What would you like to see in a post-EU UK?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Now the EU referendum is over, and the UK has voted to leave, Truck & Driver is looking to run a feature asking: “what would - as drivers - you like to see happen in terms of changes to legislation for truck drivers?”

So, If you were the Secretary of State for Transport, with a blank sheet of paper and no input or rules from Brussels, what changes would you make to make truck driving a better profession in the UK?

I’m interested in the things you would like to see change, not necessarily what you think will change!

It can be your views on the CPC, drivers’ hours, working hours, drivers’ facilities, vehicle regulations (weights, lengths etc), company qualifications, road charging, emissions, taxation, cabotage, etc.

Please try and keep it serious and sensible (I don’t mind a bit of humour, but no calls to insist every truck has a Gardner 180!), and can i say any posts may be used in the feature and published in T&D. Ideally i’d like yo to tell me you name and where you drive from - and on what work, but this is not a necessity.

I’m be keen to hear the views of both continental drivers and those who never leave the UK.

Pip

2

A 4.2m height limit, maximum 13 hr days, contracts to incorporate ot after 8 hrs, no vehicles over 18 ton in city centres without a permit (except construction) and no more tolls on motorways ie Dartford, M6, Severn, Humber etc. Probably more but that’s a start

3

As an ex driver one of the reasons I came off the road was the lack of and generally poor state of facilities.
Drivers hours regs need to be made far simpler.

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4

More money.

Airbags as standard fitment to all HGVs

Video recording compulsory.

Designated properly designed parking areas only for HGVs on major routes as opposed to the short, narrow lay by’s that we have to struggle in and out of every day.

12 hour day max.

Simplification of drivers hours. Compensation taken 3 weeks later is utterly pointless etc.

A system whereby potential employers can view drivers actual (insurance claim based) driving accident records.

Dcpc either abolished OR made into pass/fail.

5

No zero hours contracts, and agency staff/cover taxed to make it a last resort/less appealing for employers!

Vehicle defect emphasis taken off the driver and placed more on employer/licence holder, as that way they may stop trying to mug drives off by just moving defected gear onto another driver, when it get’s defected by the first. It should also motivate the employers to think more about whether to employ monkeys who will be a liability to them and cost them money, or better staff that don’t leave them exposed to these costs.

Training which is actually worth something…

  • Core modules with tests, both practical and written.
  • Cut down refresher training for experienced hands.
  • Additional qualifying modules that allows experienced drivers to up-skill/expand, and thus be of greater value to employers.

Reduction in daily hours, specifically to multi-drop work where driving limits are not a factor/consideration.

Facilities and parking RADICALLY improved.

And Juddian forced to drive an arsetronic MAN until retirement! :smiley:

6

You truly are EVIL Evil :smiling_imp: :smiling_imp:
And for your info i’m going to ask for another MAN when mine goes back next year, no way they’re going to get me a manual cos no bugger else will want to use it on nights, even out of those who could without ripping the clutch out.
No doubt i’ll actually receive a bloody Daf that wouldn’t pull you out of bed, complete with arsetronic :unamused:

What would i like to see? well for one thing us actually out of the EU, and that’s very unlikely unless we take to the streets and/or call a national strike till we do.

Drivers insurance record automatically digitally linked to their vocational licence, might go some way to weeding out those who leave a trail of destruction in their wake whilst flitting from job to job and get all of us a bad name by driving like ■■■■ on the road.

Tax breaks put in place to encourage the use of far more unaccompanied trailer movements to/from the continent like what we used to do, that would big a big shot in the arm to the UK haulage.

Good call on 13 hour day max, used to be 12.5 hours max till we harmonised with europe around 1979.

7

Improved LGV parking facilities, wider / safer laybys.

A ‘burst’ mode on trucks where the truck can do 60mph for 30 seconds but takes 5 minutes to reset so no pressing it all the time.

Banning the wearing of a hi viz vest whilst driving on the motorways. Unless emergency services or wombles.

DCPC to include practical driving shenanigans and at least one module prepared by the DVSA highlighting what issues they want worked on.
Banning being able to do the same module 5 times.

Banning tippers :wink:

A minimum standard of attractiveness for drivers.

Banning blokes driving fiat 500s in the summer.

8

Scrap the WTD.
Scrap the DCPC.
And if there’s a spare minute or two, file FORS under “R” in the appropriate recepticle.

9

IQ tests for load bay workers
All German luxury cars to have indicators fitted and used

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Maximum 13 hour shift time, which could include up to 12 hours driving time, and 1 hours worth of qualifying break. No compensations, no reductions. Just keep it nice and simple. Weekly rest to be either 48 hours or 24 hours minimum, again with no compensation. Infringements that are hours related caught at a roadside check will result in the driving losing his topline wages for the day, rather than a fixed amount.

A GP, Dentist, Pharmacy to be installed 24 hours at all MSA’s and truckstops, so drivers can get a medical, check up, or drugs, during their rest periods/breaks, rather than trying to book a day off, or plan sickness ahead of time, to get these necessary tasks done.

Rearward facing cameras to be mandatory on all new vehicles, and on at all times.

Calibrated axle weighers to be mandatory on all new vehicles.

A tyre tread depth gauge, an on board inflator hose and gauge, and wheel nut indicators to be standard equipment in all trucks over 3.5t

CPC to be pass/fail, 1 module taken each year, none of this doing 5 days in one week rubbish, and you must not take the same module in consecutive years.

City Limits are to be set, and deliveries inside those limits are done by rigid vehicles only 18t MGW, with restrictions on overall length 8m. Anything else is permit movements only, for reasons of oversize/weight indivisible.

Weight restrictions are to be used solely to protect weak structures, not the publics sensibilities.

Night time bans to be lifted, so city limit work can be undertaken not at rush hour periods.

Sat Navs to be limited to 6"x4" screen size, mounted wherever the hell you feel suits you best.

Tachographs to be made under license so they are all exactly the same in every vehicle. Older vehicles to have their head units swapped to standardised units at the 2 year inspection.

Drivers who strike bridges are to lose their license for one year minimum.

Drivers who lose their load are lose their license for one year minimum.

DVSA load security to be checked by the driver performing an emergency stop at 30mph minimum speed. If the load stays on the bed it’s deemed safe. If it comes off, driver is to be shot in the leg for first offence, head for second offence. If the driver is killed performing the manoeuvre, family is to be informed their loved one was killed by Darwinism.

Any driver that tells you he “would have been on The Herald, were it not for…” to be retired with immediate effect.

Any truck driver named Freddie Smith, to be given a fabulously good looking co pilot, and a 100% raise each year. (Co Pilot to be changed on a regular basis too.) :laughing:

Freddie Smith
3 Counties and London.

11

Dipper_Dave:
Improved LGV parking facilities, wider / safer laybys.

A ‘burst’ mode on trucks where the truck can do 60mph for 30 seconds but takes 5 minutes to reset so no pressing it all the time.

Banning the wearing of a hi viz vest whilst driving on the motorways. Unless emergency services or wombles.

DCPC to include practical driving shenanigans and at least one module prepared by the DVSA highlighting what issues they want worked on.
Banning being able to do the same module 5 times.

Banning tippers :wink:

A minimum standard of attractiveness for drivers.

Banning blokes driving fiat 500s in the summer.

Why would you want to “burst” up to 60mph?. If we are out the EU forget 56, the uk speed limit for trucks is 60mph, let the trucks do 60mph. Are speed limiters a European law?, get them off too then.

12

Boris Island get built, with a new British version of the Pentegon - where we can have the “British FBI” that Boris dreamed of… He couldn’t really be PM to get this done - but now? - What for Boris? Home Secretary?

Ten years from now… I can imagine myself driving for a firm like Saints based a stone’s throw from where I live, carting random loads to random destinations all over the UK…

I can also see less foreign trucks, and local driver labour shortages as well.

Things can only get better! :slight_smile:

13

Just reset the clock back to as it would have been if Shore and Powell had won out in 1975.IE as though Heath’s Federalist nightmare never happened. :bulb: :wink:

While in the real world all the signs are that we are going nowhere we’re locked in. :frowning: Bearing in mind if Cameron says he is going to let the vote stand he means the opposite.

14

better parking and facilities, and stopping zero hours contracts and agency exploitation are good suggestions,

BUT these have nothing to do with the EU. i dont understand why anyone would think these are things that are now more likely to be tackled by our government

15

chrisdalott:
better parking and facilities, and stopping zero hours contracts and agency exploitation are good suggestions,

BUT these have nothing to do with the EU. i dont understand why anyone would think these are things that are now more likely to be tackled by our government

But we wouldn’t be able to blame the state of these crapholes on the foreign drivers, and have to accept a lot of our UK brethren are responsible… :wink:

16

A change in legislation that reduces the maximum daily duty time from 15 hours to 13 hours, and a change to the daily rest in which it can only be reduced to 9 hours if you’re specifically sleeping in the cab. This means for those who are home every night they know they will have at least 11 hours off between shifts.

17

A complete overhaul of the political system. No more career politicians. Government as a type of civil service. No more ideological parties. Government by the people, for the people.

Oh hang on… bugger. :cry:

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the nodding donkey:
A complete overhaul of the political system. No more career politicians. Government as a type of civil service. No more ideological parties. Government by the people, for the people.

Oh hang on… bugger. :cry:

yes they already are supposed to work for us and not themselves or big corporations ,lobbyists ect ect , but most in the past 20- yrs have not done this, we have some 20yrs of corruption from all of them to unravel , trust for them flew out of the window a very long time ago, and the only one out of them all up to now who get any degree of trust is farage , trust is something earned remember that

On another note i would like to see a complete rework of the voting system in this country and possibly a constitution system in place, so any major decisions we get control of yes or no to be basic , i would also like to see some of their expenses claims scrutinised independently results in the public domain asap , we need to keep them in check they work for us , it was they who advertised that too

Drop the WTD and POA and DCPC for full licence holders drivers hours the 45 mins break should be more flexible again, split rest binned , and the weekly rest changed so that those who do international work aren’t stranded for 45 + hours in the truck ( and the enforcement of this drivers sleeping in trucks isn’t reliable) picking on the driver isn’t the solution

19

Leave the drivers hours regs alone, well could drop the 90hours a fortnight thing.

Issue testicles to all drivers who want to work less hours. ■■■ me if I want to work less than 15 I work less than 15. :wink:

20

Maximum 12 hour shift time to be followed by no less than 12 hours off. Failing that I’d like to see reduced breaks banned when back at the depot. I do appreciate that that would be difficult to police however.

Also, as we’re moving away from Europe I think it would be nice to embrace at least one piece of European habits, namely no HGV movements between noon Saturday and midnight Sunday (with obviously) certain exceptions.