Work together to tackle high premiums for young drivers
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Won._ _adra ROAD TRANSPORT operators and insurance companies have been challenged by the senior traffic commissioner (TC) to form a working group to tackle the high cost of insurance premiums for young LGV drivers.
Hosting a debate at a Driving Forum organised by recruitment agency Search Consultancy in Warrington last week, Beverley Bell heard how high insurance rates for drivers under 25 was preventing operators from taking on younger drivers.
A key discussion at the forum was how industry could address the predicted LGV driver shortage.
"We need to get drivers in at a young age, otherwise they've already gone off and developed alternative career paths," said one operator.
John Batty, director of C&C Insurance Brokers, told delegates that the industry needed to take ownership of the situation.
"The underwriters are telling us that they need better risk management from operators. There needs to be proper assessment of young drivers from day one. The use of incab cameras and telematics can play a part," said Batty.
But one operator pointed out that the majority of large logistics firms have had risk management programmes in place for some time and evolved them over the years, but still nothing has been reflected in insurance premiums.
"We need to know from the underwriters specifically what they want us to do to enable premiums to come down," he said.
Lindsay Kerins, divisional manager at Search, said she'd spoken to an insurer who said if an 0-licence holder can show "a robust system for training and inducting drivers — both agency and non-agency — they would consider not touching the premium on your policy': Bell gave an example of an operator that had implemented an occupational road risk policy for the first time and thus saved around Bm annually because the insurers could "clearly see what the company was doing to reduce its risk': "I see no reason why the industry and insurers can't form a working group to look at developing an occupational road risk policy that deals specifically with 21to 25-yearold drivers," said Bell. "It could become a best-practice document that is recognised by insurers so that any operator incorporating this policy would get reduced premiums."
Several operators also felt the cost of obtaining a C+E licence was putting young people off from becoming a truck driver, while the image of the industry was another barrier to entry.
"We need to bring down the base cost of obtaining that licence," said one delegate, while another felt targeting 11 to 14 year olds was critical to attracting new blood.
• The Freight Transport Association is developing an accreditation scheme for driver recruitment agencies, due to be launched in April.
OPENING THE DOORS TO THE NEXT GENERATION Pallet network Pall-Ex played its part in showcasing a career in logistics last week (20 February), when it welcomed school children from north-west Leicestershire to its hub in Ellistown.
Teams from five schools were invited to present their ideas for smarter, greener travel to a panel of Dragons, inspired by Pall-Ex creator Hilary Devey's stint on the BBC show Dragons' Den.
The teams of two from each school were also given a tour of the hub and a talk from Pall-Ex MD Adrian Russell, opening the children's eyes to the world of haulage.
The event was tied in with Leicestershire County Council's Star Travel Scheme. The children were set the task of finding an alternative to the car school run to reduce traffic volume (something that dovetails neatly with pallet networks' focus on efficiency).
"As a business, Pall-Ex is designed to reduce the number of lorries on the road and lessen the impact on the environment, so our goals are quite similar," said Devey.
Loughborough Church of England Primary School's Thomas Wilkinson and Avi Manon (both 11 years old, pictured front right) were the ultimate winners, securing a grant of £500 from the council to implement their concept based around a fitness club, and a Kindle each.
The other schools that took part in the competition were Our Lady's Convent, Boothwood Primary, Rendell Primary [unable to attend on the day] and Saint Winefride's Catholic Primary.