Fair show for lorry in poll, but public needs more facts
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TOO OFTEN COMMERCIAL vehicles are driven erratically and noisily, though one supposes their drivers have passed their car tests. I'm talking about delivery vans operated by local shops. But your real haulage driver, hire or reward or own-account, is above average in road craft, reports John Durant.
If pressure groups could succeed in raising the average car driver to his ability, not only would the quality of life be improved but live expectancy would be lengthened. I can never prove this; but does anyone doubt it?
Unfortunately most of the pressure groups associated with road transport are anti-"juggernaut". They really should be more concerned with this point. Many journalists, too, do not do themselves justice on transport coverage.
At the recent press conference called to discuss the Marplan public opinion survey on the lorry, Transport 2000, for instance, was there — but the notoriously anti-road haulage paper, The Sunday Times, wasn't. Neither was the Press Association, though it had picked up a printed report later.
The opinion poll was commissioned jointly by the Freight Transport Association, Road Haulage Association and National Freight Company Ltd (CM, November 15). Most of those who attended the conference — around 40 — gave it a pretty hostile reception. For example: "Did these three organisations help word the questions?"
"I think you have wasted your money," said one privately afterwards. (The poll cost around £9,000.) Now, he could be right.
The Marplan survey has been sent to all provincial daily newspapers and many weekly and trade papers. FTA and RHA area chairmen need to contact their area papers and make themselves available for comment.
Marplan's John Clemens handled the conference very well (though he wryly admitted one Freudian slip by his organisation in labelling one film slide Rule of the Lorry instead of Role of the Lorry) explaining that his is a professional organisation handling a complex business with all the objectivity it can command.
The FTA's John Guttridge answered a couple of questions and the National Freight Company's Brian Cottee (in the interests of objectivity let's admit he was the previous editor of CM) made a couple of introductory remarks, which went down rather in the manner of a matador waving his cape at a bull ("We wanted an objective survey conducted by an independent body, as people are disinclined to accept the opinions of those with axes to grind.") Actually, I think the survey's results can be viewed hopefully, as it appears that the public makes up its own mind. Perhaps it is MPs who are more open to pressure. Most Members of Parliament are still violently antilorry, according to Leicester University's Dr Clifford Sharpe (CM, November 15).
Criticisms were made of the wording of some of Marplan's questions. One man objected that after Marplan polling those "in favour of more freight by rail" (69 per cent), people were then asked "and if this results in more traffic in urban areas?" (down to 57 per cent).
"It's a leading question that would be ruled out in any court of law," he said. "The word should be might."
Later someone had a go at the FTA as likely to use the survey in aid of a campaign in favour of the lorry, while in fact it showed that 26 per cent are "concerned about lorries". Would the FTA then campaign in favour of freight being transferred from road to rail?
John Guttridge pointed out that the FTA represents British industry, specifically in the distribution sphere, and it does not matter to members whether freight goes by road, raid or airship, except that it needs to go by the most efficient and economic mode.
Ninety per cent of British Rail's freight is consigned by FTA members and BR is a member of the association. The Section 8 grants for ridings had come about from an FTA initiative and the association's purpose now was to publish and analyse the Marplan findings. Anyone else, he added, is free to commission a public survey, but so far very little had been done.
One trade journalist did refer to the "inbred and biased opinions of journalists, mostly unnamed", but a press conference is hardly the place for an inter-journalists' slanging match, and this remark was passed by. Perhaps the evening paper reporter who said that he would not file a story as he was not satisfied with the report, did do so.
It's what a journalist writes that matters. The worth of Marplan's survey must exceed, for example, the off-the-cuff opinions from any organisations frequently claiming half a ci lumn in his paper.
The Marplan survey four that the lorry does not rar highly in the public mind as social/environmental probler Twenty-six per cent felt it was very serious problem. Marple reckons that the public takes ' balanced view", one of the ma problems being bad road su faces, and the most favoured si lution is better roads. "These n suits appear to place the onus c Whitehall."
The survey said 21 per cet answered "no problems" whE asked about lorry drawback: 22 per cent said ba driving/overtaking/speeding; 1 per cent noise; 16 per cent poll' tion/smell of the fumes; 12 pi cent bigger lorries/juggernaut: 11 per cent too many lorriei congestion; 11 per cent damac to cyclists/pedestrians; and 8 p cent lorries in narrow street: small villages.
Eighty-three per cent see ti lorry as making a major contr bution to the efficient distribt tion of goods.
Respondents' were asked ho, much consideration lorry drive: and (separately) delivery va drivers show for other road re ers. The results below segregal the answers given by male an female respondents.
Lorry drivers fare rather betti than van drivers — obviously effects of training do not go u: noticed. Men rate the conside ation shown by lorry drive more highly than do women.
The questions were answerE by a quota sample of 1,9E people throughout the UK, in ft week beginning July 21, by ful trained interviewers of Marple after a postal briefing.
One freelance journalist sa afterwards: "It's a good job ft Sunday Surprise was not in tlthroes of an anti-juggerna: campaign that week!"
The three organisations may understand, ask Marplan I carry out another poll in a ye; or two's time in order to SE whether opinions chang: Wouldn't it be interesting to fir out what channels influence if public's opinion, and whi percentage have ever heard tlanti-road transport lobby's arg: ments answered?