‘Dangerous and reckless’ government plan to extend lorry drivers’ hours condemned by union

Cumulative effect on fatigue will increase risk of accidents, warns Unite. By Tom Batchelor

(PA)

Government plans to permit lorry drivers to continue to work longer hours have been branded “dangerous, reckless and potentially illegal”.

The Unitetrade union said drivers were already working “excessive” hours and encouraging them to do so into the future would increase the risk of accidents on Britain’s roads.

Over the summer the rules were relaxed to allow lorry drivers to operate their vehicles for extended periods before they must take a rest, amid an acute labour shortage.

Unite, which represents lorry drivers, said it understood a technical consultation was under way on continuing the relaxation on driving hours from 4 October until early in the new year.

The union said existing regulations allow for a “temporary relaxation” in driving hours, but warned that a six-month extension was a permanent change, adding that it is now seeking legal advice on the matter.

It comes amid huge issues in supply chains in recent months, leaving some shop shelves empty and forcing restaurants to remove items from their menus.

Unite voiced concern that the extended driving hours, brought in to tackle the shortage of lorry drivers, was having a cumulative effect on driver fatigue.

The shortage of drivers in the industry is largely a result of workers leaving the sector, said Unite, adding that an estimated 600 drivers leave the industry every week.

Unite national officer Adrian Jones said: “This is a dangerous and reckless decision by the Government. The government should immediately drop its plans to extend driving hours.

”Lorry drivers are already working excessive hours and the cumulative effect on fatigue will increase the risk of accidents and damage their health.

“Rather than short-term fixes to the driver shortage the Government needs to be implementing long-term solutions.

”Drivers need permanent pay rises, rather than one-off bonuses, to reflect their skills and crucial role in delivering foods and goods across the UK.

“Also action needs to be taken to introduce minimum standards on pay and conditions, to end once and for all the race to the bottom and undercutting of wages which is at the heart of the current lorry driver shortages.”

Earlier this month, the government announced that HGV drivers will only have to take one test rather than two.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said up to 50,000 more HGV driving tests would be made available, with drivers now only having to take one test to drive both a rigid and articulated lorry.

Until now this needed two separate tests spaced three weeks apart.

Labour previously said it was “deeply concerned” by plans to relax the rules for lorry drivers, while the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) condemned any “watering down” of the regulations.

The Best for Britain campaign group accused the government of “sticking plaster solutions which could make roads more dangerous for all drivers”.

The government insists that road safety remains “of paramount importance” and that it is taking measures to address the shortage of drivers.

Additional reporting by PA