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Different countries have different vehicle standards, and that is especially true for heavy goods vehicles and training regimes.
However, whilst differences in rules for HGV training are difficult to directly see, the differences in regulations are impossible not to notice when looking at the different body shapes and designs between lorries in the UK and trucks in the United States.
Whilst this seems to have been a trend that has always existed, it is only since the 1980s that there has been such a marked difference between the two, and it comes down to some very major changes in regulations.
The standard cab-over forward control design is not only used in Scotland and the rest of the UK, but also in all of Europe and most of Asia, largely to make the most of the available cab length space.
European regulations set the maximum cab length as 2.35m, which is enough for a day cab with a bonnet, or a cab-over sleeper cab.
This made a cab-over design all but mandatory for long-haul lorry driving across Europe, and the improvements to space efficiency and manoeuvrability meant that this translated to day cabs as well.
Whilst some lorry manufacturers still made EU-spec bonnetted day cabs, eventually the market dwindled until the last manufacturer left making them, Scania, stopped production due to a lack of sales.
The opposite ended up being the case for long-haul trucks in the United States. Up until the 70s, cab-over trucks were popular because many states had strict overall length rules, which meant that it became a de facto national standard.
These laws were repealed in 1983, which got rid of the cab itself as part of length restrictions, allowing them to be much longer as a consequence.
Since then, the differences have only become starker, and it can be quite a shock for an HGV driver moving from one region to another to see just how different the vehicles are.