77°) DCZ 3 by Janus
Page 42
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
1=3 Twenty-five years ago, if you had a sound, logical case, and it was well presented, you expected to win and usually did. Today, things are very different. fing with iman nature
S WEEKEND sees the return n Marbella of delegates to first Road Haulage ;ociation national conference le held outside this country. s is just one reminder that the 3 conferences of both the Imain operators' ociations have had especially !resting features.
he Spanish venue of the RHA ference seems to have ieved its principal objective ttracting more members normally attend this
otion. As the organisers led, the opportunity of -thining business with
3sure proved difficult to St.
ut another reason for
.eased attendance was no ibt the wish of some -nbers to comment on the re active role recently pted by the RHA. The rganisation, and the elopments in member
/ices which are taking place, It increase members' ings that there will be lething worth talking about. he Freight Transport ociation conference, ough taking place in the less tic surroundings of the don Hilton, also had an item utstanding interest — Hugh therstone's pre-retirement ospective survey of his 25 rs in transport. This interest ; not confined to the ranks of members.
,ne of his comments was ticularly significant. "Twentyyears ago, if you had a good, nd, logical case, and it was I presented, you expected to , and usually did." Today, he things are very different.
Anyone doubting the truth of this statement should think back to 1964, when maximum lorry weights went up from 24 to 32 tons. The political ease with which this was achieved contrasts starkly with the slow and politically difficult implementation, even in watered-down form, of the Armitage recommendations.
Yet the general public's perception of the position is very different. They see an allpowerful road haulage lobby getting its way with the complicity of a road-biased Department of Transport, supported by vested interests ranging from vehicle manufacturers and oil companies to road construction firms.
They will have expected the 1983 RHA and FTA conferences to be victory celebrations following the adoption of higher weights. They are totally unaware of the price which operators are having to pay for the "victory", not only literally in terms of higher vehicle excise duty, but also in other measures thought necessary to lubricate the passage of the legislation through Parliament.
They would find incredible the enormous variety of technical problems which face operators stemming from the drafting of the amending Construction and Use Regulations adopted a year ago.
There are many reasons for this enormous gap between public perception of the position and the reality. Probably the most important is the natural human desire — from which road transport people are not exempt — to eat the cake without diminishing the amount left on the plate. The public would soon notice the loss of the advantages brought by road haulage, but that in no way inhibits them from complaining at its negative aspects. Until someone finds a way of fundamentally changing human nature, not much can be done about that.
Another reason for this false public impression is the sheer ubiquitousness of the lorry. The love between the human race and its motor-cars has deep psychological roots. The lorry is seen as a threat to that affair. Better roads would certainly help here, and the private motoring lobby might perhaps do a little more to point this out.
Butane of the most difficult reasons to deal with is the fact that the associations' first priority must inevitably be to retain existing members and to recruit new ones. Without members and the resources they generate, the associations would cease to exist.
This requires them to keep a high profile. It is not enough that they defend their members' interests by putting forward the "good, sound, logical case" mentioned by Hugh Featherstone. They must do so in a way which enables them to be seen to be doing this.
This need is quite literally vital, for without it the associations would die. Yet it imposes severe disadvantages.
One is that when the associations win a case, they must normally trumpet their victory, to enable members to see that they are getting good value for their subscriptions.
Failures naturally get less publicity. This is not only, or even primarily, a matter of public relations. At least in part it is because, fortunately for their members, the associations do not give up at the first rebuff. They return to the attack at a suitable moment in the future. This emphasis on victory naturally tends to give a false impression of their rate of success.
The RHA's repeated failure, down the years, to obtain a "due diligence" defence for overloading; the FTA's unavailing campaign against bridge and tunnel tolls; and their joint complaint about taxation levels — these do not get wide coverage in the general Press.
The FTA's campaign for downlicensing is a good example of the dilemma. If it succeeds the association will understandably celebrate. However, last month's DTp consultation paper on commercial vehicle taxation makes it absolutely clear that any revenue lost by downlicensing will be recouped by a rise in the general level of taxes. So, in total, lorries will pay the same. But that will not prevent headlines like "Lorries to pay less tax." And the public impression will be formed by such headlines, rather than the reality.
The GLC's Wood Inquiry presented a difficult problem of public stance. The most popular course with the membership would have been out-and-out hostility. This would have provided good material for rousing speeches at RHA and FTA meetings.
But both associations recognise the real danger of some harmful measures emerging. So they joined the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'ern" school, and offered discussions. That seems a wise move, and is consistent with Hugh Featherstone's advice not only to his members, but to the whole industry. It is to be hoped that the industry recognises this.