| A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle for transporting | | | | rubber versions. Electric starters, power brakes, 4, 6, |
| goods. The word "truck" comes from the Greek | | | | and 8 cylinder engines, closed cabs, and electric |
| "trochos", meaning "wheel". In America, the big | | | | lighting followed. The first modern semi-trailer trucks |
| wheels of wagons were called trucks. When the | | | | also appeared. Touring car builders such as Ford and |
| gasoline engine-driven trucks came into fashion, these | | | | Renault entered the heavy truck market. |
| were called "motortrucks" and the Heavy Goods | | | | Diesel engines |
| Vehicle (HGV)). The British term is, however, only | | | | Although it had been invented in 1890, the diesel |
| used for the medium and heavy types (see below), | | | | engine was not common in trucks in Europe until the |
| i.e. a van, a pickup or a SUV would never be | | | | 1920s. In the United States, it took much longer for |
| regarded as a "lorry". Other languages have | | | | diesel engines be accepted: gasoline engines were still |
| loanwords based on these terms, such as the Malay | | | | in use on heavy trucks in the 1970s, while in Europe |
| lori and the Mexican Spanish troca (or pickup in | | | | they had been completely replaced 20 years earlier. |
| northern Mexico). | | | | Legal issues |
| In Australia and New Zealand a small vehicle with an | | | | Commercial Trucks in the US pay higher road use |
| open back is called a ute (short for "utility vehicle") | | | | taxes on a State level than other road vehicles, and |
| and the word "truck" is reserved for larger vehicles. | | | | are subject to extensive regulation. Here are a few |
| Steam trucks | | | | reasons Commercial Trucks pay higher road use |
| Trucks and cars have a common ancestor: the | | | | taxes: bigger and heavier than most other vehicles, |
| steam-powered "fardier" Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built | | | | and cause more wear and tear per hour on |
| in 1769. However, steam trucks were not common | | | | roadways; and trucks and their drivers are on the |
| until the mid-1800s. The roads of the time, built for | | | | road for more hours per day. UPS vehicles are called |
| horse and carriages, limited these vehicles to very | | | | 'package cars' in the US, because that exempted |
| short hauls, usually from a factory to the nearest | | | | them from certain tax-rates. Rules on use taxes |
| railway station. The first semi-trailer appeared in 1881, | | | | differ among jurisdictions. |
| towed by a De Dion steam tractor. Steam-powered | | | | Most jurisdictions have rules for commercial vehicles, |
| trucks were sold in France and the United States until | | | | regulating how many hours a driver may be on the |
| the eve of World War I, and the beginning of World | | | | clock, how much rest and sleep time is required (e.g., |
| War II in the United Kingdom. | | | | 11hrs on/10hrs off, and 34hrs off over every 7 |
| Internal combustion | | | | days), and many other rules. Violations are often |
| In 1895 Karl Benz designed and built the first truck in | | | | subject to significant penalties. Instruments to track |
| history using the internal combustion engine. Later | | | | each driver's hours must often be fitted. |
| that year some of Benz's trucks were modified to | | | | Trucks are subject to noise emission requirements |
| become the first buses by the Netphener, the first | | | | (emanating from the U.S. Noise Control Act) in order |
| bus company in history. Three years later, in 1898, | | | | to protect the public from noise health effects, since |
| another internal combustion engine truck was built by | | | | trucks contribute disproportionately to roadway noise |
| Gottlieb Daimler. Other companies, such as Peugeot | | | | due to elevated stacks and intense tire and |
| and Renault, also built their own versions. Trucks of | | | | aerodynamic noise characteristics. |
| the era mostly used two-cylinder engines and had a | | | | The Bridge Law deals with the relation between the |
| carrying capacity of 1500 to 2000 kg. In 1904, 700 | | | | gross weight of the truck and the amount of axles |
| heavy trucks were built in the United States, 1000 in | | | | and the spacing between axles wheel base the truck |
| 1907, 6000 in 1910, and 25000 in 1914. | | | | has. Each State determines the minimum and |
| After World War I, several advances were made: | | | | maximum permissible weight per axle. |
| pneumatic tires replaced the previously common full | | | | |