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6 Trying to market safety devices in the haulage industry
can be frustrating at the best of times—and this is far from the best of times. In fact things are getting worse. I feel this is because of the appalling way hauliers are treated by the Government and some of the agencies that police the industry. Screwing hauliers down with ridiculous taxes on diesel and ever-increasing legislation does little to encourage them to purchase additional equipment of any kind, let alone safety products. I'm frequently filled
with dismay when some long-term, hard-nosed hauliers say "It's time to call it a day", and others are flagging out in order to make a respectable profit. When will the Government admit that hauliers are the backbone of this country—or that they were, until now°
'±! I don't believe it's too late, but if we lose any more industry, ,2 others like us inevitably follow. At the rate hauliers are going to the Zi wall, we could end up as a third-world country dependent on the E rest of Europe.
Even Commercial Motor might not survive—short of printing in French, German and Spanish!
It's not only long-time hauliers who are giving up. One ex-HGV
driver explained that he earns more money driving a delivery van for a food company without having to worry about tachographs or secure loads, and he's no longer required to act as an unqualified engineer by filling out nil-defect reports. Another now drives a taxi: often up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week. Surely that has to be more dangerous than exceeding the tacho rules by a few minutes?
There are also some drivers who have remained loyal to their trade, whatevers been thrown at them. One instance that comes to mind is a driver who recently purchased some safety devices personally, because his boss said he couldn't afford to spend money on extras.
Running trucks for some has become a nightmare and, having come from a haulage background, I wonder where the industry is heading.
My parents always had good food on the table, afforded their taxes and maintained their vehicles meticulously because diesel was priced correctly and the rates were respectable. They had to be, or the work was rejected.
Nowadays many smaller operators are struggling, and public ignorance doesn't help. A majority of the public believe truck VED is the same as a private car, and only see trucks as a nuisance. The village where I grew up had four operators, the largest with some 60 vehicles. Today there is only one (restricted). New houses have replaced two of the operating centres, and the other stands redundant.
Perhaps the French have the answer. Their radical approach to
unreasonable rules and taxes nearly always obtains the results that their hauliers can afford to run with. In my opinion only government relaxation of taxes or a recommended fair rate per mile will stop British hauliers flagging out.
So, come on New Labour, get your act together and stop kicking the haulage industry while it's down. Far too many of us are dependant on the survival of the British haulier. If it's only revenue that the Government is desperate for, why not look at the thousands of caravans that clog up our roads every summer? Be fair and treat the necessities of life with less taxation.