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river• ANEW APPROACH
• TO TRAINING an Cater
Drivers' reactions ranged from alblank incredulity through the suspi"what's in it for us?" to one man with years' driving experience who con d that the driver had always carried much more responsibility than he had given credit for, when the first course xi "The professional driver" was ited to about 20 men employed in The :y Co. Ltd.'s transport fleet by EGW gement Ltd., of Welling, Kent, last lay.
.; first session of the two-day course place at the Ilford headquarters trainmtre of Plessey. Lectures by Mr. R.
Smith and Mr. B, Tenison of EGW xl the first three items on that corn3 syllabus for the course: "The Transwt and you", "The law and you" and law and your vehicle". Drivers present aken step by step through the relevant as of the Act and were given opportuto ask questions.
vas fairly obvious that although they aware that there has been activity in ment regarding transport, drivers were t completely without information as to Teets of the Act on them or their tnies.
en the requirements of operators' y) licensing were dealt with, the items g with black marks on an operator's !, led the group into discussions aboitt ading, drivers' hours and vehicle . Almost all the drivers thought that uious requirements of the Act were patible with each other. The Plessey U representative said that to ask for sed productivity, while introducing a r working day and compelling drivers wly with considerably more stringent :ments regarding overall and axle gs, the frustration of traffic delays, band areas and the wardens that go lem, was stupid.
aking of the axle loading problem, )eing informed of the penalties which imposed for contravention, he asked as even remotely possible for a driver within a half-ton margin of knowing 1 what weight was carried on an axle it resorting to individual weighing. If as the case, he went on, could anyone e the chaos that would result if every insisted on this operation being earn before taking a vehicle on the road.
e also asked if the lecturers had any tions as to what must be done when a carried a load comprising two heavy les. Was he supposed to have the load shifted to prevent overloading an axle when the first half was dropped; if so where—and what about the time involved?
Later, when speaking of the heavy goods vehicle driving licence, Mr. Tenison—who has taken a dummy-run test—explained the requirements of the test and how the examination will be applied. Questions were asked about to whom and when the test would apply. Again it was obvious the drivers knew little over and above the fact that there was to be a test in the near future.
Mr. Tenison warned drivers to have at least a clear.two hours' driving time in hand when reporting for an h.g.v. test. The test lasts two hours and it appears that an applicant may be failed straight away if he is not clear on his log sheet. Also highlighted was the need to carry out the exercise of changing from bottom gear to top, and vice versa, to the best advantage of the vehicle. In other words, drivers must be certain that the vehicle they are driving does (or does not, whichever applies) require a reverse split change in the gear sequence to ensure a regular decrease in ratio when changing up or increase when changing down.
When the cost Of the test was revealed it came as a shock to most of the men present. Some thought that the employer should bear this but others, though noticeably staggered, admitted that it was to their advantage to have the test and therefore they should pay.
Of the accompanying medical examination, the only point which proved to be controversial was that of colour blindness. At least one driver present admitted to being partially colour blind and asked if this would bar him from passing the test. The lecturer was not certain on this point.
Tomorrow (April 19) the second stage of the course takes place at Ilford, when the subjects covered will include the driver's part in vehicle maintenance and security, the driver's responsibility as the personal link between customer and company, and the career courses which driving operatives can study to bring them up to an executive level.
The final item in the curriculum is a competition between two teams during which points made during the lectures will be used as the basis for problems set.
Sitting in on the lectures, I found the attitude adopted by the speakers ideal for getting the drivers to participate. After the first hour, discussion became the order of the day rather than straightforward lecturing. Drivers were encouraged to participate rather than just listen and I, for one, felt that Plessey had done itself some good in having instigated the course in an attempt to fill an obviously widespread gap in driver education.