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NOT SO SAFE?
Page 93
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You report that tl lc Association of County Councils wishes regulations on PSV design proposed by the Department of Transport to be speeded up (CM, September 27). They suggest that this will advance coach safety.
Bus and Coach Council has pointed out to the ACC that this is not the case, because safety practice runs in advance of regulations.
Insofar as there is value in the proposals, they are, in virtually all respects, already incorporated in PSV design. Unfortunately, however, such proposals as the emergency door on the upper deck of PSVs would be likely to increase risk, rather than reduce it.
It is better that we should get the regulations right, rather than rush them so unnecessarily.
No name supplied Director General Bus and Coach Council In reply to Maurice Webster (CM, September 6), we cannot speak for BP, but the Mobil tanker drivers at Buncefield Depot, Hemel Hempstead would certainly like to put the record straight.
As to Mr Webster's
question: "What other transport operator would provide all their drivers' clothing except vest, pants and socks?" Answer: most companies provide clothing for their drivers — Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury, Tesco and practially all the oil companies, including Mr Wehster's own Total Oil Company. Nowadays this provision appears to be the rule rather than the exception.
With regards to his statement that "many drivers off sick for 12 months have received full pay for the whole time", Mobil's sick pay system certainly doesn't allow for this.
Next, the comments on the new increased "earnings". Mobil has compensated the recent increase in wages by redundancies; Buncefield has had its drivers cut from 26 to 22 but the workload is unchanged. Larger tankers and increased running times have made sure that depot productivity remains the same.
With the increasing number of vehicles on the road, it cannot be denied that the job of the tanker driver is mentally and physically demanding, It's not everyone who could work with the responsibility of carrying a dangerous load in all types of conditions.
Mr Webster has intimated that this profession was a closed book as far as "a woman or a coloured person" was concerned; this is not the case. Anyone holding the relevant IIGV licence can apply, but vacancies are certainly hard to come by; for instance. Buncefield has had a summer temporary driver waiting for a permanent job for the last 7 years!
As to his final accusations of "20 hours pay for 8 hours work", oh how we wish it were true, we'd all be rich and taking early retirement in the sun!