muckles:
David H:
muckles:
David H:
Your links, good though they are, didn’t really answer my question, they just confirm what we all know, that young people aren’t interested as aren’t many other people, in fact you yourself admit it’s difficult to pin down the reason. So to say it’s because of telematics and surveillance is purely an opinion and not based on research conducted by you or anybody else, if the links you posted are anything to go by.
The transport industry has its head stuck up its arse, beleiving that gimmicks and publicity stunts will attract the new drivers, while ignoring the problems of driver retention. If it’s actually worked on solving its driver retention problem, it might find the solution also makes the industry more attractive to new entrants.
When I wrote the article for Transport Operator there were two things going on. Firstly, the cost of installing telematics to fleets was cheap enough to convince owners they would save money by installing them. Secondly, the transport industry was and continues to fail to attract a significant number of school leavers and young people under 25.
The FTA or RHA or both stated that the industry image of long hours, low pay and poor terms and conditions put young people off. Long hours, low pay and poor terms and conditions are basically the job as older more experienced drivers know it to be. The industry knows that driving for a living isn’t attractive, so do todays drivers and tomorrows potential drivers.
Telematics is just one, as I’ve stated before, just one reason why young people don’t want to drive. I stand by it because there’s no absolute single reason why young people don’t want to drive, but many reasons and combinations of reasons etc. Todays telematics could develop into an unmanageable data crunching farce that saves nothing or into an overbearing big brother for all we know. Considering the inability of the driving workforce to unify and prevent anything that’s thrown at them let alone telematics, the future looks bleak in this area. Its just as hard to prove telematics actively encourages young drivers. There is enough psychological research which points to any invasion of privacy, in or out of a truck is off putting. Training a camera on someone for hours on end is not just off putting but enough to prevent people from wanting to participate in anything that requires such close surveillance.
As for research, there is no comprehensive research being conducted on the driver shortage or young people not wanting to take up driving roles except small polls or reports based on employment trends etc. None of the universities with a transport department are conducting any research either. Research on this scale would require funding and no-one is putting up any money. The reason why drivers have declined is almost a history project.
The reason why modern day young people don’t want to drive is obvious to anyone who isn’t somehow still attached to a long-lost era when the job was better than it is today. Older drivers have something in the past to compare today with. To joe Average a driving job carries a stigma. Furthermore, to Joe Average it’s unlikely to improve whereas development in most other occupations and vocations has improved. If the transport industry were to conduct some large comprehensive study on young people and driving and publish the results, it would only worsen the industry’s existing case.
Strangely enough though, if it wasn’t for the current driver shortage the transport industry is doing pretty well on the whole. The driver shortage is a real live issue but even under today’s conditions the terms of service that transport and logistics companies provide for their customers with, it isn’t bad enough for their customers to lose money due to a few lost shifts, extra agency drivers, increased damage, turnover or operational screw ups like incorrect trailer being sent etc.
However, this may alter after September 2019 when the next DCPC deadline expires. But its not the number of drivers that drop out of the industry so much as the area where they leave. Transport has moved from the traditional employment areas of the countryside to suburban metropolitan areas. The transport industry competes for jobs with all manner of other industries. The transport industry has no idea of the projected driver shortfall after September 2019 or how the industry intends to make up the shortfall.
There is another challenge to driver loss and retention. There are areas that have fallen out of favour with the transport industry that contain drivers with current valid licences. These drivers don’t find it cost and time effective to travel to new places for shift work. For the sake of a travel allowance etc they may be tempted. This sort of compensation is starting to be offered by some transport companies. In other words, transport companies offering shift work are beginning to exhaust the supply of drivers within cost effective car driving distance of the depot. For a lot of drivers and especially young drivers, tramping is viewed as a moth eaten no go area.
Some transport companies make little or no attempt to retain drivers because currently enough drivers do stay that need no incentive, special treatment or any form of attention. They adopt a throwing glitter at glue policy that says ‘if you don’t like it lump it because we only want drivers that don’t care how they’re treated or why because this saves us valuable time and money.’
Which ever way you look at it the road transport industry is incapable of increasing standards such as wages, driver welfare and industry status across the board. Often the industry doesn’t have any control over the factors that contribute to its poor image. Therefore hoping that the industry will improve things is expecting the industry to shovel smoke. What it would take for young people to U-turn about driving a truck for a living would entail them being left alone to perform a make-over of the current industry, which would no doubt produce something that older drivers wouldn’t want to work in or recognise.