Odda in Norway’s Hardangerfjord region is famous for its picturesque location and, more recently, as the base of recovery operator Thord Paulsen from the Ice Road Rescue television show. Here, Paul O’Callaghan met Christian Saltvedt, a 22-year-old truck driver from Haugesund on the west coast.

Christian followed in his father’s footsteps in becoming a driver and explains that truck driving is actively encouraged as a career in Norwegian schools, where training schemes and grants are made available to those actively seeking a future in the transport industry. Having left school, he started with Boviks Transport, which operates a fleet of 18 Volvos and Scanias pulling powder tankers. For the past three years, he has transported bulk products all over Norway and into Sweden using a Volvo FH540 with a rear-lifting axle, hub reduction on the drive axle and a hydraulic-powered front-steer axle for increased traction during the harsh Norwegian winter.

The aspects he enjoys most about his chosen profession are making new friends within the trucking community. His least favourite is the numerous caravans clogging the narrow Norwegian roads in summer.