Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
£78k to be trucker but I’ll stick to the day job after driving shambles
THE Sunday Mirror sent reporter Dan Hall to try his hand at driving an HGV – amid reports of drivers being tempted with £78,000 salaries and fears rookie drivers will be a danger on the roads.
Dan headed to the National Driving Centre in Croydon, South London, where trainees can drive trucks of up to 44 tons and 16.5 metres.
And our man admitted: “It was terrifying. We’re only driving around a quiet car park, but the stress of being in control of such a massive vehicle with other cars, people and buildings around is enough to make me glad we’re not out on the road.
“When I set off going backwards in the NCA’s articulated lorry, I’m a shambles, struggling to keep the lorry straight.
“Even crawling is an overwhelming exercise in concentration.
“I managed to inch the lorry into the bay but I’m horrified to see how close I am to the barrier. I think it’s safer if I stick to my day job.”
Dan’s experience came as firms are trying to fill 100,000 vacancies. The
Government today sets out a visa scheme allowing 5,000 foreign truckers to work in the UK temporarily. And the Department of Transport has simplified HGV testing in a bid to fast-track 50,000 lorry-driving rookies into jobs before Christmas.
For example, reversing exercises have been cut from the main test as a time-saver.
Kate Gibbs, of the Road Haulage Association, said: “Safety has to be paramount. It’s inevitable accidents will happen and we have to do all we can to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”
Victoria Lebrec lost her left leg when she was knocked off her bicycle by an HGV in 2014. Now head of policy at the RoadPeace campaign group, Victoria, 30, warned: “More people will be killed and seriously injured if road safety is compromised.
“This feels like something that has been rushed through in reaction to an economic issue and I’m worried it has not been properly considered.”
Laurence Bolton, of the National Driving Centre, said it was “a huge ask” to expect ordinary drivers to master lorry driving without proper experience.
It feels like something that has been rushed through VICTORIA LEBREC ON LORRY RULES CHANGE