London, UK: There has been no impact assessment on the road safety implications of extending HGV driving hours.
The Department for Transport confirmed to trade union Unite that “there is not an impact assessment” of the ongoing extension to the maximum number of hours a lorry driver can drive.
Sharon Graham, general secretary, Unite, said: “HGV drivers and road users can be rightly angry about ministers’ failure to take their safety seriously. Small wonder that this industry struggles to attract and retain a workforce.
Truck drivers will continue to be allowed to drive for additional hours until the end of October with the expectation this will continue until the end of January. Since March, HGV driving hours will have been extended for 11 out of 19 months.
Drivers can now drive for up to 11 hours a day (compared to the normal maximum of 10 hours) and a total of 99 hours a fortnight (previously 90), with rest periods also reduced.
Unite has warned that by extending driving hours, workers are at increased risk of fatigue and the longer the period when driving hours are increased the greater the cumulative effect of fatigue.
Unite national officer Adrian Jones said: “For most of the last year and a half, lorry drivers have been expected to work extended hours. Drivers will not return to a sector when the hours on the road can be extended at a whim by government and with no proper regard to road safety.
“Drivers are already exhausted and as we enter late autumn and winter, when driving conditions are poorer, the danger of accidents will inevitably increase.”
Unite is working with its lorry driver reps and members to establish an agreed set of demands to fix the recruitment crisis in the industry for the long-term to be put to the haulage industry employers.
