies in Europe transport and deliver a wide variety of goods. Without freight companies, necessary items such as food, clothing, herbs and spices, metals, cars and hazardous chemicals would not be available for trade and business purposes. If products don't move, they don't make it to the consumer for sale and use. Europe, like other continents, is dependent upon the freight industry to shift, transfer and deliver voluminous types of cargo.

I recommend: DSV in Denmark is a road transport company that delivers dry, refrigerated cargo such as food, heavy, partial and full loads, textiles, Internet and hazardous cargo. Vollers with multiple locations in Holland, Russia and Belgium ship coffee, cotton, metals, tobacco, wool, rubber, spices, nuts, tobacco and general goods.

Be aware of the hazardous freight and unusual cargo carried by trucking companies in Europe

Numerous freight companies in Europe transport hazardous materials such as gas, chemicals and liquid petroleum. Some chemical freight companies in Europe also offer single sourcing as well as mixing and blending of chemicals. Safety is always a concern. Precautions such as double-walled tanks and gas recirculation systems keep safety a top priority.

I recommend: Guisnel Group specializes in the delivery of funeral monuments, gas, liquid petroleum, clothing and furniture. The Brenntag Group is the global leader in chemical distribution. They are based in Germany and deliver to North and South America, Europe and Asia.

Know that trucking companies in Europe can carry large freight and dangerously over-sized cargo

Trucking businesses in Europe transport very large and heavy freight such as machinery, boats and cars. A few industries specialize in abnormal loads such as railway cars. Many regulations, laws and protective assistance have been put into place in Europe to ensure the highest standard of security possible for European trucking companies hauling heavy, over-sized or abnormal freight.

I recommend: Industry Cometto in Europe ships oversized loads on its trailers. They are the leader in design, production, study and sales of trailers and semitrailers for heavy transport. Mar@lago transports large freight such as boats and industrial machinery.