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COi EN I
Page 7
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New rules, old issues
If the news from Strasbourg is to be believed, then the man leading the charge to change EU Driver Hours law will likely be remembered by UK hauliers for many years to come. Should so-called “Markov" proposals become law (and it's by no means certain they'll make it through the labyrinth of the European legislature untouched) they'll at least guarantee MEP Helmuth Markov fame for life.
However, we doubt whether it will be fame based on any popularity, not least with truck operators this side of the Channel. While CM could use up countless columns denouncing the changes, we've one or two fundamental questions we'd like answered. Namely will the new rules be enforced any better than they are at the moment?
While someone ponders that one, here are a few more to consider. Will the DoT back them up by pouring more resources into combating drivers' hours abuses? Will operators and drivers be able to understand (and keep) the new rules any better?
And the real $64,000 question— can we expect the new rules to reduce road deaths caused by HGV driver tiredness and fatigue? If we thought the answer to just one of those questions was YES, we'd give the Markov proposals our unconditional support. But the answer's NO and that's our response too. A bad day for British industry indeed.
And finally__ as we close for press we're still waiting for a reply to our letter to David Blunkett. Give us back the i2m!