Statutory guidance

Being a road transport manager: skills and knowledge you need

Published 5 November 2021

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

This guide tells you about the knowledge and skills you need to be a road transport manager.

The skills and knowledge you need will depend on whether you’re a transport manager for either:

• haulage
• passenger transport

There’s separate guidance about what your responsibilities are as a transport manager.

Find out how to become a transport manager.

Summary

You have to know about these subjects to qualify as a transport manager:

• civil law
• commercial law
• fiscal law
• business and financial management
• access to the market
• technical standards and technical aspects of operation
• road safety

These subjects are set out in law.

After you’ve qualified, you must keep your professional knowledge in these subjects up to date to continue being a transport manager.

1. Civil law

You must:

• be familiar with the main types of contract used in road transport and with the rights and obligations arising from them
• be able to negotiate a legally valid transport contract, notably with regard to conditions of carriage

Haulage

If you’re a haulage transport manager, you must also:

• be able to consider a compensation claim by your principal for loss of or damage to goods during transportation or for their late delivery
• understand how a compensation claim affects your contractual liability
• be familiar with the rules and obligations arising from the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR)

Passenger transport

If you’re a passenger transport manager, you must also:

• be able to consider a claim by your principal regarding compensation for injury to passengers or damage to their baggage caused by an accident during transportation
• be able to consider a claim regarding compensation for delays
• understand how a compensation claim affects your contractual liability

2. Commercial law

You must:

• be familiar with the conditions and formalities laid down for plying the trade, the general obligations of transport operators (for example registration and record keeping) and the consequences of bankruptcy
• have appropriate knowledge of the various forms of commercial companies and the rules governing their constitution and operation

3. Social law

You must be familiar with:

• the role and function of the various social institutions which are concerned with road transport (for example trade unions, works councils, shop stewards and labour inspectors)
• the employers’ social security obligations
• the rules governing work contracts for the various categories of worker employed by road transport operators (for example form of the contracts, obligations of the parties, working conditions and working hours, paid leave, remuneration and breach of contract)
• the rules applicable to driving time, rest periods and working time and how to meet these rules in practice
• the rules for the initial qualification and continuous training of drivers

4. Fiscal law

You must be familiar with the rules about:

• value added tax (VAT) on transport services
• vehicle tax
• the taxes on certain road haulage vehicles
• tolls and infrastructure user charges
• income tax

5. Business and financial management

You must:

• be familiar with the laws and practices regarding the use of cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, credit cards and other means or methods of payment
• be familiar with the various forms of credit (for example bank credit, documentary credit, guarantee deposits, mortgages, leasing, renting or factoring) and the charges and obligations arising from these
• know what a balance sheet is, how it is set out and how to interpret it
• be able to read and interpret a profit and loss account
• be able to assess the business’ profitability and financial position, in particular on the basis of financial ratios
• be able to prepare a budget
• be familiar with the cost elements of the business (for example fixed costs, variable costs, working capital and depreciation), and be able to calculate costs per vehicle, per kilometre, per journey or per tonne
• be able to draw up an organisation chart relating to the business’ personnel as a whole and to organise work plans, for example
• be familiar with the principles of marketing, publicity and public relations, including transport services, sales promotion and the preparation of customer files
• be familiar with the different types of insurance relating to road transport (liability, accidental injury/life insurance, non-life and luggage insurance) and the guarantees and obligations arising from these
• be familiar with the applications of electronic data transmission in road transport

Haulage

If you’re a road haulage transport manager, you must also:

• be able to apply the rules about the invoicing of road haulage services and know the meaning and implications of Incoterms
• be familiar with different categories of transport auxiliaries, their role, their functions and, where appropriate, their status

Passenger transport

If you’re a road passenger transport manager, you must also be able to apply the rules about:

• fares and pricing in public and private passenger transport
• the invoicing of road passenger transport services

6. Access to the market

You must be familiar with:

• the occupational regulations governing road transport for hire or reward, industrial vehicle rental and subcontracting, and in particular the rules governing the official organisation of the occupation, admission to the occupation, authorisations for intra-Community and extra-Community road transport operations, inspections and penalties
• the rules for setting up a road transport undertaking
• the various documents required for operating road transport services and the introduction of checking procedures to ensure that the approved documents relating to each transport operation, and in particular those relating to the vehicle, the driver, the goods and luggage are kept both in the vehicle and on the premises of the undertaking

Haulage

If you’re a road haulage transport manager, you must also know:

• the rules on the organisation of the market in road haulage services, as well as the rules on freight handling and logistics
• border formalities, the role and scope of customs documents and TIR carnets, and the obligations and responsibilities arising from their use

Passenger transport

If you’re a road passenger transport manager, you must also know:

• the rules on the organisation of the market in road passenger transport
• the rules for introducing road passenger transport services and the drawing up of transport plans

7. Technical standards and technical aspects of operation

You must:

• be familiar with the rules concerning the weights and dimensions of vehicles in EU countries and the procedures to be followed in the case of abnormal loads which are an exception to these rules
• be able to choose vehicles and their components (for example chassis, engine, transmission system and braking system) to meet the needs of the road transport operation
• be familiar with the formalities relating to the type approval, registration and technical inspection of these vehicles
• understand what measures must be taken to reduce noise and to combat air pollution by motor vehicle exhaust emissions
• be able to draw up periodic maintenance plans for the vehicles and their equipment

Haulage

If you’re a road haulage transport manager, you must also:

• be familiar with the different types of cargo-handling and loading devices (for example tailboards, containers and pallets) and be able to introduce procedures and issue instructions for loading and unloading goods (for example load distribution, stacking, stowing, blocking and chocking)
• be familiar with the various techniques of piggyback and roll-on roll-off (RoRo) combined transport
• be able to implement procedures to follow the rules on the carriage of dangerous goods and waste
• be able to implement procedures to follow the rules on carrying perishable foodstuffs in road vehicles, notably those arising from the Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be used for such Carriage (ATP)
• be able to implement procedures to follow the rules on the transport of live animals

8. Road safety

You must:

• know what qualifications drivers need (for example driving licence, medical certificates and certificates of fitness)
• be able to take the necessary steps to ensure that drivers follow the traffic rules, prohibitions and restrictions in force in different EU countries (for example speed limits, priorities, waiting and parking restrictions, use of lights and road signs)
• be able to draw up instructions for drivers to check they meet the safety requirements for the condition of vehicles, their equipment and cargo
• be able to draw up instructions for preventive measures drivers can take to help meet safety requirements for the condition of vehicles, their equipment and cargo
• be able to lay down procedures to follow in the event of an accident and to implement appropriate procedures to prevent the recurrence of accidents or serious traffic offences
• be able to implement procedures to properly secure goods and be familiar with the corresponding techniques

Passenger transport

If you’re a road passenger transport manager, you must also have elementary knowledge of the layout of the road network in EU countries.