Making the news today....

[sime42]

Must be the Tories 

 

Why do we have a minister for transport and no minister for tree surgeons? 

 

Strategic national infrastructure such as tranpsort and energy requires some goverment planning & investment,  or market inducements.

 

Why no decent facilities for truckers built into the road system if that is a problem?

 

Is more rail freight not a viable alternative?

 

 

Truckstop has being closed down by gov as they said site was needed for a custom check...

 

https://arbtalk.co.uk/assets/set_resources_21/6554b6be8c0d829a8bf63ae0c82cf121_link.png' alt='6554b6be8c0d829a8bf63ae0c82cf121_link.png'> HMRC back in for Holyhead truck stop with workers told jobs going for a second time - Business Live WWW.BUSINESS-LIVE.CO.UK

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UK Government had struggled to find an alternative site while Brexit has badly impacted trade at Roadking  

Similar issue with lack of decent charging network for electric cars, as left to the market....

 

Or new builds not being made 3 phase like in  other EU countries  for charging cars, or  regs for decently insulated new   houses to future proof for energy price increases being very lax.

 

Instead  just carry on with fitting new gas boilers....& rely of market forces to fix all problems

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More rail freight would be a very good idea, it'd kill several birds with one stone. Probably not at all viable these days though as the infrastructure is just not there.

If only £98billion could be spent on improving it ................

 

 

 

[devon TWiG]

28 minutes ago, 5thelement said:

My Dad, a tanker driver for over 30 years just sent me this from a Facebook group:-

 

So, you are running out of food on the shelves, fuel in the garages, you can’t buy things you need, because the shops can’t get their supplies.
Why is that?  
A shortage of goods?  No
A shortage of money?  No
A shortage of drivers to deliver the goods?  Well, sort of.
There isn’t actually a shortage of drivers, what we have, is a shortage of people who can drive, that are willing to drive any more.  You might wonder why that is.  I can’t answer for all drivers, but I can give you the reason I no longer drive.  Driving was something I always yearned to do as a young boy, and as soon as I could, I managed to get my driving licence, I even joined the army to get my HGV licence faster, I held my licence at the age of 17.  It was all I ever wanted to do, drive trucks, I had that vision of being a knight of the roads, bringing the goods to everyone, providing a service everyone needed.  What I didn’t take into account was the absolute abuse my profession would get over the years.
I have seen a massive decline in the respect this trade has, first, it was the erosion of truck parking and transport café’s, then it was the massive increase in restricting where I could stop, timed weight limits in just about every city and town, but not all the time, you can get there to do your delivery, but you can’t stay there, nobody wants an empty truck, nobody wants you there once they have what they did want.
Compare France to the UK.  I can park in nearly every town or village, they have marked truck parking bays, and somewhere nearby, will be a small routier, where I can get a meal and a shower, the locals respect me, and have no problems with me or my truck being there for the night.
Go out onto the motorway services, and I can park for no cost, go into the service area, and get a shower for a minimal cost, and have freshly cooked food, I even get to jump the queues, because others know that my time is limited, and respect I am there because it is my job.  Add to that, I even get a 20% discount of all I purchase.  Compare that to the UK £25-£40 just to park overnight, dirty showers, and expensive, dried (under heat lamps) food that is overpriced, and I have no choice but to park there, because you don’t want me in your towns and cities.
Ask yourself how you would feel, if doing your job actually cost you money at the end of the day, just so you could rest.
But that isn’t the half of it.  Not only have we been rejected from our towns and cities, but we have also suffered massive pay cuts, because of the influx of foreign drivers willing to work for a wage that is high where they come from, companies eagerly recruited from the eastern bloc, who can blame them, why pay good money when you can get cheap labour, and a never ending supply of it as well.  Never mind that their own countries would suffer from a shortage themselves, that was never our problem, they could always get people from further afield if they needed drivers.
We were once seen as knights of the road, now we are seen as the lepers of society.  Why would anyone want to go back to that?
If you are worried about not getting supplies on your supermarket shelves, ask your local council just how well they cater for trucks in your district.
I know Canterbury has the grand total of zero truck parking facilities, but does have a lot of restrictions, making it difficult for trucks to stop anywhere.
Do you want me to go back to driving trucks?  Give me a good reason to do so.  Give anyone a good reason to take it up as a profession.
Perhaps once you work out why you can’t, you will understand why your shelves are not as full as they could be.
I tried it for over 30 years, but will never go back, you just couldn't pay me enough.

Thank you to all those people who have shared this post.  I never expected such a massive response, but am glad that this message is getting out there.  I really hope that some people who are in a position to change just how bad it is for some drivers, can influence the powers that be to make changes for the better.  Perhaps some city and town councillors have seen this, and are willing to bring up these issues at their council meetings.  It surely cannot be too much to ask of a town/city to provide facilities for those who are doing so much to make sure their economies run and their shops and businesses are stocked with supplies.  I never wanted any luxuries, just somewhere safe to park, and some basic ablutions that are maintained to a reasonable standard.  I spent my nights away from my home and family for you, how much is it to ask that you at least give me access to some basic services.
There are tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of licence holders just like me, who will no longer tolerate the conditions.  So the ball is firmly in the court of the councils to solve this problem.

WOW. 100,000 shares in a week.
I have been humbled by the number of people who have never been involved in transport expressing concern about just how badly truck drivers are treated.  I don't think the general public have really ever given it a thought, but I have been pleased to see so many express their displeasure about how we have to live while just providing a service for all of them.
I have heard from a number of news outlets since posting this, but not a single councillor or politician has contacted me.
Not that I think anything will change. Trucks always have been an inconvenience for local governments, and the cost of catering for them is left to someone else, anyone else,  yet there is no someone else out there.

 I avoided another aspect of the job, that makes it bad even for those who try to get home every night.
We have many transport hubs where goods are collected and then distributed onwards to supermarkets and large retailers.  Anyone who has delivered to any of these regional distribution centres will tell you the same story.  You arrive there at a fixed time slot (don't be late or you will face serious delays), and you will be told where to park and then where to take your paper work, after that, you will be instructed to back onto a bay at some point, to be unloaded. it might take just 20 minutes to unload a truck, but you can bet that the time spent in this RDC will be much longer, waiting for a bay to tip, waiting for them to actually unload you, and then what is usually the longest wait.  Waiting for your paper work, so you can carry on to the next job.  It is no wonder there is a shortage of trucks on the roads, 1/2 of them are stuck inside these soulless places waiting for a piece of paper.!

you forgot to mention that whilst waiting to be unloaded that you have to hand your keys over , and sit in the lorry with no radio , unable to open close windows etc because they assume we are so bloody thick that we will drive off part way through being loaded / unloaded !!! or you can sit and wait in their waiting room , which is usually utterly boring . empty with hard bench seats ...

Edited September 25, 2021 by devon TWiG

[woody paul]

All this about lorry driver shortage in fuel industry, it doesn't suddenly happen unless someone in admin makes a big cock up with holiday time off. 

[Johnsond]

Been out today, Diesel and petrol for the mill. Filled up at Buckie no queue no hassle. Absolute media driven shit of the highest order swallowed sadly by way too many. 

[tomo567]

Been out today, Diesel and petrol for the mill. Filled up at Buckie no queue no hassle. Absolute media driven shit of the highest order swallowed sadly by way too many. 

Come to Shrewsbury then all petrol stations got no fuel

[Johnsond]

1 minute ago, tomo567 said:

Come to Shrewsbury then all petrol stations got no fuel

Aberdeenshire to Shrewsbury 🤷‍♂️ too far, and by the sounds of it the panicking masses have listened to the news and emptied the tanks. Not to worry a handful of cheap Eastern European drivers will instantly solve the non crisis, or it will solve itself when the media move onto something else. 

[tomo567]

Aberdeenshire to Shrewsbury 🤷‍♂️ too far, and by the sounds of it the panicking masses have listened to the news and emptied the tanks. Not to worry a handful of cheap Eastern European drivers will instantly solve the non crisis, or it will solve itself when the media move onto something else. 

What I don’t understand is how many hgv drivers do they have in the army for starters

[Johnsond]

12 minutes ago, tomo567 said:

What I don’t understand is how many hgv drivers do they have in the army for starters

Not as many as the press and politicians seem to think. Years and years of cuts have seen to that.

[Mark J]

1 hour ago, Johnsond said:

Aberdeenshire to Shrewsbury 🤷‍♂️ too far, and by the sounds of it the panicking masses have listened to the news and emptied the tanks. Not to worry a handful of cheap Eastern European drivers will instantly solve the non crisis, or it will solve itself when the media move onto something else. 

I reckon the 'fuel crisis' is there to distract us from the 'food crisis'.

[gary112]

2 hours ago, tomo567 said:

Come to Shrewsbury then all petrol stations got no fuel

None in Ludlow either Tomo,cant get diesel anywhere,idiots bought it all yesterday