INTRODUCTION
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The haulage industry is desperately short of drivers, with many firms relying on longserving staff who they hope won't leave. But is there a case for employing younger drivers? EU laws allow drivers under 21 to drive HC Vs as long as they have a recognised certificate of professional competence. However, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency highlights a case from September 1999 when a 19-year-old Dutch driver hit a cyclist: "The Minister has expressed concern at the EC Regulation allowing 18-year-old drivers with a certificate of professional competence to drive in other member states and intends to raise this with the Commission."
But tragic as this accident was, it is still the case that there are many members of other emergency and enforcement organisations such as the police, the army and the nursing profession holding positions of responsibility under the age of'2i.
With proper training and support why should haulage be any different?
At the very least we need to open this to debate. Then there are older entrants to the industry, such as the North-of-England head. master who gave up the classroom for the open road and, in Scotland, the traffic policeman who retired at
49 to run a tipper business. They should be encouraged too. But, particularly for youngsters, what is needed is a proper career structure. No one should think that once they take a job as a driver there is nowhere to go from there—we need more transport managers, warehouse supervisors and haulage bosses who came up from the ranks.
WHAT WILL DRIVER DRIVE 2001 DO?
The campaign will: • Focus on methods of driver retention and recruitment—what best practice do some hauliers employ?
• Look at training subsidies—can government schemes such as New Deal help cut the costs of introducing new drivers? If not. can these schemes be improved to meet the industry's needs?
• Win support from politicians—we need a voice in parliament regularly raising issues on behalf of hauliers. David Chidgey,
Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, supported CM 's successful campaign to introduce a voluntary register for HG V training schools and has pledged his support to this new campaign.
• Share information—what is the RHA's young drivers scheme? How does it work? Who can it help? In Northern Ireland some ex-RUC personnel have been offered retraining as HGV drivers. Were there many takers? Where are they now?
• Get the industry involved. There is a coupon at the end of this artide. Please fill it
in, pledging your support to CM's cam
paign to turn around the industry's dis astrous recruit ment decline.
Without drivers no amount of Fuel protests will make an ounce of difference—Britain's distribution system will simply grind to a halt.