Motor Transport 13 April 2020

Sharp ■ Informed ■ Challenging

13.4.20

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D4 medicals suspended

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Furlough payments Call for clarity as firms struggle to pay workers

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CAZ schemes halted Extension needed until at least 2022, says RHA

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OPERATORS INSIDE Clipper Logistics............................................ p8 DPD .............................................................. p6 Pollock (Scotrans)......................................... p8 Premier Logistics (UK) ................................... p6

MT Awards 2020 finalists selected The shortlist for the Motor Transport Awards 2020 has now been announced. Although the Awards presentation has had to be postponed until 27 August, and the judging day where our 50 senior independent judges get together to pick the winners and shortlist had to be cancelled, thanks to our online entry and judging process we have our 2020 line up of finalists.

The standard of entries was once again extremely high and MT editor Steve Hobson paid tribute to every company who took the time to put together some outstanding entries.

“I have been involved in the last 10 of the 34 Motor Transport Awards and every year I am incredibly impressed with the strength, resilience and innovation shown by the road freight transport industry,” said Hobson. “Never has the country had to rely more on those attributes than right now.”

For the list of finalists other than Fleet Truck of the Year, which will be announced shortly, go to mtawards.co.uk. See you in August at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel to see who picks up those iconic bronze trophies.

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18/02/2020 10:06

Strategies to keep operators in business must be expedited, says RHA

Immediate support needed for hauliers

By Carol Millett and Steve Hobson

The RHA has slammed government plans to provide alternative funding for smaller hauliers struggling to access the Treasury’s COVID-19 support packages as “jam tomorrow”.

The strategies, which include a proposal to “reverse” extended payment terms put in place by some clients, were revealed last week during a House of Commons Transport Committee hearing into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the transport and logistics sector.

Under-secretary Baroness Vere of Norbiton agreed that the sector has “suffered a significant drop in revenues”.

She added: “Compounding that is a pressure on working capital. Some companies that use hauliers have been extending their payment terms and we are looking to reverse that where we can, but on the cost side, some suppliers to the haulage sector are also demanding payment sooner.

“We are thinking about what we can do for the haulage sector – as you will appreciate it is incredibly complex – it is, in reality, a huge number of sub-sectors, all serving different markets, carrying different goods, using different vehicles and working in different environments.

“So it is a work in progress and we are well aware of the issue.”

Responding, Rod McKenzie (pictured above), RHA policy

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Chief executive Richard Burnett said that the government needs to take “urgent action” to prevent large numbers of operators going out of business as the existing package of bank loans and furlough payments is not addressing hauliers’ needs.

“We are trying to work with the government to find a way for operators to drop fixed costs such as lease and hire purchase payments, VED and insurance,” Burnett told MT. “Those that have furloughed staff won’t see any of that money until May or June.

“Hauliers are also seeing rising levels of debtors so, with no money coming in, a lot of businesses are close to collapse.” and public affairs MD, told MT: “Many smaller hauliers are struggling to access money to support their businesses – they have low margins and poor cash flow. The government is promising jam tomorrow when these firms need jam now.

“The government must not be seen to be hindering the very businesses that keep Britain’s supermarkets and hospitals supplied.”

McKenzie’s comments come after an RHA survey of hauliers, which had 6,500 responses in 36 hours, showed that 46% of the UK truck fleet – approximately 240,000 vehicles – is now parked up with no work.

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13.4.20

HGV drivers call on DVLA to announce D4 suspension immediately

D4 medicals may face year-long suspension

By Carol Millett

The need for drivers to undergo HGV driver medicals is to be suspended – possibly for a year – as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, according to a letter sent by MP Robert Buckland to a constituent.

News of the suspension of D4 medicals will be met with relief by thousands of HGV drivers who are legally required to undergo one in order to renew their licences but have been unable to do so

during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Buckland’s letter, seen by MT, states: “I raised this issue with my government colleagues in the DfT and their response was that ministers have agreed to suspend the requirement for a D4 for a period of time, likely up to a year. The DVLA will update its website to reflect, if it hasn’t already.”

The pandemic has created a massive backlog of D4 medicals

over the past few weeks with GPs instructed to postpone all nonNHS medical work and major providers of D4 medicals suspending their services.

Fit2Drive Medicals carries out between 1,000 to 3,000 D4 medicals a month, while D4Drivers processes up to 5,000 drivers a month. Both providers suspended all D4 medicals two weeks ago.

HGV drivers called on the DVLA to announce the suspension now.

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With the banks “over-run” with requests for loans, Burnett added that hauliers reported they were “struggling to get appointments” with their bankers and even when they did get a meeting many were being refused loans because of high existing debts and low profitability.

“Many operators are being told they are unsustainable so they will not be given loans,” said Burnett.

“They have so much debt already the banks are not interested.”

Even those operators working flat out carrying food and other essential goods are losing money.

“Backloads have disappeared so hauliers working for supermarkets and food manufacturers are running at a loss,” Burnett said.

“We have told the supermarkets they have to start paying round trip rates or change the operating model to keep the supply chain going.”

In response to the suggestion that operators could be given payment holidays on vehicle leasing and contract hire agreements, a British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) spokesman said: “We know that there has been a significant surge in requests for forbearance on their lease payments and BVRLA members are doing their very best to support their customers, by providing payment holidays, extending contracts and reducing monthly fees.

“The BVRLA is working with its colleagues at the Finance and Leasing Association to help the government to improve the effectiveness of its various financial support mechanisms. We want to make it easier for non-bank-owned finance companies to access these schemes, and we want them to be able to use them to support existing as well as new lending.”

Another concern is that the UK imports almost half its food and as countries like Italy and Spain remain in lockdown supplies are starting to fall.

Ferry companies are also calling for government aid to prevent them going out of business as running services for freight only is losing money.

As China comes out of its lockdown, containers carrying nonfood products will start arriving again in UK ports, which will cause problems of a different kind.

“Containers are starting to come in, but with no market the docks are full,” said Burnett.

“Container hauliers are parking up their fleets so they won’t be around to move them into storage elsewhere.”

Subsidised fatigue monitors needed for tired truckers HGV drivers working longer hours under new COVID-19 rules should be supplied with governmentsubsidised fatigue monitors to avert a rise in road accidents.

The warning comes from road safety firm SmartWitness in the wake of the government’s emer-

gency order. The revised rules increase the maximum daily driving time of nine hours to 11 hours, the weekly limit from 56 hours to 60 hours and up the fortnightly limit of 90 hours to 96 hours.

SmartWitness MD Paul Singh said: “If we are going to push our

truckers to the limit of their physical endurance then mistakes will be made, and when they involve trucks it will often cost lives on the road. Surely if there is equipment to mitigate these risks it should be taken and government should subsidise truck firms.”

DfT offers temporary Driver CPC extension Rules surrounding Driver CPC training have been relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic for anyone struggling to complete the training. The DfT said it had put in place temporary changes in professional driver qualification requirements, meaning those whose Driver CPC card expires between 1 March and 30 September can continue driving. Military drivers will also be allowed to drive in civilian situations during that period. The DfT advised that drivers should carry their expired Driver CPC card if they have it and that the end date would be kept under review. n Meanwhile, logistics training specialist SP Training has claimed that its first online CPC course generated “unprecedented multinational demand”. The course was developed after the DVSA announced the suspension of classroom training due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

It attracted drivers from four different nations, the company said, as drivers scrambled to get urgent qualifications to secure employment.

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FTA calls for clarity on furlough system the cash from the scheme is received – a decision which will have a massive impact on workers.”

Wells said that while the FTA supports changes to the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), which could be used to bridge the cash flow gap, he warned that the banks “need to step up and deliver the cash quickly where it’s needed”.

The association also wants the government to make sure businesses taking out loans under the scheme are not crippled by harsh repayment terms. n The RHA has claimed furlough rules are needlessly preventing

thousands of HGV drivers from delivering personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NHS. The association was responding to claims made by health secretary Matt Hancock that a “mammoth logistical exercise” was to blame for delays in getting PPE to frontline staff.

Richard Burnett, RHA chief executive, said: “Haulage professionals are only too willing to deliver vital PPE which will save lives, but their hands are tied as current furlough rules would mean truckers could face financial penalties if they took on the work.” n For haulier reaction, see page 8

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The FTA is calling for “urgent clarity” on how quickly furlough payments will be made once the government scheme launches at the end of this month, warning that firms furloughing workers are “fast running out of cash” as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Under the scheme, companies adversely affected by the pandemic can reclaim up to 80% of an employee’s usual monthly wage, up to £2,500 per month, plus employer national insurance contributions and minimum employer pension contributions.

FTA chief executive David Wells said: “It’s critical that businesses know when the payments from the furloughing programme will be received, and that these payments are made as soon as possible after the scheme opens at the end of April.

“FTA has already heard of several organisations that are not paying their furloughed staff until

Hauliers hit with rate reductions as fuel prices drop A slump in fuel prices triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak has prompted rate reviews by Aggregate Industries (AI) and Fowler Welch.

AI hauliers have been hit with a 3% reduction after the construction materials supplier told them that its fuel escalator mechanism would be activated, following a drop in the average quarterly key fuels price to below 100ppl.

Ben Young, AI head of road logistics, said the low fuel costs in

the first quarter of 2020 were primarily caused by geopolitical factors. He explained that the reduced rate reflected the escalator shared with all parties in November 2018.

Subcontractors have also slammed Fowler Welch’s plans to review rates in response to falling fuel prices.

The company said: “The saving year-on-year has been approximately 9ppl, with the past six weeks showing a reduction of

13ppl. In turn we would like to find a way to share this benefit.

Our proposed rate will commence in line with the beginning of our new financial year.”

One subcontractor told MT the move was ill-timed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Margins for subcontractors have been wafer thin. Any fuel cost reduction will help us in our battle for survival and I think it is appalling that Fowler Welch is trying to claw this benefit back.”

Logistics faces an uncertain future Shutterstock

Businesses need certainty as money to pay furloughed staff runs short

A senior figure at one of the UK’s biggest logistics operations has admitted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could see businesses face an “armageddon of liquidations” and a future based on “the survival of the fittest”.

The source, who did not wish to be named, told MT: “We fully expect that some of our fashion customers will never open their doors again.

“This is 2008 multiplied by ten.

Four weeks ago retailers were worried they wouldn’t have enough stock for the busy Easter period. Now they’re cancelling it when it’s on the water,” he added.

The source went on to say that most transport and logistics companies would fall back on their warehousing storage revenue.

However, he warned that “if the customer they’re storing for goes bust we’re going to see an armageddon in terms of liquidations at the end of this.

“If [RHA chief executive] Richard Burnett tells the government every haulier needs a million pound bailout he can whistle in the wind quite frankly. But the big boys will survive, and the little boys who have got some warehouses will survive.

“The warehouse operators are busy and the pallet networks are still doing about half to threequarters of the seasonal norm. But hauliers should be writing to their hire purchase and leasing companies and asking for payment holidays right now.

“We’ve withheld our VAT, PAYE and corporation tax payments. If it goes on for months you’ll be glad of that cash in your bank account rather than the government’s.”

JOB LOSSES: Fashion retail logistics firm Advanced Supply Chain Group is to cut around 30 jobs in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, just days after slamming the government for making its rescue funding for firms hit by the pandemic too complex. The company said: “These actions were taken with great reluctance and before we could see any immediate government support. We’re working hard to protect more than 1,300 jobs and push beyond the current downturn in the retail sector. Wherever possible, we’ve worked to retain and redeploy staff within the group and also with other local companies. We’ve also adapted our business to support supermarkets’ and wholesalers’ transport operations to help with their supply chain pressures while protecting drivers’ jobs.”

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13.4.20

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Hauliers needs more time to return to normal after coronavirus before introducing city schemes

Suspension of CAZ schemes not long enough, claims RHA

By Carol Millett

The government’s suspension of all clean air zone (CAZ) schemes to January 2021 is not long enough, the RHA has insisted. The association is calling for the suspension to be extended for another year to allow hauliers to recover from the financial effect of the COVID19 pandemic.

The decision to suspend CAZ schemes was confirmed by Defra minister Rebecca Pow last week. The move follows calls from Leeds and Birmingham City Councils for permission to delay schemes as they battle the impact of the

COVID-19 crisis on their cities’ economies.

Confirming the suspension, Pow said Defra was still committed to introducing CAZ schemes. But she said: “It would delay introducing them until after the COVID-19 outbreak response. We will keep the timetable under review, but we expect the introduction of CAZs to be no earlier than January 2021.”

Rod McKenzie, RHA policy and public affairs MD, told MT: “When we come out of this pandemic think of the enormous problems this industry will be facing. The last thing it needs is to be saddled with the extra cost of

meeting the requirements of CAZ schemes.

“Our SME members have very low profit margins of 2% to 3% and when this pandemic ends they will have little cash in the bank – they will not have the money to invest in new Euro-6 trucks needed to comply with CAZ requirements.

“The industry needs more time. Adding another year would leave us in a much better position. These are really tough times for our members and adding yet more bureaucracy, red tape and expense at this critical time is the last thing this industry needs.”

Premier back on track after CVA

GRUB’S UP: DPD food deliveries have risen to 200,000 a week after it signed a deal with supermarket Morrisons to meet consumer demand for online deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also seeing an increase in volumes for existing food box delivery customers, alongside transporting essential NHS supplies to hospitals, GP surgeries, pharmacies and care homes. In its new tie-up, DPD is delivering the supermarket’s Meat Eaters and Vegetarian boxes priced at £35 each. DPD has introduced social distancing measures throughout its operation, which includes everyone staying 2m apart during briefings and all processes such as loading and unloading vehicles. Driver start times have been staggered to ensure there are fewer drivers in the depot at any one time, while extra cleaning measures have also been introduced at all depots and parcel hubs.

Latest figures show that Premier Logistics (UK) increased turnover by 2% to £10.2m as the haulier battled its way out of its company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

For the year to 31 October 2019, the company returned to the black, with a pre-tax profit of £2.3m, compared with a loss of £2m in the 10 months to 31 October 2018.

It said profit was boosted by an exceptional item of £1.85m in respect of the write back following its early settlement of the CVA it entered into in July 2018.

The company was forced to restructure its finances via a CVA in the face of a £5.7m shortfall to creditors. A revision to the original terms would have meant it making monthly contributions over five years. However, this term was later reduced as part of a settlement accepted by creditors and HMRC and the CVA ended last month.

Industry struggles as migrant drivers go home An exodus of eastern European drivers and major disruption to warehouse shift patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic are putting increasing pressure on the sector, according to analysts at real estate firm Colliers International.

Meanwhile, many warehouse operations have also been forced to introduce new cleaning 6 MotorTransport

processes, disrupting normal operations and slowing the distribution of vital supplies.

“To add to the challenge [of COVID-19], there is a driver shortage as large numbers of Romanian drivers have headed home only to get stuck in Hungary or other borders in Europe,” said Chris Evans, supply chain

specialist at Colliers International.

“Moreover, Spanish, French and Italian lorry drivers are not operating at capacity or are unable to work due to self-isolation. Some companies have also split warehouse shifts to clean down after each one. This will increasingly slow down their stock replenishment and distribution operations.”

13.4.20

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Our passionate staff are dedicated to continue to support our customers and their businesses in the most appropriate manner throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Our dealer network is taking all precautions to remain open for business whilst ensuring the well-being and safety for all.

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Hauliers express concern over lack of flexibility in government scheme

Divisions over furlough Hauliers have demanded the government explains how its system for paying employees 80% of their salaries is going to work, following concerns that it isn’t flexible enough to deal with their industry.

Ian Barclay (pictured), operations director at Roger Warnes Transport in Kings Lynn, said the concept of furlough – granting employees a leave of absence during the COVID-19 pandemic – is unworkable if parts of a business are seasonal, or are experiencing a surge in growth while other parts are in decline.

He said: “We need to flex down and up again, depending on customer demands. What furloughing says is that you put people off, full stop.

“That would work for a factory

closing down. But for the transport industry, I don’t think that will work.

“We have had a few more demands in agriculture: for example, barley for malt to make beer and also on sugar beet pellets. But then what happens when you come out of that season?

“We need an ongoing ability to flex hours without having to go through the red tape processes. What concerns me is dealing with a floodgate of tribunal claims later on.”

However, Clive Brooks, MD of Herefordshire-based haulier ABE, argued that the offer was “very, very welcome”.

He added: “Our work is up and down and we’ll have to be very cautious how we step down the

including setting up a full warehouse management system for over 200,000sq ft of space.

Unipart was granted a five-year contract to provide logistics for NHS SC in September 2018, in a deal worth £730m. However, NHS workers have complained of an ongoing shortage of PPE. The failure was dubbed a ‘crisis within a crisis’ in a joint trade

union statement on 1 April and has been blamed for putting NHS staff at risk. n CEVA Logistics has begun delivering a major shipment of medical supplies to NHS hospitals and surgeries across the country, as part of a government initiative to bring all UK healthcare distribution under one umbrella during the COVID-19 crisis.

RPL Transport administrator pursues cartel claim A legal claim by the administrators of RPL Transport relating to a truck manufacturers’ price-fixing cartel

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is being pursued while the company enters liquidation.

KPMG, which has been sorting

Enhanced customer relationships and new contracts helped Pollock (Scotrans) increase turnover by 4% last year. The Scottish operator reported revenues of £27.8m for the year to 31 August 2019, as well as a £256,000 pre-tax profit – up from £58,000 in 2018. It achieved this “against a backdrop of challenging trading conditions”, it said.

It said its strategy of maintaining and enhancing key customer relationships, winning new contracts and the use of non-financial KPIs to monitor and manage costs and efficiencies helped to boost profit.

resources. But if we’re looking at 50% volume, for example, we’ll be fairly safe to take 25% of resource out.”

Clipper and CEVA in NHS deliveries for COVID-19 Clipper Logistics has been subcontracted by NHS Supply Chain principal partner Unipart to run a supply channel for the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) to NHS trusts and community healthcare partners.

It is understood the operation is being run out of DIRFT and deliveries have already commenced.

Mobilisation took five days,

Contracts boost Pollock profit

out debts and realising assets at the Milton Keynes operator after it followed parent Bedfords Group into administration in April 2019, said in a report to creditors that secured and preferential creditors will be paid in full and there should also be a dividend for unsecured creditors.

“All assets have now been realised, although there is a potential legal claim as a result of truck manufacturers operating an illegal price-fixing cartel in Europe between 1997 and 2011, which we will continue to pursue,” it stated.

Employees’ arrears and holiday pay totalled £17,560 and unsecured claims are estimated at more than £756,000.

MONDAY, APRIL 12th, 1920

Motor Transport was launched in 1905 as Motor Traction. We look at a story published 100 years ago: Motor Vans Reduce the Price of Fish. Work of the Travelling Motor Fish Shops in Manchester A development that is being watched with great interest is the scheme of travelling motor fish shops inaugurated in Manchester a few weeks ago following experiments of a similar nature carried out in Hull. Not only has interest been aroused among the industrial motor vehicle community and fishmongers, but the man in the street – or, rather, his wife – is watching it probably more closely than anybody to see the effect it has on prices. On the latter point it may be said that, as a result of the operations of Fresh Fish Supplies – the company running motor fish vans in Manchester – a reduction in the price of fish is observable in many directions in Cottonpolis.

13.4.20

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FTA pushes for increased government funding to boost van inspections

Fatal crash prompts calls for more roadside checks The FTA is calling for a major increase in roadside checks on vans to raise standards in the sector. The call follows a court case last month which found welding contractor Renown Consultants guilty of failing to comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, following a fatal incident caused by a fatigued van driver.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Zac Payne, 20, and Michael Morris, 48, died in a crash at around 5.30am on 19 June 2013, when Payne is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel of a company van while driving back to Renown’s Doncaster depot after a night shift in Stevenage.

The van veered off the motorway, crashing into a parked vehicle and killing both the driver and the passenger. Payne had been driving and working since 4.30am the previous day. He was supposed to finish for the day in the evening, but took an additional overnight welding job.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) told the court that Payne, who like his colleague was employed on a zero-hours contract, was suffering the effects of fatigue

Shutterstock

By Carol Millett

and may have fallen asleep at the wheel or experienced ‘microsleeps’.

The court heard that as Payne was only 20 he should not have been driving, as the company’s fleet insurance policy stipulated a minimum age of 25.

Since both men were on zero hours contracts and reliant on Renown for securing welding qualifications, ORR said this created an incentive to accept any work that was offered.

James Firth, head of FTA licensing policy, called for greater government funding for the DVSA to boost the number of roadside inspections of vans, along with measures to encourage van fleets

to record drivers’ hours.

He said: “The DVSA receives around £2.5m of funding for the roadside enforcement of light commercial vehicles, which number around 4 millon, compared with a pot of £40m for the roadside enforcement of 800,000 HGVs. “While HGVs are much more complex and an HGV failure can have far worse consequences than a van failure, nevertheless there is still an imbalance in the funding that needs to be addressed.”

Firth added that the FTA would also like to see government give its backing for van fleets to use apps to record drivers’ hours.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Extra MSA Group has opened the first phase of its £64m Leeds Skelton Lake Services.

The new motorway service area, at J45 of the M1, two miles east of Leeds, is now open but is offering essential services only during the COVID-19 lockdown. Facilities that are open include the fuel filling station, toilets and shower facilities, IONITY electric vehicle charging points and a small shop. Once fully opened the MSA will offer a range of food and retail outlets in the Food Court and Amenity building including Nando’s, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC and Harry Ramsden. The MSA also has a Wildlife Visitor Centre that will be operated by the RSPB. Andrew Long, chief executive of Extra MSA Group, said: “Leeds Skelton Lake Services will provide additional critical infrastructure facilities important for the national and regional economy.”

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Industry bodies slam hygiene facilities Transport industry business groups have demanded that adequate hygiene facilities, including hot and cold running water, are available to all drivers and warehouse operatives delivering to or collecting from business premises.

In a joint statement, FTA chief executive David Wells, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett and Unite national officer Adrian Jones stressed the legal obligations of businesses to employees and visitors, urging them to ensure that facilities on offer comply with the legal requirements.

“Government advice during this crisis is to wash hands thoroughly and often,” the statement said. “Since 2017 delivery drivers have had the legal right to use toilets and washrooms in commercial premises, yet we are still receiving reports that access to these facilities is denied.

“Logistics is delivering vital supplies across the economy, but drivers are being denied the ability to comply with the government’s primary advice to avoid the spread of COVID-19. On behalf of such a key industry, we demand that those relying on logistics to keep their businesses operating comply with the legal requirements laid down by public health authorities.

In 2017, the HSE re-examined the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, in particular Regulations 20 and 21, which state that suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences and washing facilities shall be provided at readily accessible places and that hot and cold water must be available to use.

13.4.20

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Step aside Brexit: coronavirus puts business indicators into a tailspin

Everything heads south

Sterling

The pound’s monthly average value against the euro slumped from €1.19 in February to €1.12 in March. This 6% drop was sterling’s biggest single monthly loss since the financial meltdown of 2008.

It was a similar story against the dollar, with sterling’s value sliding by 4.8%, down from $1.30 in February to $1.24 in March.

Coronavirus is a global pandemic, so why is sterling in particular suffering so badly? Financial analysts explain that the coronavirusrelated collapse of stock markets around the world has led to investors seeking less risky homes for their money. In many cases that means cash, so investors are 12 MotorTransport

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The monthly GDP figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the UK economy was distinctly lethargic even before coronavirus struck.

The year got off to a poor start, with no growth whatsoever in January. But ONS statisticians warn that a single month’s data can be volatile, so they prefer to compare rolling three-month periods. That does not look any better.

Construction during the three months to January was up on the previous three months, but was offset by shrinkage in manufacturing. The services sector, which contributes around 80% of UK GDP, stagnated, so overall GDP was also flat.

GDP figures for Q1 2020 are due on 12 May. They will give the first measure of the effect coronavirus is having on the economy.

They are likely to show the early signs of contraction, surely to be followed by a sharper decline in Q2. Two consecutive quarters of contraction fulfils the definition of a recession, the UK’s first since 2009.

Inflation

Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation edged down to 1.7% in February. The Bank of England had forecast an average of 1.8% in Q1 this year, dropping to 1.25% by the middle of the year and then gradually picking up to hit the government’s 2% target by Q1 2022.

But those projections were made before coronavirus took hold in the UK: the outlook is now very different. Sharply dropping fuel prices and the collapse of retail spending is certain to drive infla-

tion down. CPI inflation will probably sink below 1% in the UK within the next few months, hitting a four-year low. However, some economists warn that a swift post-virus global economic recov-

ery carries the risk of an upward surge in inflation that will be challenging to control. Operators with supplier price agreements linked to inflation indices may wish to consider that.

AVERAGE BRENT CRUDE OIL PRICES 80 70 60 50

$/barrel

choosing what they perceive as safer currencies. The uncertainty of Brexit rules out the pound on that score, so the resultant low demand for sterling depresses its value against currencies like the euro and the dollar.

Will the pound bounce back when coronavirus has run its course? Only partially, is the probable answer. Sterling’s February high was in Boris Johnson’s “get Brexit done” honeymoon period.

The inherent risk of the actual EU-UK negotiations will continue to weigh down the pound.

40 30 20 10 0

Aug 19 Sep 19 Oct 19 Nov 19 Dec 19 Jan 20 Feb 20 Mar 20

STERLING EXCHANGE RATE 1.35

euro

dollar

1.30 1.25

£1 buys...

The crude oil price has collapsed, with Brent, the international yardstick, halving in the first three months of 2020. Its March average of $34 a barrel is the lowest monthly figure for four years. The drop in global demand due to coronavirus is the root cause, but its effect has been compounded by major oil-producing countries, notably Saudi Arabia and Russia, engaging in a price war. Far from trimming output to suit demand, they boosted production and cut prices in an attempt to grab market share. The inevitable result is unsustainably cheap oil and global inventories at an all-time high.

Brent oil was around $25/barrel in early April, with no concrete upturn in sight and oil storage capacity almost exhausted. The price seems destined to remain very soft for the remainder of 2020 at least. Even when oil producers agree a truce and coronavirus passes, global demand will remain sluggish and the oil glut will take time to dwindle. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast last December that Brent oil would average $60/barrel in 2020. Last month the EIA slashed that forecast to $43.3. Its April forecast, due just a few days after MT goes to press, is almost certain to be sub-$40. For comparison, Brent’s 2019 average was $64.

The weak pound means bulk diesel prices have not slipped as one might expect, with full loads typically costing 88 to 91ppl in late March.

1.20 1.15 1.10 1.05 1.00

Nov 19

Dec 19

Jan 20

Feb 20

Mar 20

GDP GROWTH % change, latest month vs. previous month

Oil and fuel

0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0% -0.1% -0.2% -0.3% -0.4%

Jun 19 Jul 19 Aug 19 Sep 19 Oct 19 Nov 19 Dec 19 Jan 20

13.4.20

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Viewpoint

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Act now before industry collapses

T

he Queen’s broadcast to the nation last week evoked memories of the Second World War – the monarch’s first radio broadcast was in 1940 aged just 14 and her closing words – “we’ll meet again” – reminded everyone of that Dame Vera Steve Hobson Lynn 1939 classic.

Editor While the scale of the crisis facing Britain Motor today hardly compares with a world war, Transport unless the government acts swiftly to rescue the road haulage industry there could be another memory of the 1940s evoked all too soon – nationalisation.

A survey by the RHA found that almost half of the 500,000 HGVs in the UK are parked up due to lack of work. While the supply chain performs heroics to keep food and other essentials moving, most of the road transport industry has collapsed along with the UK economy.

Just as in 1947, when the government

nationalised most long-distance hauliers as part of post-war reconstruction, 70 years on we could be facing a similar threat.

Years of intense pressure on rates and rising costs have pushed many hauliers to the edge of profit, with earnings just about covering costs and no money left to invest in the future.

Just-in-time supply chains have been blamed for the lack of slack in the system but the underlying problem is the unsustainable rates hauliers have been forced to endure. It is also why drivers cannot be paid enough and why operators struggle to invest in low-emission trucks.

Unless measures are introduced quickly to keep the haulage industry afloat during the coronavirus crisis it won’t be there to help the economy recover. And that could make even a Conservative government think the unthinkable and renationalise.

Embrace digitisation before it’s too late T Dave Archer Head of UK risk and intelligence, Fraikin

he transport and logistics sector is standing on the precipice of a digital revolution, although few in the industry seem ready, or willing, to take the leap. In other industries – for example manufacturing and aviation – digital platforms and processes are long established, with most businesses embracing the benefits of a tech-focused approach, including improved automation and transformative programmes around digital footprints.

So why not logistics? Most of the pieces of the technology puzzle are in play with strong foundations being laid – the DVSA’s Earned Recognition scheme being a prime example. The sector on the whole generally misses the point that automation breeds efficiency, transparency and responsibility, which in turn creates profitable growth.

As a founder member of Earned Recognition, Fraikin has seen first-hand the wealth of benefits it offers, from increased vehicle uptime and a reduction in DVSA roadside stoppages (3.85% of Fraikin vehicles on the scheme were stopped in 2018, against the national rate of 60.4%), through to improved operational management and increased efficiency.

Fraikin has always seen Earned Recognition as a first step towards enforced self-governance through digitisation. That said, take-up from UK operators has

14 MotorTransport

admittedly been slow, which reflects both the mindset of the industry towards digitisation on the whole as well as a lack of enforcement from the government.

Factors such as sharing operational data with regulatory agencies are seen as red flags for many, although most information requested is already readily available. At Fraikin, we believe the digitisation of operational data, the increased visibility of fleet compliance and the streamlining of outdated internal processes will, at the very least, equal more vehicle up-time.

The impetus to change must first come from the industry, then through definitive government action. With a viable roadmap, more schemes like Earned Recognition can be developed with clearly defined benefits – with the choice about whether to take part or not removed. This may cause short-term pain, but the result will be significant long-term gains.

That said, if the logistics sector doesn’t adopt new technology soon, businesses outside the industry that understand the benefits of digitisation will step in and lead the way regardless. The question is, are we willing to let that happen?

The newspaper for transport operators

To contact us: Tel: 020 8912 +4 digits or email: name.surname@roadtransport.com Editor Steve Hobson 2161 Head of content Tim Wallace 2158 Events and projects editor Hayley Pink 2165 Group production editor Clare Goldie 2174 Deputy production editor Joanne Betts 2173 Key account manager Andrew Smith 07771 885874 Display telesales Barnaby Goodman-Smith 2128 Event sales Tim George 0755 7677758 Classified and recruitment advertising rtmclassified@roadtransport.com Sales director Emma Tyrer 07900 691137 Divisional director Vic Bunby 2121 Head of marketing Verity Cullum 07823 440821 MT Awards Katy Matthews 2152 Managing director Andy Salter 2171 Editorial office Road Transport Media, First Floor, Chancery House, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1JB 020 8912 2170 Free copies MT is available free to specified licensed operators under the publisher’s terms of control. For details, email mtsccqueries@roadtransport.com, or call 01772 426705 Subscriptions Email:customercare@dvvsubs.com Quadrant Subscription Services, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH Rates UK £135/year. Europe £163/year.

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Got something to say?

If you would like to contribute to MT’s Viewpoint, email steve.hobson@roadtransport.com 13.4.20

GOLF DAY Lambourne Golf Club, Burnham SL1 8NF 24th September 2020

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Tyre technology

Reinventing the r Manufacturers and researchers are constantly looking at ways to develop tyres that can grip better, last longer, do less damage to the environment – and talk to you. By Selwyn Parker

16 MotorTransport

A

s transport seeks to reduce its environmental impact, the one certainty is that the future will roll on tyres. Intelligent tyres, that is.

As Bridgestone’s Hans R Dorfi, director of digital engineering at the group’s technical centre for the Americas, explains: “The role of tyres in this future mobility eco-system will become increasingly important to delivering a safer, smart and efficient transportation experience that also improves social and environmental outcomes.”

And as more trucks, whether electric, diesel or hydrogen-powered, come on to the roads, the quest for a supertyre becomes increasingly urgent. For Dorfi, this goal starts with intelligent tyres – but not necessarily as we know them. “Intelligent tyres have sometimes been interpreted as tyres with embedded sensors,” he said ahead of Tyre Technology Expo 2020 in Hannover. “This is clearly a point of view that is too narrow and does not address the value proposition of intelligent tyres.”

By Dorfi’s definition, an intelligent tyre doesn’t just collect data: it also interprets it in a way that creates insights and, ultimately, triggers actions based on those insights. In short, an intelligent tyre delivers knowledge that leads to better tyres.

Meanwhile, a lot of intelligence is going into the quest 13.4.20

motortransport.co.uk

Gen2 range provides up to 25% better all-weather capability, 15% more damage resistance and 5% higher fuel efficiency, all without compromising the high-mileage virtues of the first-generation version.

Continental has come out with its own telematic (or digital) monitoring system. Known as ContiConnect, it measures the health of the tyre from the inside. “Today this is the most accurate measuring option,” Continental says. Linked to ContiConnect is a technology that measures tyre pressure digitally, either remotely or in the yard.

“Using these systems significantly increases the uptime of trucks and buses,” a spokesman says. “They also help to increase the fuel efficiency of fleets, and the tyres wear more evenly.”

he rubber for the truck and bus supertyre. Manufacturers are pursuing a range of options that include synthetic materials, bio-tyres that leave less particulate matter and roadside waste, more road-friendly designs, and multi-generation tyres that can be retreaded more often.

Tele-tyres

In these worthy goals, embedded sensors are a big help.

And here smart technology is coming to the rescue in the form of telematics that alert fleet managers through real-time data about rising temperature, falling pressure and other sources of potential blow-outs. As Goodyear, whose algorithm-based G-Predict was released in 2019, points out, “up to 85% of potential tyre-related breakdowns can be prevented before they happen and a tyre’s working life can be extended by 15%.”

British operator H Parkinson Haulage agrees. In late January the 60-year-old group signed up to Goodyear’s latest KMAX-Gen2 range of tyres for its tractor units as well as the manufacturer’s radio frequency identification technology (RFID). This uses tags embedded in the tyres and is part of Goodyear’s total mobility solution.

In remote locations this kind of information is particularly valuable. “[The tags] also help prevent theft, as tagged tyres can be easily traced,” H Parkinson Haulage says.

For good measure, Goodyear claims that the KMAX13.4.20

Continental

New materials

The story of truck tyre development is one of a constant quest for new and better materials to improve life and fuel efficiency, though manufacturers tend to play their cards close to their chests and are reluctant to give away too many trade secrets.

Currently, oil and gas giant ExxonMobil is working on a new composition for inner liners that are designed to hold high-pressure air inside the tyre (rather than allowing it to leak through the outside rubber). Sujith Nair, senior market developer for the group’s chemicals division, explains that its latest product, Exxpro 3563, is a material that has lower permeability, higher heat resistance and improved dimensional stability compared with halobutyl-based inner liners.

“Tyres manufactured with Exxpro 3563 inner liners had lower inflation pressure loss rates than [the halobutyl-based ones],” he said in a curtainraiser to Hannover in late February. “It is believed that this advantage in air retention will result in better overall tyre performance.”

Global biochemicals group and speciality polymer manufacturer Kraton Corporation has unveiled a renewable additive designed to strengthen the tread. Called Sylvatraxx 8115, it’s largely derived from pinewood and pulping co-products. According to senior technical associate Jochem Vervelde, the product helps resolve the tensions between wet traction and rolling resistance in silica-filled treads, especially in high-performance, allseason tyres.

A long-time leader in research, Michelin has taken a step forward in materials. Its latest range of tyres, the 315/60 R22.5 X Multi Z for regional haulage, contains a new material called Forcion, which, the company says, provides “a more cohesive compound”. It adds that Forcion extends the tyre’s mileage and makes it more resistant to abrasions, cuts, chunking and chipping.

In Germany, Continental “is constantly increasing the share of recycled materials in the tyres,” the company explains, pointing out, though, that it believes natural rubber is still the best foundation for a long-lasting and fuel-efficient tyre.

Goodyear has adapted a material normally used in engines. Its new Omnitrac Heavy Duty tyres, which are designed for the most challenging sites, such as mines, feature the tread-extending DuraShield technology, which protects against casing damage and corrosion.

The material is designed to penetrate the tyres’ cord structure and form a strong bond with the rubber in a way that provides long-term durability, the company explains. “It’s actually a new material from a tyre-manufacturing perspective,” a Goodyear spokesman says. “It’s more commonly used to provide stability and long-term resistance in engine timing belts.”

Although Pirelli won’t say much about its latest compounds, the Italian manufacturer’s new H:01TM coach tyres developed by parent Prometeon are the product of a more refined production process as well as innovative materials. ➜ 18 MotorTransport 17

Tyre technology

Mud and snow

Tyre manufacturers are pulling out all the stops to meet increasingly stringent European regulations for wintry conditions. At last count, 22 of the 47 main European countries had passed laws relating to the use of tyres on commercial vehicles in mud and snow, while local authorities were joining the rush and specifying that tyres must comply with the M+S “snowflake” standard. For example, from 1 July 2020 trucks in Germany must run snowflake tyres on both the drive and steer axles, instead of just the former.

ON A ROLL: H Parkinson Haulage has signed up to Goodyear’s total mobility tyre solution

18 MotorTransport

The problem of particulates

One of the burning issues in tyres remains pollution from particulate matter, the non-exhaust emissions that wind up in rivers, streams, lakes and the air. According to a 2016 US study, tyre rubbish is the 13th biggest source of air pollution in Los Angeles, for example.

Tackling this was one of the main goals of the Brusselsinspired ECO2 Tyre Tech project, an ambitious endeavour that fizzled out in 2015. A three-way partnership with Rubber Resources of the Netherlands, Goodyear and BMW which developed out of another EU project, Bio Tyre, the grand plan was to develop environmentally sustainable tyres based on “novel green material solutions” while reducing their weight. Over several years the partners worked with materials recycled from used rubber and wood, such as lignin and cellulose. And they vulcanised tyres with new chemicals that, it was hoped, had a low environmental impact (as well as giving the tyres a longer life on the road).

The goals were too lofty, however – or perhaps ahead of their time. Although a range of new tyre recipes were developed, the technical difficulties proved too hard to surmount and the project was abandoned. By then, the participants had managed to produce a tyre containing just 5% to 7% of recycled rubber, which was judged not to be commercially viable. The project was also unable to achieve the targeted reduction in road noise. However, the partners did succeed in reducing the amount of particulate matter left by the roadside. Despite the shortcomings of ECO2, since then tyre manufacturers have steadily closed in on some of its goals.

In late February, Continental and Kordsa, the tyre reinforcing specialist, rolled out the first 250,000 tyres with Cokoon dip technology, which does away with the chemicals resorcinol and formaldehyde in the bonding process that toughens up the rubber. They are replaced with more environmentally friendly materials.

“This is a high priority for us in the coming years,” says Andrea Topp, the group’s vice-president for materials and process development. A gift to the industry, Continental and Kordsa are making the technology available to rival companies through a licensing pool.

So far, Cokoon tyres are available for cars only, but it’s considered inevitable they will find their way into trucks and buses. ■

Goodyear

“The optimisation of the vulcanisation cycle and the use of special compound formulations reduce the generation of heat in the carcass while in operation,” explains chief technical officer Alexandre Bregantim. “[This] maximises durability beyond the tyre’s [normal] life.”

Meanwhile, the search for renewable materials continues. In February Japanese chemicals group Kuraray unveiled a bio-rubber known as liquid farnesene (L-FR). The company claims it grips better (especially on snow and ice), lasts longer and degrades more slowly than formulations made mainly from rubber.

L-FR is synthesised from a compound known as beta-farnesene, which is derived from renewable sources including sugar cane.

“The material can replace conventional liquid rubbers in a wide range of tyre-manufacturing applications,” the company explains.

Behind the development of the supertyre lies a wide network of laboratories and supporting infrastructure, most of them using a bewildering array of acronyms. Texas-headquartered machine tool manufacturer TMSI USA has developed a technology that it describes as a dynamic footprint machine (DFPM).

An ingenious product, it measures the interaction between the contact patch and a simulated roadway under a range of different scenarios, all of it recorded on a video camera.

Under the rolling contact test, TMSI says, the operator can select vertical load, velocity, slip angle, camber angle, rotational angle, tyre inflation pressure, driving torque, braking torque, longitudinal slice interval and lateral slice interval, which should cover most operational situations.

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Driver training

Does the industry need a register of LGV instructors and if so, why do we have two?

Louise Cole reports

W

Registering an interest?

hen the (then) Driving Standards Agency (DSA) register for LGV instructors was handed over to the private sector in December 2016 so the agency could ‘concentrate on its core role’ of providing driving tests, two organisations were separately invited to take over: training course provider RTITB, and a consortium of approved training companies. As a result there are now two registers, but uptake on each is relatively small. So are the registers essential to industry standards or are they simply solutions without a problem?

There are an estimated 6,000 LGV instructors in the UK. The RTITB’s National Register of LGV Instructors (NRI) has approximately 530 names on its list, including 300 who have requalified and over 200 legacy names.

The National Vocational Driving Instructors Register (NVDIR) has 246 on its list. So between them they probably represent around 13% of the marketplace.

Messaging about the schemes is confused by different funding models and ambiguous claims. Both registers have some affiliation with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). The RTITB’s NRI is ‘endorsed’ by the DVSA and the NVDIR is run ‘in partnership’ with and is ‘recognised’ by the DVSA. RTITB’s site claims the NRI is ‘the only DVSA endorsed instructor… register ran [sic] by the industry, for the industry’. In fact it’s hard to slide a cigarette paper between 22 MotorTransport

the two schemes in terms of DVSA involvement.

A DVSA spokesperson says that the NRI is audited annually by the FTA, and the DVSA is part of the governance committee and receives twice-yearly reports.

However, DVSA chief driving examiner Mark Winn also says: “DVSA values both registers, which have important parts to play in maintaining the high standards of the LGV training industry, and our staff attend NVDIR meetings in support of its governance team.”

RTITB is no longer the Road Transport Industry Training Board from which it derives its name. However, until shortly before Christmas 2019 (when MT challenged it) RTITB’s website described it as “the preferred regulatory body for workplace transport training”. Most regulatory bodies are both empowered and constrained by legislation; RTITB, however, is a commercial enterprise.

Its site now describes it as the “leading standards setting body” for workplace transport training – another powerfully ambiguous phrase, given the industry presence of HSE, JAUPT, the DVSA and other bodies which do, in fact, set specific standards. Such terms join the muddle of mixed messaging which the DVSA created around the registers – validation, endorsement, partnership, recognition – none of which offer much help when distinguishing between one scheme and another.

Added to this is the much purloined phrase “for the industry, by the industry”. Again RTITB claims to have the backing and involvement of both trade associations.

13.4.20

motortransport.co.uk

Both the FTA and the RHA support high standards in LGV training. However, FTA head of road freight regulation policy James Firth says the FTA is supportive of both registers impartially; while the RHA’s head of training Mark Taylor says he has no idea who at the RHA is supposed to be involved with, or specifically supportive of, the NRI. “I’m not involved and I know my Scottish equivalent isn’t. Maybe it was someone in policy,” he says.

When MT asked Peter Smythe, director of Peter Smythe Transport Training and panel member of the NVDIR, what the difference between the schemes is, he replied: “No one knows. We’re both on the same level.”

Laura Nelson, MD of RTITB, agrees. “In DVSA’s eyes, the schemes are probably of a similar standard. In a practical sense, the only difference is we don’t deliver the [driver] training directly, and the group behind the NVDIR does.”

Dave Cox, general manager of the NRI, says: “Training companies see us as beneficial because it has created a marketplace for instructor training.”

Who can teach?

The anomalies in this situation start with the right to teach someone to drive a truck. Professional car and motorcycle instructors must train and be qualified by the DVSA. To teach someone to ride a motorcycle, instructors need up to three qualifications. Yet to teach someone to drive a truck – professionally or otherwise – ‘instructors’ need only to have held the relevant HGV licence themselves for three years.

Prospective truck drivers may already be expected to have a level of roadcraft; and statistically there are fewer of them than the 41m car drivers, or even the 1m motorcyclists. Arguably, however, it is a far more hazardous role.

“It’s more than bizarre,” says Smythe of the lack of qualifications needed to teach truck drivers. “It’s downright dangerous.”

Any registration of LGV instructors is therefore entirely voluntary. So is it needed? Firth says the registers are important in offering quality assurance to consumers who are laying out substantial amounts of money to gain a licence. Their final quality as a driver will be assessed

by DVSA – but the teaching they receive en route has no quality control.

Yet there is a commercial conflict in asking trainers to hand over their cash to organisations which they often perceive as competitors.

On one hand, they have the NVDIR which is run by 14 training schools. On the other, they have the NRI which is run – albeit at arm’s length – by RTITB. Both organisations say they make no profit from the registers, but this doesn’t alleviate the perception of competition.

Sean Pargeter, head of long-established training company EP Training, feels the whole solution to the loss of the DVSA register was arbitrary. “DVSA invited companies to meet with it. It’s our industry yet there was no tender process and we weren’t consulted,” he says. “I don’t buy into either of these schemes – RTITB is not the training board that it was, it is simply a commercial company which bought the logo. And the other group is run by my competitors.”

He says that it would cost him thousands of pounds to put his trainers through RTITB training, and hundreds apiece to be on either register, for no apparent gain. “We are one of the best-ranked training schools in the UK, based on customer reviews,” he says.

Smythe acknowledges there could be a conflict of interest in training schools assessing other trainers. But, he says, that cuts both ways: “I could equally ask why I should train and assess instructors local to me who will become my competitors. But we do, because we want the right outcome for the industry.”

Although ultimately owned by a charity, CapitB, RTITB is a commercial organisation selling the right to use its 13.4.20

training materials for workplace transport across many sectors. “We don’t make money but we should,” says Nelson. “It is not our primary goal, but we want to make money.”

Nelson says that, in an ideal world, the DVSA would have kept the register but RTITB felt that offering to take it over was the right thing to do. She emphasises that RTITB makes no money from the NRI, subsidises it and tries to maintain a Chinese wall which means that Nelson herself has little involvement.

Smythe says that the member companies which carry out assessments for the NVDIR also make no money from it: “We only cover our costs on the NVDIR assessments.”

Solution or irrelevance?

Like Pargeter, the RHA’s Taylor says while some of his own instructors have registered, or were carried forward by default, others haven’t and he thinks it means little without a governmental stamp. “No disrespect to anyone involved now, but it doesn’t carry the same weight unless it’s run by a government agency,” he says.

Both registers are run by people who are passionate about, and proud of, their contribution to road safety.

The fact remains that most trainers do not bother to register. One reason, says Pargeter, is because it does not affect your ability to get a job, or, in fact, say much about your ability to teach a wide variety of candidates.

He also believes that a privately held, voluntary register of trainers is inadequate. He says: “There is no regulation for logistics training companies – no drivers’ hours, no O-licensing, no tachographs, because all their vehicles are classed as private HGVs. That’s shocking.”

And although LGV test pass rates have improved over the past decade (from 52.5% to 60%), there’s no evidence this improvement is linked to the registers.

Nathalie Axon goes further. As founder of Horsepower Training, which has sought new ways to attract and teach LGV candidates, she says that the training model in the industry is in desperate need of an overhaul.

“Most trainers no longer drive commercially, so they don’t teach driving in the way that modern telematics expects you to perform,” she says. “And training schools ask people to pay up front, and have four-hour blocks of training, usually close together, because it allows them to sweat their vehicles.

“My theory is that you get better drivers if you allow people to drive for shorter periods and consolidate their learning. And we attract more people to the industry if they can pay as they go. We’ve found one two and a half hour lesson a week works really well.”

Axon believes little about LGV training is currently set up to suit the candidate. “Hauliers should use their vehicles for training outside shift hours,” she argues, saying licence acquisition would be cheaper, and the vehicles more specific to real-world logistics. n

HOW DO THE REGISTERS WORK? It should be noted that both registers work out cheaper in the long run than the original DVSA offering, with the NVDIR cheaper than the NRI (approximately £300 plus VAT compared with £460 plus VAT). Anyone on the DVSA register automatically qualified for a free place on the new register of their choice – the body in question simply validated their details with the DVSA. Each register requires re-qualification every five years.

Although the registration itself is by examination, both bodies offer prior instructor training if required.

The NRI has a four-part examination process comprising a theory test, a practical driving test, an in-cab training session and a classroom training session.

NVDIR has a similar process, involving a theory test, a practical driving assessment and an assessment of teaching ability.

Both the NRI and NVDIR are said to be non-profit-making, although the instructor training is a commercial offering.

MotorTransport 23

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