Differences Between American and European Trucks

There is a chance that you never noticed the differences between American and European trucks. When you notice it, you won’t be able to unsee it. There are glaring differences in the front shape, models, or even brands. But why?

Every country has different restrictions when it comes to vehicles, and regional differences create different needs. Car models, parts, features, or even brands will change depending on your location. For example, for personal use in automobiles, there are brands that are just offered to drivers in Europe, such as Seat, Skoda, and Opel. We can see the same differences in the truck industry. Restrictions and the lifestyles of the regions play big roles in why we see different truck models and brands.

Differences between American and European trucks will help us understand why truck companies choose to serve certain markets with certain models.

Size Differences

We mentioned restrictions from governments; one of them is size. In Europe, the trucks’ sizes cannot exceed 61 feet long, while American trucks can go up to 70 feet with two trailers at a time. Flat-front-shaped trucks were popular in North America until 1976, before the overall length restrictions were lifted. After 1976, longer-nosed trucks became more popular among truck drivers.

In America, a semi-trailer truck can have a maximum height of 13.5 feet, while in Europe, the maximum is 13.1 feet. The reason for the height differences is that European trucks have restrictions on entering cities or narrow roads, and even on newer roads, the older structures can block their way. Therefore, in America, highways can accommodate the 13.5 feet height.

Within the regulations, the flat front design allows European trucks to carry more cargo. The design allows for the cab to be less than 10 feet long.

Design Differences

European trucks have a flat front and a cube-shaped design over the engine, which is called cab-over-engine trucks or cabover trucks. Cabover trucks have an engine under the driver, which limits the space the driver has, especially in the cabin, where the driver can rest at the stops. On the other hand, American trucks have the engine outside at the front, which creates a long nose. This design gives more room to the driver while driving and resting. Both designs have their own advantages and disadvantages. Cabover trucks are designed for European roads, which require more maneuverability and can also be quite narrow. American roads are broader and straighter, which creates the perfect conditions for American long-nose truck design.

The other factor that affects the design is how much the drivers have to drive or are allowed to drive. American truck drivers tend to drive longer distances and spend the nights in their trucks more.

The biggest difference between the American and European trucking industries is the lifestyle of the drivers. European drivers tend to see truck driving as a profession, a job, rather than a lifestyle. On the other hand, American drivers dedicate their lives to it and do not simply see it as a job.

Owner-operators are very common in the United States. Owner-operators are the individuals who own a truck and operate their commercial business. They are independent contractors and are known to be on the roads for months, traveling from state to state to pick up new businesses. So, the truck manufacturers put the comfort of the drivers as one of their priorities while creating the designs for American trucks.

Speed Limits

Speed limits vary between the two continents. In the USA, the speed limits are set by the state governments, while in Europe, each country has its own speed limits.

Speed limits can change between truck types and sizes, but usually major highways allow truck drivers to drive faster. But every state has its own limitations. You can look up the speed limits per state on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s website.

In Europe, most countries set their maximum speed at 55 mph on larger highways, but sometimes, even when the roads are wide and big enough, the speed limitation can be a maximum of 50 mph.

Aerodynamics

For truck designs, speed, comfort, and other factors play a big role; aerodynamics plays a bigger role. For the trucking industry, cutting costs, sustainability, and efficiency are three elements of the industry’s success. Truck manufacturers were pressured into designing trucks with low fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions. The balance was improving truck aerodynamics. NASA explains aerodynamics as the way objects move through the air and how they get affected by it.

Truck manufacturers work on how to optimize the shape of the truck’s parts, such as the front, underbody, and even trailer, to reduce drag created by aerodynamics.

North American trucks have a long nose to increase aerodynamics since the speed limit is usually higher than the speed limit in Europe, and roads are more suitable to use the aerodynamic design’s fullness and lower fuel costs. Therefore, European trucks have a cabover design that looks like a cube. Aerodynamically speaking, this feature does not allow operators to reach fuel cost goals. The reasons European truck manufacturers are still choosing cabover design over long noses are the length restrictions, how long the drivers have to drive, road types, dense population areas, and traffic.

Safety

A truck with a long nose at the front would prevent the driver from having severe injuries compared to the cabover design. Therefore, cabover trucks have not been designed by neglecting safety concerns. Along with the engineering side of designing a truck shape, we have to look at drivers’ behavior in the region. Based on Jan Kapusta’s thesis on safety measures for trucks, the number of fatal accidents involving heavy trucks in the USA is 6 to 8 times higher than in Europe. Between 2009 and 2012, the fatal truck accidents per thousand registered vehicles were 0.013 in Europe.

We believe a low fatal accident percentage is a factor for truck manufacturers when designing cab-over trucks. A long nose design can protect the driver from injuries in a head-to-head collision; therefore, the design is not suitable for European cities, dense populations, or narrow roads. The design limits direct visibility around the vehicle and creates potential danger for other road users, such as pedestrians.