Trailer towing

[doobin]

18 minutes ago, Mr. Squirrel said:

 off the phone with a lorry driver who said haulage companies will probably be reluctant to hire drivers who've passed under these new rules too. 

Well then they can keep increasing wages for current drivers or loose out on work can’t they? 

Edited September 10, 2021 by doobin

[trigger_andy]

[emoji23] Hardly, we've got a massive driver shortage because of leaving the EU, so they're scrapping towing tests so that there are more tests free for HGV's. Just off the phone with a lorry driver who said haulage companies will probably be reluctant to hire drivers who've passed under these new rules too. 

We have a massive driver shortage because the Haulage companies are greedy and short sighted. They’ve had 5 years to get a plan of action in place and have been complacent.

Pay British people British wages and you’ll get Drivers. There is thousands of people with HGV licences in the U.K. that don’t wish to return to the job due to conditions and wages. But now the wages are significantly increasing due to Haulage Companies being forced to hire British people in Britain there is a resurgence in applicants and interest from those who already hold a licence.

[ChrisNewport]

Ive just been reading that people are up in arms about this saying that there will be thousands of more deaths on the roads due to this, an upside down caravan on every corner and a trailer in every ditch. Pre 1997 i dont recall a mass of trailer and caravan accidents.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

54 minutes ago, Mr. Squirrel said:

we've got a massive driver shortage because of leaving the EU,

Leaving the EU is a small bit part of a much larger problem that was, in large part created as a consequence of being in the EU and which existed way before Brexit was even a word. 
 

Remoaner horse plop 🐎💩

[Big J]

This is not good. It's a legislative sticking plaster; an admission that there is a fundamental need to fast track the training of a hundred thousand people into HGV driving. 

 

But more worryingly, it's an erosion of a necessary skills benchmark that formed a part of continuous training for people wishing to progress their driving.

 

Towing a trailer of 3500kg should not be taken lightly. It's a weight that will usually be substantially heavier than the tow vehicle and badly loaded or badly driven, can cause a serious accident.

 

I did my trailer test over ten years ago. I'd already driven a fair bit with light (but often slightly overloaded) trailers, and I felt the benefit of a day of training and the test at the end. The trailer test is nothing more than an advanced driving test, but that's not a bad thing. 

 

I'd regard myself as a technically very competent driver, but I'm still cautious when towing. That's partly common sense and partly training.

 

There are still a vast number of drivers leaving the profession every week. Conditions are crap, treatment by other road users is abhorrent and services inadequate. Fixing these fundamental problems isn't as simple as lowering the standards of training or upping wages. The general public doesn't have an appreciation that lorries are responsible for transporting just about everything.

 

Re: 1997 and there not being serious issues with heavy towing then. There are almost 10 million more vehicles on the road now than in 1997. We are much more congested.

 

On R4 this evening they had an interviewee saying that the 'just in time' system for supplying goods is now unworkable. The days of being able to go to a supermarket and expecting to find any given product are over. 

 

Saying that we should just train and employ British workers is a) wrong b) unworkable c) ignores labour surpluses and deficits and d) ignores reality. We are part of a global economy and there are literally hundreds of thousands of capable drivers prepared to work here and yet the government won't add HGV drivers to the key skills shortage list. Madness.

[Matthew Storrs]

It would normally be good news- but can’t help feeling pissed of that a lot of us had to pay quite a bit of money and time to take the E entitlement. And now every bugger gets it for free. Spiteful yes, but justly so I feel.

[Matthew Storrs]

Actually, must  read more carefully! It’s does say only up to the unladen weight of tow vehicle so basically around 2 ton. If you want to tow the full 3.5t I guess you still need the E entitlement 

[AHPP]

4 minutes ago, Matthew Storrs said:

Actually, must  read more carefully! It’s does say only up to the unladen weight of tow vehicle so basically around 2 ton. If you want to tow the full 3.5t I guess you still need the E entitlement 

Where does it say that?

[Matthew Storrs]

2 minutes ago, AHPP said:

Where does it say that?

 

[AHPP]

3 minutes ago, Matthew Storrs said:

 

That's under the heading, "What you’re currently allowed to tow"