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TruckNet's Rikki Chequer reflects on the mainstream media coverage drivers have been getting recently
Page 9
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A minor revolution took place on the BBC recently. There were news items about truck dryers and hauliers broadcast on prime time that did not use phrases such as "thundering juggernauts" and "50-tonne killer trucks".
The figures showing a 12% decrease in commercial vehicles on the road and a fivefold rise in vocational licence holders claiming Jobseekers Allowances (see page 6) stirred something in the depths of Broadcasting House and a number of slots on the BBC news channel and local BBC news reports carried interviews and reports sympathetic to our industry's plight.
There was no shortage of industry members at Truckfest for reporters to interview — almost everyone had stories of cutbacks and redundancies. The TruckNet UK/Truck & Driver stand hosted a meeting place for the website users. In the meeting area, the conversations were all about where to go from here; many not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.
Given the exposure on the BBC and other media attention focused on Truckfest, it was a pleasant surprise when BBC Radio 2's lunchtime presenter Jeremy Vine announced he was going to be talking about HGV drivers losing their jobs, highlighting the strain on our industry and hopefully catching the ears of politicians.
Unfortunately, what Vine presented was a condescending 20-minute segment on what jobs ex-HGV drivers had moved on to. He sounded surprised that one caller had taker a degree in archaeology and was working on a PHD, and another had started training to become a commercial airline pilot. As a journalist, he had an opportunity to present to the public the problems our industry is facing, Instead he chose to stereotype. After all, everyone knows truck drivers are thick, so these two must be an exception and news worthy.
On the TruckNet UK forums there are airline pilots, graduates and professionals from many arenas who have chosen to drive trucks. Outside the forums, I expect there are many more.