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Violence: drivers speak out
Page 8
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The scale of attacks on truck drivers across Europe is to be investigated
Dy the International Road Transport Union. Guy Sheppard ,-eports.
WOUSANDS OF DRIVERS ire to be questioned about attacks hey have suffered while at work is part of a study into international ruck crime.
The research has been commis;jotted by the International Road Fransport Union (IRU) and the European Conference of Minis:ers of Transport (ECMT) which ;ays the problem is growing.
ECMT general secretary Jack short explains that international Jrivers from all over Europe and ksia will be questioned.
"We will gather valuable information which will help governments and transport operators to put in place targeted measures to :ounter this type of criminal activity more effectively," he says. And Martin Marmy, secretary general of the IRU, adds: "This is an important issue for society, as any penalty on road transport will always result in an even greater penalty for the economy as a whole."
Questionnaires are currently being distributed through IRU member associations, including the Road Haulage Association in the UK.
Further details are available on the truck driver attack survey information page of the IRU website (www.iru.org).
The research is being co-ordinated by UK transport consultant Frank Heinrich-Jones whose pilot study showed that more than one in six international drivers had been attacked during the previous three years (CM 13 May 2004).
More than half these victims did not contact the police, partly because of language barriers.
Heinrich-Jones believes that the extent of the problem needs to be more clearly understood before police, governments and the industry can take action: "Part of the mandate I've been given is to come up with recommendations about how we take this forward once we've gained the information."