With the UK’s HGV driver shortage really starting to be felt by delivery companies in Britain, last week the government responded by introducing a temporary extension to the number of hours able to be legally driven in a day from 9 hours to 10 hours, as well as allowing changes to be made to weekly rest patterns.

HGV Driving Hours Extension

Described by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps as a move that will give more flexibility to drivers wanting to make slightly longer trips, it has been roundly condemned, with a fierce backlash from the industry and the Road Haulage Association (RHA) calling it nothing more than a sticking plaster move.

“It Will Make No Difference At All”

At present there is a shortfall in HGV driver numbers that sits at around 60,000, caused by a number of factors like Brexit, IR 35 tax law changes and exacerbated because of some 30,000 HGV driving tests that weren’t able to be taken during the coronavirus pandemic.

Claiming that the announcement will make absolutely no difference to the current problems faced by the UK haulage industry, Adrian Jones from Unite the Union was very clear in what it would be telling workers to do “Unite will be advising its members to not place themselves in danger and that if they are too tired to drive safely, they have a legal right to refuse to do so”.

He continued “Unite will fully support those who make that decision, legally and industrially” and this was echoed by Logistics UK spokesman James Firth who himself said that these extended working hours would “heap more pressure on drivers who are already stretched to the limit to deliver” and that the government had “ignored the will of those who will be most affected by the changes“.

Making the Role Seem Less Appealing

The safety concerns are obvious and they are rightly being highlighted, however, it’s not the only impact that this could have on the industry. Having long suffered with something of an image problem, a lot of work has gone into enticing new people into the industry by changing perceptions about the role of HGV drivers for outsiders.

These working conditions could be seen by many as undesirable, in fact, as existing drivers have been stretched to the limit since early 2020, there are those in the profession who see this extension as the final straw that could actually see them leave the profession as a result. This is not going to help attract new talent into the sector.

Doing Our Bit to Alleviate the HGV Driver Shortage

There is clearly a lot of work to be done by the government and UK haulage organisations for this growing issue to be dealt with in a meaningful way and there are certainly some challenging months ahead in the sector. At HGVC, however, we’re working hard to help companies avoid the impact by providing effective HGV driver training to their existing staff.

Able to cater for both small and large scale licence acquisition programs, our industry leading services have already directly led to thousands of new drivers entering the market. So, if you run a delivery company and you’re interested in the training that we offer, you can find out more by visiting us online at www.hgvc.co.uk.

Alternatively, if you would like to talk to us directly about your driver training needs, we’ll be more than happy to assist. You can get in touch with our friendly, expert team by calling us on 0333 818 8888 today.