Hello and to coin a phrase from radio phone in shows, long time reader, and first time poster, the recent messages about people reading and not posing has finally made me decide to add something to and not just take from the forums. I have been in this industry for the best part of 30 years and have made many friends along the way and still enjoy being a part of it even after all those years, despite the many changes, some good some bad, that have taken place.
Over the last many months I have enjoyed reading this and the other truck sites on the Net but I have been thinking about this for a while now and feel there is a gap in the market, why is there no professional association or body for drivers? Something that can look out for the interests of drivers and set standards. Most professions and trades have such a body, Doctors, lawyers, accountants for instance; builders have the Guild of Master Craftsmen for example. When you employ a builder who is a member of that body you can expect a certain standard of work and have redress if you don’t get that and I know I would feel better about employing a tradesman who was a member of the Guild rather than a bloke out of the back of the paper. Surely such a body could go a long way to improving the terrible image the public have of drivers.
I know there are the unions but when was the last time they really cared about drivers? They are useful for when a driver may require legal assistance but to me they seem mostly about the leaders getting there Knighthood or MBE or such like.
There is the FTA and the RHA but they are for companies and as far as I am aware you cannot join the as a driver.
Then you have Trucknet and the like, but I do not see Trucknet fulfilling that role, I see this more as a meeting place for drivers, a reference resource and a place were information can be exchanged questions asked and answered, answered very quickly sometimes. A place were drivers can moan, whinge, have a laugh and exchange experiences.
So do we need a guild or association, an RHA for drivers, that can improve our image, be our spokesperson in the media set standards for professional behaviour and help to rid the industry of the cowboys? I don’t just mean the cowboy companies but the cowboy drivers whether they are owner drivers or employed drivers. There is a shortage of drivers at the moment and that is set to worsen with the advent of the WTD and I know we can expect to see some drivers arriving from foreign parts but I don’t believe it will be in enough numbers to solve the crisis but I do believe hat by ridding the industry of cowboy drivers it will make the true professional driver a more valuable commodity.
Well that’s enough for my first post and after that little lot I bet you wish I had stayed on the sidelines. 
Al.
LucyR is the Director who has responsibility for the content of all the Interactive forums nowadays… perhaps Alasdare should ask her!!! 
