1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
DfT refuses to relax drivers' hours following FMD crisis
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Livestock hauliers will not be allowed to work extended hours to clear the backlog after the foot-and-mouth outbreak. David Harris reports.
THE DEPARTMENT for Transport (DfT) has turned down requests from livestock hauliers for a relaxation of the drivers' hours rules while they deal with the backlog of animals stuck on farms after the foot-and-mouth (FMD) crisis Restrictions on livestock movement was not fully lifted until the beginning of this week (10 September), and specialist hauliers say they need extra driving time to clear the backlog.
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) was among those to put in requests for the temporary relaxation of the rules, when it asked for a driving limit of 56 hours per week rather than the usual 90 hours per fortnight.The RHA says that relaxing the drivers' hours regs for a month would help get the situation back to normal.
Phil Flanders, the RHA's regional director in Scotland, says: "[The government] did it in 2001, so there is a precedent for it, but this time they just said no. it seems pretty short-sighted, especially as so many livestock hauliers have gone out of business in the last few years that there aren't the hauliers to do the work."
John Stamper, director of CUMbria-based RI Stamper Haulage. warns that the issue of drivers' hours is even more difficult because livestock markets are being run on Sundays to catch up with lost time:"It's a good idea, but many of us won't be able to work on Sundays because our drivers will have used up all their hours."
But the DfT remains adamant. A spokesman says:"Drivers' hours rules help protect LGV drivers and other road users from the real dangers associated with driver fatigue.They are a key part of road safety legislation and decisions to relax them are not taken lightly."
• The Road Haulage Association is considering options for suing for damages on behalf of livestock hauliers, following the HSE report on the causes of the foot-and mouth outbreak at the Pirbright research centre.
Roger Wrapson, secretary of the RHA's Livestock Carriers Group, says: "Livestock hauliers were instructed to stop moving animals when the outbreak was reported and then, when the blanket ban was lifted, faced onerous restrictions on the work they could do.
"These were sensible precautions for the government to take but nonetheless resulted in considerable loss of work and revenue.
"A stable and professional livestock transport industry plays a vital role in supporting British farmers and the meat supply chain, and is still recovering from the devastating impact of the outbreak of foot and mouth in 2001.
"It is essential that hauliers be compensated for the loss of work and difficulties they have suffered as a result of this outbreak through no fault of their own."