Recent enforcement actions in Sweden and France have exposed the continuing failure of many hauliers to respect EU rules on drivers’ rest periods. Operators have been hit with heavy fines for forcing drivers to spend their mandatory weekly rest in truck cabins – a practice strictly banned under the 2020 Mobility Package to protect drivers’ health and quality of life, as well as improve safety on European roads.
In Sweden, a week-long national traffic enforcement campaign in the south of Sweden uncovered widespread violations. Police performed checks on 370 heavy goods vehicles and fined 128 – more than one in three – for breaches of the EU driving and rest time regulation. The majority of offences involved drivers taking their required 45-hour weekly rest inside the vehicle cabin, which is expressly prohibited. Other infringements included insecure loads, overloading, and incorrect handling of dangerous goods. In total, foreign hauliers were fined more than one million Swedish kronor (over €90,000).
At the same time, in France’s Centre-Val de Loire region, authorities sanctioned three haulage companies last month for serious irregularities. The operation, coordinated by the regional prefecture, targeted foreign firms that failed to ensure drivers could take their weekly rest outside the vehicle in suitable accommodation. The companies received administrative fines and temporary operating bans. Officials underlined that the controls were carried out to “protect the rights of road transport professionals” and highlighted how such abuses contribute to driver fatigue and poor working conditions.
These two crackdowns on law violations illustrate a Europe-wide problem: despite tight rules, rates of infringements on the road are high. More enforcement capacity is needed to address unscrupulous operators exploiting drivers and undercutting fair competition. The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), representing 5 million transport workers across the continent, strongly welcomes these actions and sees them as important steps towards decent working conditions.
The ETF considers the ban on spending regular weekly rest in the cabin to be a fundamental protection of drivers’ health and dignity and firmly opposes any attempt to weaken this rule. While the ETF continues to call for more EU investment in secure parking areas with proper facilities, as a lack of parking spaces can never serve as an excuse for illegal behaviour, hauliers have a clear legal duty to organise transport operations so that drivers can take their weekly rest at home.
The ETF stresses that strong and consistent enforcement, like that now seen in Sweden and France, is essential to deter violations and make the profession attractive again. Operators are obligated to make arrangements so drivers can spend the weekly rest at home. ETF calls on all EU member states to step up targeted controls, improve cross-border cooperation, and urgently invest in driver welfare. Only united action will put an end to the widespread disrespect for rest rules and create a sustainable European road transport sector.