SELF IMPROVEMENT
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• It's not often that the European Community and the Freight Transport Association are seen marching to the same tune, but when it comes to raising standards in the road transport industry at least they seem to be on the same parade ground.
FTA director-general Garry Turvey recently made a strong plea for more self-policing in the road transport industry (a plea, incidentally, not supported by the Road Haulage Association which wants strong government action to make possible" . . . the eviction from the industry of those who blatantly and deliberately flout the law . . . ").
Now the European parliament wants to ban the payment of bonuses based on distance or tonnage targets as a way of cutting some of the loading and speeding excesses which have so harmed the industry's reputation and, arguably, whittled away at safety standards. This is far from irrelevent even in Britain where, for instance, our own salaries and wages survey in this issue (pages 42-44) shows that a significant portion of the average driver's wage comes from bonuses.
Raising standards from within is something which should be taken seriously by the industry. Imposition from without will never work without co-operation from within: as has been well proven before, the only good law is one that those governed by it believe in.
Attempts to increase policing from within, and to cut down on the temptations and incentives to offend, must be supported — no matter what inconvenience such moves might cause to operators and their drivers. It is only through being seen to be improving standards that the road transport industry will ever win the public acceptance which it has for so long craved. Some timely beating of the standards drum might help the ragged ranks of transport to actually get into line and impress the public.