A truck (North American, Irish and Australian English) or lorry (British and Commonwealth English) is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile. Commercial trucks can be very large and powerful, and may be configured to mount specialized equipment, such as in the case of fire trucks and concrete mixers and suction excavators. Modern trucks are powered by either gasoline or diesel engines, with diesel dominant in commercial applications. In the European Union vehicles with a gross combination mass of less than 3,500 kilograms are known as Light commercial vehicles and those over as Large goods vehicles.
The word
Etymology
The word “truck” might have come from a back-formation of “truckle” with the meaning “small wheel”, “pulley”, from Middle English trokell, in turn from Latin trochlea. Another explanation is that it comes from Latin trochus with the meaning of “iron hoop”. In turn, both go back to Greek trokhos meaning “wheel” from trekhein to run. The first known usage of “truck” was in 1611 when it referred to the small strong wheels on ships’ cannon carriages. In its extended usage it came to refer to carts for carrying heavy loads, a meaning known since 1771. With the meaning of “motor-powered load carrier”, it has been in usage since 1930, shortened from “motor truck”, which dates back to 1916.
“Lorry” has a more uncertain origin, but probably has its roots in the railroad industry, where the word is known to have been used in 1838 to refer to a type of truck (a freight car as in British usage, not a bogie as in the American), specifically a large flat wagon. It probably derives from the verb lurry (to pull, tug) of uncertain origin. With the meaning of “self-propelled vehicle for carrying goods” it has been in usage since 1911.
International variance
For more details on this topic, see List of truck types.
In the United States and Canada “truck” is usually reserved for commercial vehicles larger than normal cars including pickups and other vehicles having an open load bed, while in Australia and New Zealand, a pickup truck is usually called a ute (short for “utility”) and the word “truck” is mostly reserved for larger vehicles. The small utility truck was invented in Australia in the 1930s.
In the United Kingdom, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland and Hong Kong lorry is used instead of truck, but only for the medium and heavy types.
In American English, the word “truck” is often preceded by a word describing the type of vehicle, such as a “fire truck” or “tanker truck”. In British English these would be referred to as “fire engine” and “tanker” or “petrol tanker”, respectively. In Canada and the United States, “fire engine” is also used.
Driving
In the United States, a commercial driver’s license is required to drive any type of commercial vehicle weighing 26,001 lb (11,794 kg) or more.
The United Kingdom and the rest of Europe now have common, yet complex rules. As an overview, to drive a vehicle weighing more than 7,500 kilograms for commercial purposes requires a specialist licence (the type varies depending on the use of the vehicle and number of seats). For licences first acquired after 1997, that weight was reduced to 3,500 kilograms, not including trailers.
In Australia, a truck driving license is required for any motor vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) exceeding 4,500 kilograms. The motor vehicles classes are further expanded as:
LR: Light rigid: a rigid vehicle with a GVM of more than 4,500 kilograms but not more than 8,000 kilograms. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9,000 kilograms GVM.
MR: Medium rigid: a rigid vehicle with 2 axles and a GVM of more than 8,000 kilograms. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9,000 kilograms GVM. Also includes vehicles in class ‘LR’.
HR: Heavy Rigid: a rigid vehicle with 3 or more axles and a GVM of more than 8,000 kilograms. Any towed trailer must not weigh more than 9,000 kilograms GVM. Also includes articulated buses and vehicles in class ‘MR’.
HC: Heavy Combination, a typical prime mover plus semi trailer combination.
MC: Multi Combination e.g. B Doubles/Road trains.
There is also a heavy vehicle transmission condition for a licence class HR, HC or MC test passed in a vehicle fitted with an automatic or synchromesh transmission, a driver’s licence will be restricted to vehicles of that class fitted with a synchromesh or automatic transmission . To have the condition removed, a person needs to pass a practical driving test in a vehicle with non synchromesh transmission (constant mesh or crash box).
In 2006, the U.S. trucking industry employed 1.8 million drivers of heavy trucks. There are around 5 million truck drivers in India.
.
