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Page 17
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Rikki Chequer, community manager of TruckNet UK, reports on current hot topics at the driver forum.
Heaters, PlayStations and foreign drivers — I never cease to be amazed by the diverse range of subjects that come under discussion in TruckNet UK.
Topics this week include night heaters: one member wonders whether it is reasonable to tell a driver to use a truck without one. A little research showed there was no legal requirement to have a heater fitted but it transpired that this driver doesn't do nights out, and other drivers wonder why it was such an issue. Many think a driver who is not spending nights away has no need fora night heater.
But the point has been raised that in these days of long waits at RDCs, handing ignition keys in for HSE compliance, and the well known lack of facilities in drivers' waiting rooms at most warehouses, it may be reasonable to ask for a heated cab while stationary.
A student working on a project to design a concept truck is using the forums to ask what drivers actually want from a truck (there's a novel idea). As might be expected the answers are wide-ranging, from integral toilets and water supply, to PlayStations and flat-screen TVs and the suggestions keep rolling in. Once again owner-drivers are talking about the "never-ending fuel hikes". One says: "I think we've just been ground down that far by it that we haven't got the heart any more.' Another says: "We're all probably resigned to the fact that at some point the job's not going to be viable. The big boys aren't making a fuss because they'll just pass the cost on to the customer, who in turn will pass it on to the man in the street.
"Who's gonna be bothered about the small operator? Certainly not the government, not the big operators nor the man in the street! hate to say it but I think it's a losing battle. In an ideal world we'd all go to our customers for more money, but what bargaining power have you got when there are other hauliers waiting to take over the work? Then of course there's johnny foreigner who thinks it's okay to do a Manchester to Ashford for £160!"