In brief
- Date in 2026: 25 October (Sunday).
- Date rule: The date varies. Presidential Decree No. 452/93 establishes the holiday as falling on the last Sunday in October.
- Why do other dates appear online? The dates 26 and 31 October that appear in search results are the dates of the same holiday in other years.
- Origin: This Ukrainian public holiday was established by a national decree and has no connection whatsoever to the Russian ‘Motorist’s Day’.
- Status: This is a professional holiday, so it is not included in the list of public holidays and non-working days set out in Article 73 of the Labour Code.
- Below is a table of dates up to 2028, a list of those being congratulated, as well as ready-made greeting templates: official, in verse, short and humorous.
When is Motorist and Road Worker’s Day in 2026?
In 2026, the holiday falls on 25 October (Sunday).
Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 452/93 of 13 October 1993 ‘On Motorist and Road Worker Day’ stipulates:
‘To establish in Ukraine a professional holiday for workers in the road transport and road maintenance sectors — Motorist and Road Worker Day, to be celebrated annually on the last Sunday in October’.
The decree does not specify a fixed date, so the date is determined each year by the day of the week. In 2026, 31 October falls on a Saturday, so the last Sunday of the month is 25 October.
| Year | Date of the holiday | Day of the week |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 26 October | Sunday |
| 2026 | 25 October | Sunday |
| 2027 | 31 October | Sunday |
| 2028 | 29 October | Sunday |
The dates for 2025–2028 have been calculated in accordance with the decree.
Why there are different dates circulating online
When searching for ‘Motorist’s Day’, search engines may display different dates. For the most part, this is not an error, but rather the dates of the same holiday in other years:
26 October — the date for 2025 (the last Sunday in October fell on the 26th, and results with this date remain in the search results).
31 October — the date corresponding to 2021 and 2027.
January dates — some calendar websites mention ‘International Motorist and Car Day’ in January, but this has no connection to the Ukrainian professional holiday.
How to check the date yourself. Open the calendar for the relevant year and find the last Sunday in October. If 31 October is a Sunday, the holiday is celebrated on the 31st. If 31 October falls on a Saturday or another day of the week, the holiday is observed on the preceding Sunday.
The Ukrainian and Russian holidays: why they are often confused
The top result in a search for ‘Motorist’s Day’ is often the Wikipedia article on the Russian holiday. The confusion arises because the calendar rule is the same in both countries (the last Sunday in October). However, these are different holidays, established by the legislation of their respective states.
Ukrainian Motorist and Road Worker’s Day is established by Presidential Decree No. 452/93 of 13 October 1993 (as amended by Decree No. 1173/97 of 22 October 1997). It applies to employees of the road transport and road maintenance sectors in Ukraine. No Russian legal acts are in force within the Ukrainian legal framework; therefore, it is incorrect to congratulate Ukrainian professionals according to the Russian calendar.
What this means in practice
When drafting an official order, a greeting from a company or a message to the community, use the exact name from the decree — Motorist and Road Worker’s Day — and refer to its number. The name ‘Motorist’s Day’ without the second part refers to an outdated version of the decree (prior to 1997) or is a simplified colloquial variant.
History: the 1993 decree and the new name from 1997
13 October 1993: Decree No. 452/93 established a public holiday called ‘Motorist’s Day’. It applied only to road transport workers.
22 October 1997: Decree No. 1173/97 extended the holiday to include road maintenance workers, and the name was changed to ‘Motorist and Road Worker’s Day’.
No further changes were made to this public holiday after 1997. The 2023 reform of calendar dates did not affect this decree either.
Who is congratulated on Motorist and Road Worker Day
The holiday applies to a wider range of professionals than just drivers:
Road transport workers: drivers of cars, lorries and coaches, long-distance lorry drivers, mechanics, car mechanics, dispatchers, logistics specialists and engineers at road transport companies.
Road maintenance workers: specialists who build, repair and maintain roads (operators of road machinery, foremen, road engineers, winter maintenance staff).
According to the Classification of Occupations DK 003:2010 (Order of the State Consumer Standards Service No. 327 of 28 July 2010), drivers belong to group 8322 ‘Motor vehicle drivers and motor vehicle maintenance workers’. The official job title within this group is ‘Motor vehicle driver’.
Is Motorist’s Day a public holiday?
No. It is a professional holiday, not a public holiday or a non-working day (Article 73 of the Labour Code of Ukraine).
Furthermore, whilst martial law is in force, the provisions of Article 73 of the Labour Code do not apply in accordance with Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine No. 2136-IX of 15 March 2022 ‘On the Organisation of Labour Relations under Martial Law’.
A brief guide for HR professionals
There are no grounds for reducing the working day on the eve of a public holiday (Article 53 of the Labour Code) or for paying double the normal rate as on a public holiday (Article 107 of the Labour Code) .
As 25 October 2026 falls on a Sunday, this is a normal day off for employees on a five-day working week.
If an employee is called in to work on their day off, the work is compensated in accordance with Article 72 of the Labour Code (by granting another day off or paying double the normal rate).
If, however, Sunday is a working day according to the employee’s shift rota, the work is paid in the usual manner without additional compensation.
Congratulations on Motorist and Road Worker Day
The texts below can be used as they are or with the recipient’s name changed.
Official messages — from management and the community
Dear road transport and road maintenance workers! I congratulate you on your professional holiday. Your work is measured not only by the hours spent behind the wheel, but also by the cargo delivered and the routes maintained. Thank you for your patience, responsibility and precision.
We congratulate the company’s staff on Motorist and Road Worker Day! Every journey completed on time and every kilometre of high-quality road repairs is the result of your daily efforts. We wish you reliable vehicles, safe journeys and stress-free shifts.
Dear drivers, mechanics, dispatchers and road workers! You keep the transport system running, on which the economy, emergency transport and supplies depend. Happy holiday! May every journey be safe and end with a successful return home.
I congratulate you on Motorist and Road Worker Day. The road tests your character every day: through the weather, your schedule, and other people’s mistakes on the road. You pass this test. Wishing you good health and a reliable shoulder to lean on.
On behalf of the community, we extend our warmest congratulations to everyone who gets behind the wheel or sets out to repair the road surface every day. Your work ensures reliable connections between towns, villages and hospitals. We wish you good health, well-maintained vehicles and smooth journeys!
Poetic greetings
May the road stretch out smooth,
And the dawn smell of freshness.
May every journey bring you safely back
To your loved ones’ windows and your home.
A firm hand holds the steering wheel,
The engine sings as it should.
May the journey be long
And the return unhindered!
Road worker, your tracks are unseen,
Yet cities travel along them every day.
May this land be welcoming,
And may your work be easy and rewarding!
Happy Road Workers’ Day, friend behind the wheel!
May fatigue pass you by,
And may every road, however winding,
Lead to a cosy home.
Short messages — via messenger
Dad, happy holiday! Thank you for every journey you’ve taken us home safe and sound.
My love, happy Driver’s Day! Come back from your flights on time — that’s the most important thing.
Happy Motorist’s Day! May your journey be smooth, your engine reliable, and your return home on schedule.
Happy Motorist’s Day! May every journey be easier and shorter than it seemed at the start.
May you have a green wave, a quiet engine and not a single stone hitting your windscreen! Happy holiday!
Happy holiday, road worker! May the quality of the tarmac you lay serve for years to come.
Happy professional holiday! Wishing you journeys without any surprises and cosy evenings with your family.
Humorous
Happy professional holiday! I hope your sat-nav stays silent simply because you know the way perfectly well without it!
Happy Motorist’s Day! May the trickiest manoeuvre this year be parking outside your house.
Congratulations! Here’s hoping the passenger next to you always agrees with the route you’ve chosen!
Happy Professional Holiday! May the coffee at the petrol station always be hot, and the queue as short as possible!
Jobs as a driver and road worker on Injobe
Search for driver and road worker vacancies on Injobe under the section ‘Transport, Logistics’. A full list of open positions on the site can be found on the all vacancies page.
