THE HOURS ARE DEMANDING ENOUGH
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ONCE again, I step back in amazement at yet another change in the law detrimental to the lorry driver. I refer to the proposed increase in driving hours.
As a lorry driver of 27 years' experience at home and abroad, I find the hours at the moment very demanding. Considering that every day is always a 121/2 hours spread-over, most schedules are "mission impossibles", and customers' idiosynctacies govern our lives.
Enough is enough.
We are the only sector of industry that can begin at 3.30am, cease at 4pm and be expected to "fine up" at midnight. The problem is that we are a super set of fellows, by and large, and the country benefits from our love of the job! Surely, decent rates are the answer — to offer a decent return on the employers' outlay and, hopefully, a decent wage for the driver and not a dependence on "night-out money"!
As usual the people who actually do the job never receive the opportunity to express an opinion on the legislation at the appropriate level.
pougie Victor Cheltenham Gloucestershire