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Army says hours changes will not hit recruitment
Page 13
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THE BRITISH ARMY has denied claims in the national media that the new drivers' hours rules will adversely affect the recruitment of volunteers for the Territorial Army (TA).
The Sunday Telegraph criticised the government for failing to win an exemption for professional LG V drivers who volunteer for the armed services, claiming the increased regulation of rest time will hamper those who want to join the Territorials.
However. Duncan Byrne, transport manager for the army's White Fleet (of non-combat vehicles) in London, says very few professional drivers are in the voluntary forces so the regulations will have a minimal effect on a few individuals.
"Even the 151 (London) Transport Division Royal Logistical Corps Volunteers, though principally transport, is only 5-10% professional drivers," he adds.
"It is far more common for us to take people off the street and train them to drive LGVs at weekends than for professional drivers to play soldiers at the weekends."
Byrne says that although the army is exempt from the Working Time and Road Transport Directives, it has developed its own systems which mirror the requirements of each law. In addition professional drivers are obliged to give an account of their driving hours to their TA units to ensure that their voluntary time does not cause a breach of the law.
But Joan Williams, head of road freight and enforcement at the Freight Transport Association, warns that drivers who do volunteer in such a capacity must beware that they do not infringe upon their statutory rest time: -Under the new regs, drivers must produce a record of non-driving days to prove they have taken adequate rest. If you are working for the TA you are not resting.