Some weeks ago, the Swedish Transport Agency presented its report Condition measurement 2022 – Report Goods and social conditions. The report is based on the measurement of regulatory compliance that the Swedish Transport Agency made in collaboration with the Police among those who carry out goods transport by road. Generally speaking, regulatory compliance is high, regardless of whether it concerns requirements for drivers, companies or vehicles that have been checked, but there are exceptions.
The Swedish Transport Agency carries out regular permit measurements within commercial traffic to measure how well the companies on the market follow the existing rules. When it comes to compliance with driving and rest times, the trend is going in the right direction compared to 2019. 73 percent of drivers passed without a complaint, which is an improvement of two percentage points.
– Regulatory compliance is generally high, but there are some areas that can be improved, says Mattias Andersson, investigator at the Swedish Transport Agency. Examples of such areas are driving and rest times. It is moving in the right direction, but a compliance rate of 73 percent is still less than we would like.
In a number of areas, no or very few violations have been found, including with regard to requirements for authorizations, tachographs and road working hours. It is also positive that none of the drivers checked were reported for drunkenness, just like in 2019 and 2015. Compliance with tire requirements is also very high, regardless of whether there have been winter road conditions or not at the time of the check.
At the same time, there are figures that show that in some areas it has worsened compared to previous years, among other things when it comes to the technical nature of the vehicles and load securing. In terms of technical condition, 74 percent of the vehicles were without notice, compared to 78 percent in 2019. This year, 85 percent of the vehicles were without notice regarding load securing, compared to 89 percent in 2019. In addition, there are more drivers who do not follow the speed limit.
– Following the speed limit is an issue where we see a negative development, Mattias Andersson continues. Speed enforcement has deteriorated for the second measurement in a row, and the number of checks that have led to a penalty has increased sharply.
In addition to looking at rule compliance and the technical nature, the Swedish Transport Agency has also carried out an investigation into the drivers’ social conditions. It shows that a majority of drivers, both Swedish and foreign, are satisfied with their working conditions.
– Similar to the 2019 survey, however, we can observe large differences in conditions between Swedish and foreign drivers, says Mattias Andersson. Among other things, foreign drivers spend the night in the truck more often and they have, on average, lower wages. However, the differences between Swedish and foreign drivers’ conditions have decreased over time.
The work of the Swedish Transport Agency and other authorities for increased regulatory compliance aims to enable a market with fair conditions and functioning competition. Something that we at Tempcon wholeheartedly support.
Read the report HERE in Swedish.
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