Bottomley drives for YDS
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• Junior Transport Minister Peter Bottomley has called on hauliers to take an active part in training HGV drivers. Speaking at a ceremony held by the RTITB to launch the new training recommendations for the Young Drivers Scheme, Bottomley said there was a real need for the industry to take the matter into its own hands and to become less dependent on recruiting personnel trained elsewhere.
Trends in the road transport industry were towards an increase in the number of small operators, he said, and since the scheme had started in 1975, the vast majority of YDS trainees had graduated with small companies. Only 177 haulage companies currently take part in the scheme.
Its main drawback is the insurance cost to employers, although they may be eligible for an RTITB grant if they pay a levy to the board.
The size of any grant will be based on how much an employer pays his trainees. Wages, unlike Youth Training Scheme payments, are subject to union agreement.
According to the Road Haulage Association, insurance companies are loathe to insure any driver with less than two years' experience — a 20-yearold driver, four times more likely to make a claim than a 40-year-old.