Risk experts are warning that non-compliance in the British haulage industry could have far-reaching consequences.

Figures as yet unpublished by the Freight Transport Association (FTA), which represents over 50% of the UK haulage industry, show a 46% shortfall in compliance with driver certification or Driver CPC. Nearly 50% of FTA members considered compliance of these regulations as being the second biggest threat to their business after rising fuel costs.

“These new regulations affect hundreds of thousands of employed and self-employed truck drivers with implications for companies that use road haulage and operate here and across Europe,” says Isobel Harding of the FTA.

The FTA says many UK hauliers are still unaware of the need to comply with these regulations and many more are biding their time, leaving them exposed to a lack of training choice.

Some of the larger companies that manage sizeable fleets have made training a priority but now face having their drivers poached by other companies who leave it too late to comply and won’t be able to run their business.

“Many operators have either stuck their heads in the sand or are simply unaware of the implications that these regulations have for their future business,” observes John Davidge, technical consultant at Cardinus Risk Management.

“Many small to medium firms [will] be caught out. A couple of weeks’ ago I did a survey with a lighting contractor in Essex that runs a mixed fleet of vans, seven and a half ton trucks and cars and was shocked to learn that the finance director was totally unaware of the Driver CPC regulations. Many small to medium companies use a warehouseman or factory worker as a spare driver to cover leave or times where there’s high demand and unless they’ve received the requisite training, those drivers will no longer be available,” says Davidge.

Andy Keane, UK motor portfolio manager at Brit Insurance says that the ramifications for both the haulage industry and the UK economy will be far reaching unless operators take action now and current levels of Driver CPC uptake improves.

“The prospect of a major breakdown in the distribution and supply chain where shops’ shelves are left bare of basic staples such as milk and bread if truck drivers and their employers fail to comply with these regulations is a real possibility," he says.

“On current industry estimates, there’s likely to be a rush for training towards the end of the compliance period and this will have major implications for business continuity as there’s simply not enough capacity in the system to cope.

“The current gap of five million training hours is getting worse and we predict there could be as much as a 30 percent shortfall in the number of
legally qualified drivers of light and heavy goods vehicles before 2014. Should this happen, the impact on the UK economy could be devastating with a downturn in productivity coupled with loss of sales for many millions of businesses that depend on road haulage."

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