Why? No Support

[removed_at_users_request]

On this forum I have posted the letters for those members on here that signed my campaign to have a look at.
And asked for feed back and those that are going to send one to add their name.
The Thread is “Important” campaign letters to MP

I am suprised at the lack of support, considering the great support you have given me before.
Any Reason??

The Campaign can only work if enough drivers send the letter to their MP.
So far 5 out of 169 viewings

I am going out tonight to get a bit “tipsy,” but I am going to have to decide over the course of the next few days whether to cancel the campaign due to lack of commitment.
It will be a shame because a lot of hard work and time has gone into it, and some of you seem to think it could work.
I will personnelly e/mail those that have said they will send a letter if I have to cancel.
but I would look a right fool campaigning with so few supporting it.

[johnny]

apathy baz - the industry is rife with it.
i often write to my mp and regularly email his euro highness mr blurry, (i would still be sending emails to david blankett but i hear his aids read them to him at night to help him sleep).

i responded to the consultation document the dvla produced for the proposal of the fees for the digital smart card for drivers, when it was all over i had a reply from them - 32 other parties also responded (this must have included urtu, tgwu, rha,fta and perhaps one or 2 other interested bodies).
i know of 3 other people that responded - all of which are regular trucknet users and myself - which means that perhaps 22 other people responded.
9 of those that resonded did not wish to comment (no i don’t know either why they bothered) and 2 were happy with the dvla proposal that drivers pay the full cost of the cards.

now i can’t imagine any of the above associations having nothing to say on the issue and the 3 trucknet members + myself all had plenty to say so that means that 11 people responded to the consultation with positive input.

1000’s of drivers - 100’s of operators (including coach and bus) but a mere dozen or so respondants to something as important as keeping your money in your pocket - had those that did bother decided against it then i feel sure a smart card would be costing somewhere in the region of £65 instead of the proposed £38.

if you really want to start a campaign that is guaranteed to get support then thats the one to get on baz - asking drivers to hold onto £38 - now thats going to be a real breeze - you can’t get em to part with the price of a beer so asking them to keep £38 in their pocket should be right up their street, just think about it - you’re asking them to - erm - do nothing - don’t fill in any forms - don’t send off their drivers licence or passport - don’t buy a stamp - wow baz - how difficult can that be - asking tight wad lazy geezers to do nothing?

i think it’s a winner baz.

[removed_at_users_request]

At last Some feed back.
Thanks johnny

It suprises me because 149 signed up to the campaign, a lot from on here.
I have added the Digital Card cost to the agenda.
Sometimes I wonder why I bother, but I am stubborn and once we get some attention then anything will be possible.
If no one tries we are going to be walked over for the next 20 years.
All I am asking is for drivers to spend 30p on a stamp.

[rob_k]

Right, okay Barry, you’ve asked so yee shall receive, but be warned, you probably won’t like it .

Now I can’t speak for anyone else because I’m not them, but personally I can’t be arsed with it all. Harsh but true. The reason for this is because so many others have started campaign’s/whatever to get things changed and absolutely all has happened, so why is it going to be any different this time around? It isn’t as if you’re campaigning for anything new is it?

I’ll guarantee you now that MP’s - nor the public - couldn’t give a hoot that we haven’t got anywhere decent to get a wash at the end of the day, nor the fact that a bog standard meal at an MSA costs a tenner and tastes like it’s a week old and has been kept warm under a light for same length of time, and neither the fact that we’re driving 44 tonners around for £6/hr. As soon as your letter arrives on their door mat they’ll open it, read the first line, groan and then screw it up and chuck it in the nearest bin. To them you’re just another unheard of ‘nobody’, regardless of what lengths you’ve gone to to try and make this particular campaign ‘work’.

Before you or anyone else decides to start a ‘let’s sort this industry out’ campaign, the first thing you need to address and sort out is the camaraderie between the drivers in this country. It’s currently non-existant and has been for the past x number of years. Until we all stand together, work together, fight together and kill off this ‘I’m alright Fred’ attitude, absolutely NOTHING will change .

Although I would personally support Johnny’s idea regarding the fee for the smart cards and vote strongly against it (I’m a Yorkshireman after all and don’t pay for nowt unless there’s no way round it … ), I think that getting sufficient backing for that too will prove difficult as drivers just can’t be arsed and hope that someone else will sort it all out for them (me included if I’m honest, although there’s money at stake here so I would get off my arse and support it ).

The industry in this country as a whole has long gone past the point of no return, especially when you read stories of eastern European countries doing full artic loads from ■■■■■■■ to Poland for £600.

As harsh as it may be to take in, we had our chances long ago to do something about and we all sat about on our arses expecting someone else to sort it out so we’ve only got ourselves to blame when we’re no longer able to work in the industry because we can’t survive on £2/hr like the Poles (for example) are working for, and have to find employment elsewhere in another sector.

Furthermore as we’re talking about the state of the industry, whilst I don’t personally welcome the continual price hikes on fuel, I do welcome it upon the haulage industry and look forward to seeing overall haulier running costs increasing even more, believe it or not. ’ Why is this?', you are wondering, ‘has he gone off his head?’. No, not at all, but it will put all the -pot hauliers and 99% of owner drivers who are trying to make a living from running artics about in this country illegally (ie. the majority) at £1.20/mile (and below) out of business which is one of the things this country needs to start to bring around half-decent rates.

There are too many wagons for the amount of work available in this country and that results in the haulage companies thinking, ‘well I’ll do it for 60p per mile then at least it’s earning something rather than sitting unused in my yard earning nothing’.

[removed_at_users_request]

Rob k Thanks that is a brilliant rant.
And you are wrong I do like it.
It is only by being honest on forums, where we have a chance to build on that comradeship.
I have been trying for over 4 years to build a Unity.
I am stubborn. and have been driving over 27 years so have seen the decline and yes we are our own worst enemies.

One thing Rob K
Give me a chance
what have you got to lose

thanks again.

[rob_k]

Instead of getting everyone to send out letters, what about modern technology? I’m sure all the MP’s have email addresses ? Why not email them all ? Saves time and money .

[removed_at_users_request]

Rob K:
Why not email them all ? .

e/mail will not guarantee a reply, as it goes through secretaries.
MPs are obliged to answer a letter.
This I know as I have already been talking to my MP about this.

[ohterry]

Rob K:
Instead of getting everyone to send out letters, what about modern technology? I’m sure all the MP’s have email addresses ? Why not email them all ? Saves time and money .

heres a starter for ten

parliament.uk/directories/hciolists/alms.cfm

all the muppets //i mean mps you could wish for…

[ohterry]

send me a letter you want sent, and i will send it on to every one on the list on sunday… sure i,ll have a spare hour or two… nps baz…

infact if rob does half i,ll do the other half…

[rob_k]

ohterry:
send me a letter you want sent, and i will send it on to every one on the list on sunday… sure i,ll have a spare hour or two… nps baz…

infact if rob does half i,ll do the other half…

[ohterry]

wot else you doing on sunday? …

[rob_k]

ohterry:
wot else you doing on sunday? …

Important things like sleeping and drinking beer.

[kitkat]

ohterry:
wot else you doing on sunday? …

At one point it was building wall’s a little bit of community spirit

[tramper]

Rob K:
Furthermore as we’re talking about the state of the industry, whilst I don’t personally welcome the continual price hikes on fuel, I do welcome it upon the haulage industry and look forward to seeing overall haulier running costs increasing even more, believe it or not. ’ Why is this?', you are wondering, ‘has he gone off his head?’. No, not at all, but it will put all the -pot hauliers and 99% of owner drivers who are trying to make a living from running artics about in this country illegally (ie. the majority) at £1.20/mile (and below) out of business which is one of the things this country needs to start to bring around half-decent rates.

There are too many wagons for the amount of work available in this country and that results in the haulage companies thinking, ‘well I’ll do it for 60p per mile then at least it’s earning something rather than sitting unused in my yard earning nothing’.

The first time I read this I thought Rob K was talking out of his bottom as ussual. On the second reading I thought, how dare he cast aspersions on the legality of my business, my vehicles are meticulously maintained, due mostly to the fact that haulage has always been my chosen profession, and as an owner driver, albeit with 3 vehicles, I take a great interest in the condition of the things that ultimately pay my mortgage, unlike the suit wearing university graduates who work in the air conditioned office suites for whom Rob K holds a candle. I don’t see them in the yard on a sunday morning, fettling and polishing their fleets, making sure that they arte ready for the next weeks work.
I run around for less than £1.20 per mile, and I know that I’ll never be “Eddie Stobbart”, but I realised that at the begining, however I make a reasonable living doing what I enjoy. Ask the majority of the suits that are employed for the likes of Wincanton/Excel etc, which of their vehicles is due for a brake reline or even what model of crappy fleet spec motor they are looking at, and they won’t know.
On the third reading I spotted the final part of Rob K’s diatribe, and I honestly think he’s right. There are too many wagons on the roads of the UK for the amount of work availible, which is in turn reducing the rates for the job. Only he’s wrong about how putting the O/D’s out of business would repair the damage. By reintroducing Cabotage regulations, and restricting the activites of foreign hauliers working in the UK, the domestic haulier would be in a far better position, wheter he be a one man band or an “Eddie Stobart”. However I do conceed the fact that this utopian senario would impact detrementally on the UK international hauliers. You can’t win them all.

[rob_k]

Tramper, by ‘illegally’ I was actually referring to not keeping within the drivers hours regulations rather than running unroadworthy equipment. It is no secret to those of us within the industry and by talking with your fellow owner-driving colleagues that the majority run bent as a nine bob note in order to make a profit. If you don’t agree with that statement then I would suggest talking to more owner-drivers .

I am in no way applying that you/your company run bent and apologise if I came across that way.

[tramper]

Rob, I have just sacked a driver who had been with me for nearly a year for not operating within the hours regs. I have never sacked anyone for working too hard before, but you just can’t do it. A real shame as he was, in every other respect a great driver. Speaking to O/D’s it would seem to be “cool” to claim to be running bent. I always take it with more than a pinch of salt as its not only extemely difficult to do without getting caught, the penatlies are so servere, that only the stupid actually do it, and our business can well do without people like that.

[wayne]

If 55% of drivers in this country would join together to fight a worthy cause then mabe some thing would change.

But it aint going to happen. WHY.

Because the PDA don’t agree with Trucknet who don’t agree with the PDA who don’t agree with Truckers world who don’t agree with online Truckers who don’t agree with the PDA blaa blaa blaa…

Four web sites can not agree to unite to try and better things, so what hope do you stand in getting xxxxxxxxxx amount of drivers to write a letter to some MP who could not give a toss…

[wheel_nut]

And I suppose if we are being honest, then there are some, well myself who wonder what Bazman is after. Does he want to be a politician? I remember the first reports of Truckersmoan! that killed it for me, as Rob K mentions, another unheard of nobody with a winge!

I was an owner driver for many years, and the only way to make a living was to run bent, miss a months tax, use red diesel and cut costs in any way possible. The reason for this is it all too easy to buy a truck and become an owner driver or company owner. there are far too many trucks on the road and far too many large companies running them, dictating low rates.

The best way to hit these hauliers and distribution companies would be to stop your wife shopping at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and the like. Driver Agencies should be outlawed, and a fair system of operator licensing should be reintroduced. Im talking about A, B & C licences.

Another rant of mine is the blackball system of giving carte blanche powers to unelected traffic commisiioners.

This campaign of Barries will run and run. It will still be running in another 30 years. The biggest enemy drivers have to worry about is other drivers!

[rob_k]

Wheel Nut:
And I suppose if we are being honest, then there are some, well myself who wonder what Bazman is after. Does he want to be a politician? I remember the first reports of Truckersmoan! that killed it for me, as Rob K mentions, another unheard of nobody with a winge!

I was an owner driver for many years, and the only way to make a living was to run bent, miss a months tax, use red diesel and cut costs in any way possible. The reason for this is it all too easy to buy a truck and become an owner driver or company owner. there are far too many trucks on the road and far too many large companies running them, dictating low rates.

The best way to hit these hauliers and distribution companies would be to stop your wife shopping at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and the like. Driver Agencies should be outlawed, and a fair system of operator licensing should be reintroduced. Im talking about A, B & C licences.

Another rant of mine is the blackball system of giving carte blanche powers to unelected traffic commisiioners.

This campaign of Barries will run and run. It will still be running in another 30 years. The biggest enemy drivers have to worry about is other drivers!

Hear hear. That’s the bottom line when you get down to it.

[eddie_snax]

Although i agree with both of you {rob and wheel nut} on the hole, the fact of getting our spouses to change their shopping habits would have no effect, except push up our own cost of living, reason there aint enough of us in one area. There is i beleave less than 500000 LGV’s on the road, and this is every thing larger than 3.5tonsgvw, and as we as drivers are spread through the country we make a very small voice in either local or national retailing terms, or from Bazmans angle constituency terms. This fact alone and above all else will allways make it incredibly hard for our voice to be heard, and that is if we were able to be in agreement on the issues and their solutions, which we’re not.
I aplaud Bazmans commitment to his cause,but i for one cant agree with all his aims, and there for womt be adding my voice to his campaign, not through apathy, but a choice freely excercised to get on with i’m alright jack,
And as for writing to or emailing your MP, well i emailed prospective candidates at the last election, you get only computor generated replies, and as for apathy, the only candidate to turn up on my doorstep, turned up during the week, and was told that he would be very welcome on the weekend when i’am home, by Mrs Snax, but we never saw him again. so if your mp’s cant be arsed to turn up when they want something from you , what hope is there of them listening once elected.
Bazman if you only have a mandate of 5 or even 100, were do you think that legitimises your aims, from the point of veiw that your expecting to be heard as a representative of LGV drivers as a whole.
Rob’s surjection to reintroduce cabotage rules as they stood, is the most positive action that could be taken to rescue our industry, along with the compulsary holding of a UK lgv licence as a requirment to drive a UK registrered LGV. But like the scrapping of the WTO, it aint going to happen, why big business has far more influence than the body politic,
These are a few of my veiws, i think i’ll start a campaign, maybe a petition, after all they’re the right veiws so everyone will follow me, hail the leader