Driving standards
Page 30
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Twrote to you a few weeks lag() about bad lorry driving (CM 29 Feb-6 Matt Shortly
afterwards a lorry driver contacted me and said he would like to discuss my letter. Naturally I was a hit worried—I hadn't minced my words.
But Jim—not his real name—was sad and bitter, rather than angry. He has his own lorry, has been a driver for many years, and had served an apprenticeship working with another driver for a considerable time. He recalled when a lorry driver in trouble could always expect help from his colleagues, but it didn't happen so often now, he said.
He agreed that the standard of driving left a lot to be desired. Ile blames the way lorry drivers are trained. He told me that an HGNI test does not involve learning to drive a lorry with a load on it, nor does it include instructions on sheeting up, loading, and the many other things which make lorry driving a trade. But he wanted me to realise that not all lorry drivers are inconsiderate, and that many are very conscious of their responsibility to other road users.When I suggested that we should get together to write something (I'm a journalist) he was not very keen, however. He feared reprisals if he was named and said he didn't want his tyres slashed or his windscreen smashed.
It seems as if there is a definite need for a campaign to institute better training. Judy Steele, Address supplied El We couldn't agree more; see page 4 of this issue Ed.