Leave Politics Out Of It
Page 63
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SEVERAL months ago, there was an outbreak of complaints from certain Socialist spokesmen about the bad effect. of denationalization upon the tandards of maintenance and driving of goods vehicles. t was alleged that the return to free enterprise had vought with it the return of the " bad old practices" hat British Road Services had overlaid with sweeter nanners and purer laws.
Now, it so happened that the complaints preceded )oth the repeal of the 25-mile limit and the disposal of he first transport units_ The results were deplored )efore the explanation became plausible. The critics nay have mistakenly anticipated the course of events, nthey.may have been making a dummy run. At any ate, the attacks ceased for a while, and have only -ecently been resumed.
Even at this stage, it would be remarkable if the
nople who complain were really able to detect a ;ignificant deterioration in the fitness oftvehicles and the )ehaviour of drivers. Only 13,000vehicles, or about me-third of the total active fleet of B.R.S., have so far ileen sold. The allegation is not that all purchasers have Lt once begun to flout the law, maltreat their vehicles md disregard , the welfare of their staff. A small ninority only is arraigned.
So small a proportion of the total number of vehicles
s concerned that one suspects the sincerity of the attack. elighly coloured accounts are given of -short trips along
t stretch of 'main road, in the course of which the tarrator encounters' a number of hazards from other vehicles. To prove his case, he puts all the blame on lenationalization, without attempting to find out vhether the erring vehicles are operated under special A icences, C licences or, for that matter, by an established /wilier.
Exaggeration may strengthen the ease politically, but t obscures the issue. If there is any substance at all n the allegations, men of goodwill should do everything
Crop of Abuses
The fear that denationalization will produce a crop of tbuses is natural, The policy of B.R.S. has been to (eep vehicles well maintained and to ensure that drivers to not work beyond the limits laid down by the law— &hough there have been cases where the policy has not leen observed, and there may be room for argument as O whether B.R.S. have raised the standards of the ndustry or reached a level midway between the practices )f the best and the worst employers under private mterprise.
Disposal has meant the introduction of an indeterninate number of new operators. Even the mot nexperienced of them must know that it is false conomy to overload vehicles or to neglect their naintenance. They must also be aware of the regulaion governing drivers' hours. But there are temptations o break the law, and to over4;vork both the vehicles tnd their drivers.
After paying a good price for a transport unit-lerhaps on assignment at one or more removes from the wiginal disposal—the purchaser may have little capital eft. He may feel that he must work his vehicles hard, at any rate in the early stages, in order to survive. Or he may accept traffic at ridiculously low rates, possibly from one of the less desirable clearing houses, and is forced to keep his vehicles and drivers going in the vain hope of showing a profit.
This is an extreme example of what could happen—of what the critics say is already happening. It was one of the risks of denationalization, and there is some evidence that the risk has not been altogether avoided. One possible result is that the long-distance road haulage industry has once again been polarized, with the good operators at one end of the scale and bad operators at the other.
If this is really the state of affairs, then it is serious and should be tackled seriously,. irrespective of the number of guilty operators. A matter of life or death upon the road should certainly not be made the centre oi a political storm, in which truth and moderation are usually the lirst to be jettisoned.
Nobody Cares
Above all, the problem should be treated as something new, and not tangled up with the controversy about whether B.R.S. were better employers and road . users than the hauliers they superseded. Nobody knows the answer to that question, and at this stage nobody cares. What is wanted is an attempt to make sure that the new men are even better than B.R.S.
On questions of road safety, the. unions and the employers, including B.R.S, are equally concerned, and can play their part in tackling the problem either by united action or independently. Only The most intemperate critics suggest that the, offenders are more than a small minority. Hauliers in general will be more anxious than anyone to get rid of the rogue operator who is bringing their calling into ill repute.
First, it might he desirable to make a survey to find Out whether the alleged infringements of the law are taking place, and to what extent, At present there are widely contradictory 'statements. One official of the Transport and General Workers' Union said recently that "there are few private firms who are not breaking the law today." But another official of the same union said at almost the same time that 'the majority of private road transport companies is observing the regulations well."
If, as I suspect to be the case, undesirable practices are not widespread, it might be possible for., the unions and the hauliers to compile •a list of offenders Admittedly, even when a man on the list is a member of the Road Haulage Association, no disciplinary action can be taken except expulsion, but at least an attempt could be made at reforming him. There is greater difficulty when he is not a member of an association, but he may tin be susceptible to being persuaded to do the right thing.
Local negotiating committees have for many years invited operators to attend meetings to discuss their applications in advance of the official hearing before the licensing authority. The response to the invitation is usually good. Operators appreciate the importance of having the goodwill of their fellows, and they might find it prudent to attend an inquiry into allegations made against them.