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It's no good running empty
Page 66
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International owner-driver Peter Orr kicks off his monthly diary piece describing how politics shapes his views of intercontinental transport..
It seems that the lunatics have at last taken over the asylum. I have been requested to fill a monthly column with tales of international "derring-do", to inform, amuse, to report on all those wonderful things that we international drivers enjoy.The main problem I see is that I will have to write fast, as international operators are dropping like flies (thud — there goes another one) and I might be next.
It is probably good news that the number of illegal immigrants arriving in the country has dropped by 30%, assuming we can believe the statistics, of course. Apparently the total cost of increased security is in the region of £9m,so let's hope it works.
The international haulage business is currently precarious, to say the least— hardly surprising,when Britain has become a major importer.The number of trucks running empty to Europe is staggering, and most of our euro colleagues return without a load. We cannot survive as a nation by supporting foreign industries.
One of the amusing asides to this is weighing —but the inspiration for it came from a tragedy, the Zeebrugge disaster.The Transport Secretary at the time was Paul Channon, and one of his ideas was to weigh all commercial vehicles before they went on to a ferry. Europe rejected the idea, but Paul stuck with it and we now weigh before we board.
What no-one told Paul was that Britain's export trade was almost non-existent, even then. Loaded lorries boarding in Europe are not weighed, while all the empty lorries returning to Europe are. I am regularly asked by my European colleagues why we weigh empty trucks — it's a little embarrassing.
Once we became one big happy family, the changes involved the removal of customs requirements — not the best of ideas. It was occasionally a pain, but it was an excellent opportunity to rest, socialise, have a beer and a chat to catch up on the latest news. It was also a chance to check the truck and the load. Either side of Mont Blanc, customs procedures were in place, at Cluses in France and Aosta in Italy. I often wonder if the tunnel fire would have happened if we still had to stop for customs.
And now to the euro. Isn't our Tony keen on the euro? No more standing outside a bar or restaurant,wallet full of the wrong currency, crying your eyes out because you can't get fed. But the price of necessities (beer,wine, fags) have gone up, and although French Routiers have tried to maintain the same price, the quality has gone down in some establishments. Our government's use of tobacco products as a tax earner has now caught on, and there has been a sharp rise in prices across the EU.
Right, that's your lot for this month. One more thing, before I get on with my "derring and doing"—! am occasionally asked by those thinking about going down the owner-driver route for advice. I tell them to list all those who will get paid before they get their share. It's an eye-opener. •