THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
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accurately monitor driver operations.
Further to this, there are however vagaries in the system that confuse this even further. For example, if a plant vehicle is called out to an environmental, sewer or public health emergency, for example an overflowing sewer that is threatening homes and public spaces. The driver can simply ignore tachograph regulations because it is an emergency situation. This of course does lead to the potential for any vehicle that is on the road outside of tachograph time frames to simply list the operation as an emergency and ignore the rules. That is not to say that companies do this just that option is there if a job site overruns its scheduled working day and the driver needs to get home. Not an option that should be exercised but there must be circumstances where it is a useful option. The question then arises how does the regulator know, if they do checks, what is true and what is listed in the way it is for convenience?
Another situation where confusion may reign for the inspector is the circumstance where a ‘plant’ vehicle goes to site with more than one operator. The driver driving to site may not be required to operate the ‘plant’ side of the vehicle whilst the ‘driver’s mate’ does the actual work on site. However, the vehicle engine has to operate to provide the power to use the on-board plant, so the tachograph will register this potentially as driver time, even though the driver is essentially on a break. So, once again it is difficult for any inspection to fully ascertain what is actually happening with the driver out in the field.
Another aspect of the conversations that have occurred both in researching this article and online over recent months is that different individuals interpret the rules in different ways. Without going to any finite detail, particularly online, there appears to be a tendency for exchanges online to centre around the ‘I tend to do it this way’ comment, which is usually different from the way another person in the conversation views it.
So, what we have is two sets of rules each apparently being utilised by those that need to use them but using their own interpretation of those rues as best suits their individual operations.
Of course it goes without saying that all drivers must carry the correct driving
FOLLOW US February 2022 | 5
licence and have undergone all necessary CPC training and hold the relevant certifications.
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This of course leads to the question of what is the correct interpretation and why are some may people simply applying them as they see fit?
The complexities of the current system go back some years if not decades, according so some who have been around the industry for that long. Various Governments have tried to ensure driver working conditions and ultimately road safety have improved over the years. However, the changes have come on top of previous changes and those before that, in large part because of the improvements in vehicle design, safety systems and the need to reduce road accidents involving larger vehicles which as we all know can reek some serious damage if they are involved in accidents.
Unfortunately, what now seems to be the case is a system that is open to individual interpretation and is utilised by individual operators to their best effect for that particular company or operating set-up.
Is there, therefore, a need for industry, regulators, government and road haulage agencies to get together to review the regulations there are currently and remove the potential inconsistency in application in the field. As with all situations of this type there is ultimately a need for everyone to be ‘singing from the same sheet’.
With the drive towards Net Zero being as
much of a requirement of the drainage/ trucking industry as anywhere else perhaps now would be a good time make this review and simplify the requirements and regulations for drivers and the companies they work for across the whole HGV/Plant operators spectrum to ensure that all works whether simply transport or site works are carried out in a consistent way under rules that everyone can understand and apply without confusion or misinterpretation.
DRIVER FATIGUE
As well as the need to ensure that all drivers and companies work within the regulations there are of course times when, no matter how well rules are applied, individual circumstances mean that drivers may be adversely affected during the course of their working/ driving day. According to a recent survey conducted by the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) in an article from Van Ninja a van supply company, driving a heavy vehicle for any length of time is demanding on the driver. The survey suggests that as many as two- thirds of professional drivers feel tired on a regular basis (60% of lorry drivers). On top of this some 30% of lorry drivers have even admitted dozing off whilst at the wheel.
Fatigue can affect both reflexes and decision-making processes which with passing time slow, with fatigue being identified as a major factor in many fatal road accidents. So how do drivers and their supervisors manage fatigue?
Firstly, pit stops are essential, especially for newer drivers. Certain breaks of
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