Today, new social rules for professional road transport entered into force. The new legislation will bring practices of the different Member States closer together. It will also contribute to the improvement of road safety, fair competition and drivers' working conditions by introducing obligatory rest of at least 45 consecutive hours every two weeks and longer rest period each day. "The application of the new social rules is an important milestone for Europe's road transport sector", said Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of transport. "This is clearly a win-win situation: the drivers will enjoy important social advances, the transport companies will compete on equal grounds and all road users will benefit from better safety". The new social rules for professional drivers in road transport clarify and update a 20-year old legislation. They are aimed at increasing road safety and ensuring adequate social standards in a profession characterised by fierce competition. Apart from improved social and safety conditions, new measures will ensure the strict and harmonized enforcement of the rules. The industry, employees and Member States had more than one year to prepare for the new social rules that have become binding as of today. These rules apply, irrespective of the country of registration of the vehicles, to carriage by road undertaken within the Community and between the Community, Switzerland and the European Economic Area countries. See also: IP/05/1538. More information on road transport policy is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road/policy/social_provision/social_drivi…
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