Part-timers may lack experience
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I see (CM October 24) that Mr A. A. Townsin, the Technical Executive of the Confederation of British Road Passenger Transport, has taken up one or two points from my letter about part-time coach drivers and that he chides me for using opinion and not facts.
I return the compliment. The facts are that there is no requirement in law for a part-time driver to produce evidence of continuity of driving experience when seeking renewal of psv licence, unless it is more than 12 months since the expiry of his old licence. The facts are that a driver need not have driven a vehicle for 12 years, or more, and yet continue to renew his psv licence every three years.
I do not quarrel with the study carried out by Dr T. J. Hunt. I accept that he is impartial and has an international reputation in the field of road accident research, but my point has always been in reference to his study that the number of part-time casual drivers was so small as to be inappropriate to . arrive at any conclusions on whether they are as safe as regular drivers. This is why we have asked the Transport Minister to institute an inquiry into the use of part-time drivers within the coaching industry. We would accept if they decided to commission Dr Hunt to carry out the investigation.
In finality, I must add that the arguments used to defend the use of part-time labour in this industry lacks conviction basically because nobody could really accept that inexperienced part-time coach drivers can be a healthy element for this important industry.
L. J. SMITH, National Secretary, Passenger Services Group,
TGWU.