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 
Rossow's quest for harmony
Page 28
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Dr Gunther Rossow, president of the international drivers pressure group UICR (Union Internationale Des Chauffeurs Routiers), has just been to Britain to boost the organisation's membership here.
The UICR, which was founded in 1968, has grown to over 1.2 million members worldwide. It unites truck and coach drivers from Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, and it plans to start up in Australia, Pakistan, Italy, Austria and Portugal.
Rossow is determined not to repeat the mistake the UK UICR subsidiary, Routiers, made in 1987, when its members tried to turn it into a radical drivers' union. At the time, there were reports that Routiers had closed because of financial difficulties, but a year later it re-opened with 1,000 members — down 2,000 on the year before.
"The UICR is the umbrella organisation of national associations in Europe, America and Africa, with its main base in Munich," explains Rossow. Its main aim is to "assist mutually any member of the organisation", concentrating primarily on drivers' safety and comfort at work.
Anyone can loin
Any driver (or retired driver) can join, but transport companies are banned. It is not a trade union and does not get involved in traditional union areas such as drivers' hours disputes. Among the benefits offered to members is legal aid — a driver who is imprisoned in a UICR member country can ask the union to arrange representation. There is also a free recovery service and, perhaps the biggest advantage of all, a "professional drivers' lobby", which aims to support drivers' interests with the people who determine the future of the transport industry.
Government lobby
The UICR is constantly in contact with European authorities and governments — it also has strong links with major truck manufacturers, employers' organisations and the Genevabased International Road Transport Union, which it is due to meet this month. There are UICR facilities in most EC countries, including overnight accommodation. In Britain, Routiers runs transport cafes and a shop at the port of Dover, selling everything from newspapers to spare parts.
Rossow explains how the UICR supports Britain's safetyin-reversing campaign, which aims to extend the use of reversing aids throughout the world. Also on the safety front, the UICR wants all drivers to receive formal training — particularly those who transport hazardous goods. Rossow says that all ADR vehicles should have fire extinguishers fitted on the outside as well as inside the cab. He also wants to see side marker lights on all trucks. President of the Germanbased association since 1971, Rossow was previously commercial manager of NAAFI.
He feels strongly that overloading legislation is biased against drivers, who often cannot tell when their vehicles are overloaded. Often, the company commissioning the load is aware of how much is being loaded, and in this case should take the blame, he says.
To increase driver comfort, Rossow wants manufacturers to increase the size of the cabs within the legal overall vehicle length. He reckons that manufacturers have recently been making cabs far too small in the quest for more load length. He would also hie to see fully adjustable drivers' seats as the norm, greater use of airsuspension in cabs, electric windows and electrically heated external mirrors.
Looking towards the 1990s, the UICR suggests that a lot of changes are needed in transport to ease the free flow of traffic throughout Europe. In Britain there needs to be a lot more road building, particularly in London within the M25 ring. It is opposed to road or motorway tolls and customs officers on borders, and wants easier access into the Eastern bloc.
Harmonisation
All these plans fit with Rossow's dream of harmonisation, which is summed up by the UICR's world professional drivers' "olympics". This event does not involve truck racing (something that Rossow opposes) but is a test of skill, with drivers manoeuvring round obstacles.
This year the event takes place at Bourg-en-Bresse in France on 2-4 September, and will be sponsored by Renault Trucks. The British heats will be held at BP's Alconbury Truck Stop, sponsored by BP and Scalia on 15-16 July. Next year's championships will be held in Britain, but a sponsor and venue are still being sought.
El by Juliet Parish