'Help our Mid-East drivers' call
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A PL LA for greater help and protection to LK lorry drivers on long-distance trips to the Middle East has been made by the Road Haulage Association.
The RI-IA national chairman, Jack Male, called on the Government to set up a system under which drivers could call on embassy and consular officials when they got into trouble.
He told the annual lunchc6ñI of the RFIA Last Midland area, that 99 per cent of international journeys went off without any difficulty.
"It is the remaining one per cent which run into trouble. The professional haulier can usually deal with these problems without too much bother.
“However, in circumstances beyond their control I feel that assistance from the local British representative should be more forthcoming.
"We should now have an assurance from the Government that we can expect to receive a greater degree of aid and protection while doing a job which adds to the nation's wealth and prosperity."
There was still scope for the newcomer in international haulage, he went on, but no room at all for the merely foolhardy operator who "thinks he is still living in the wild west era".
It was these people, who launched themselves off on journeys of 2,000 mites or more, that were causing a great deal of concern to professional hauliers.
He urged all users of international hauliers to first check their credentials. "Membership of the RHA should be the basic criterion by which to judge all hauliers," he said.