Newsroom

IRU welcomes the provisional agreement reached following trilogue negotiations between EU institutions on the revision of the EU Driving Licence Directive. The outcome reflects long-standing priorities of the road transport sector and supports efforts to ensure road safety and alleviate the growing shortage of professional drivers.

IRU outlined its road transport sector reform methodology, tools and results to transport professionals from across Africa this week in Benin.

CEOs and senior figures from 30 trucking companies in Canada, Mexico and the US were in Washington D.C. to exchange on cross-border challenges at IRU’s first North American Transportation Forum Leadership Dialogue.

A market leader in health and safety training, Qatar International Safety Centre (QISC) has joined the IRU Academy as its newest Associate Training Institute.

IRU and the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) are partnering on road safety. In this joint article, Vincent Erard and Willem Groenewald outline the solutions provided by the two organisations for companies in the sector.

At 19, Charlene Kerkhof is proving that young professionals are ready to drive the future of road transport. Growing up in the Netherlands with a trucking family, she turned her passion into a career. Now, she’s mastering the road while calling for better opportunities to help more young drivers succeed.

At a key FIA event during the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, IRU stressed the need to better support road transport companies in enhancing standards.

IRU’s first roundtable on technology and innovation centred on the challenges, integration and potential of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in commercial road transport.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) trainers are now equipped to pass on vital defensive driving knowledge and skills to their drivers and subcontractors in Uganda and Tanzania, enhancing the safety of humanitarian missions.

At their annual meeting, IRU Academy Associate Training Institutes (ATIs) from around the world explored the critical role of harmonisation, innovation and transparency in fostering a skilled professional road transport workforce.

The transport of dangerous goods presents significant risks if not managed properly. The League of Arab States has now approved a joint proposition, made by IRU, to harmonise procedures across the Arab region.

With an initial focus on defensive driving and crash prevention, the National Logistics Corporation (NLC) looks to raise road safety levels across Pakistan.

IRU RoadMasters, a skills profiling programme to assess drivers’ abilities, target training and monitor progress, comes to Estonia.

The new champion trainers will train over 200 Iranian instructors based on internationally recognised standards.

Supported by IRU, Malaysia is laying the groundwork to apply key international safety standards in how dangerous goods are transported on its roads.

The newly adopted United Nations road safety resolution calls on governments to accelerate and scale up efforts to meet the goals of the Decade of Action for Road Safety.

IRU, the world road transport organisation, has published its annual report for 2023, looking at the organisation’s progress and achievements in shaping safe, efficient and sustainable road transport during its 75th anniversary year.

IRU and CLDP have teamed up to raise professional qualification standards in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to advance road transport operations along the Trans-Caspian route.

Safety is at the heart of our work. For decades, we, together with our members, have worked to make road transport safer for everyone, including for drivers operating vital life-saving services.

To reduce road accidents in Cameroon, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, IRU is providing a comprehensive defensive driver training framework to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Young professional drivers in the EU have been the target of a misguided safety campaign. The European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) provides concrete steps to address the EU’s youth unemployment and driver shortage while carefully considering and addressing road safety aspects. Its vision should be endorsed by the plenary.

With a fleet of 70 tanker trucks, IRU New Industry Shaper Balai Sakho, the Director General of Senegalese company “Transports Ibrahima Sakho”, is driven by an unwavering commitment to quality and a personal relationship with the sector.

Almajdouie Logistics has become the first logistics service provider in Saudi Arabia to adopt IRU RoadMasters’ goods transport programme.

IRU Academy Associate Training Institutes from 20 countries have stressed the importance of strengthening professional qualification standards to help mitigate driver shortages during their recent e-meeting.

The European Commission has launched a more flexible funding call for safe and secure parking across the EU, enlarging the geographical scope, as advocated for by IRU. 

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto and H.E. Engineer Hamad Essa Abdulla, Qatar’s Ministry of Transport Acting Assistance Undersecretary for Land Transport Affairs, held high-level talks in Geneva on key road transport challenges.

The UN has marked the 25th anniversary of the 1998 agreement on Global Technical Regulations (GTRs) as IRU continues to stress the need for harmonised road transport regulation in the face of new challenges and opportunities.

The United Nations Global Road Safety Week offers a unique opportunity to advance road safety worldwide.

Safety drives all aspects of IRU's work. For decades, IRU and its members have worked together to make road transport safer for everyone, including drivers.

After assessing Benin’s driving licence system and road safety protocols, IRU, the world road transport organisation, has devised a series of recommendations to improve safety and overall traffic efficiency.

Major transport and tourism organisations have called upon the EU Commission to support an ambitious proposal on specific driving and rest time rules for coach tourism. Currently, coach tourism drivers are subject to the same rules regarding the organisation of their driving and rest time rules as truck drivers. However, the nature of their work is considerably different.

After being contacted by several of its members concerning driving regulations and unwarranted fines, IRU has clarified formalities for humanitarian transport. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Syria and Türkiye, IRU has been contacted by several of its members with a request to clarify driving and rest time rule obligations related to humanitarian transport operations.

IRU is in contact with its members in Türkiye and Syria following yesterday’s devastating earthquake, offering its deepest condolences to the victims and support to help coordinate relief efforts. On behalf of the global IRU family, Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has offered his heartfelt sympathies to all caught up in the tragedy in Türkiye, Syria and elsewhere.

IRU member the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has opened a new TIR office in Bandar Abbas. Iran has issued more TIR carnets than any other country over the past two years.

IRU has awarded its Diploma of Honour to 1,756 taxi, bus, coach and truck drivers from 23 countries worldwide for their outstanding driving and safety records.