Comments by "Dale Crocker" (@dalecrocker3213) on "" video.

Considering all the billions spent on covid relief, could not the government come up with a way to provide financial incentives for drivers to re-join the industry? There's plenty of them out there.
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You've just about said it all. Urgent reform is needed.
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@AM-fs1je Not really. Many have packed it in because of low wages and over-regulation They are still here, but making money in the building trade or some other area.
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@Dionysos640 Not everyone finds the job challenging and stressful. I happen to know a few lorry-drivers and their chief gripes have been static wages (due to influx of Poles and Romanians they say) over-regulation and interference from computerised schedules etc which are often wrong. They are often not given time to check their loads but it is them who get landed with fines of up to £2,000 if the loads are deemed unsafe in any way. And they often are. Greedy and unscrupulous agencies are also a big problem. The situation was bad before Brexit, but the fact that the Romanians have now left has tipped the balance I think All these matters are capable of redress and the government should deal with them as a matter of priority. In the meantime a one-off and reasonably considerable payment would be enough, I'm sure, to persuade many drivers to get behind the wheel again
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@Dionysos640 I'm not sure. I've been trying to work out how many HGV licence holders there are not using them, but with no success. I fear you may be right - there are not enough of them. Re-joining the Single Market does seem a bit of fantasy at the moment, with all due respect, so incentives and training seem the immediate solution. Attracting foreign drivers would, once again be a matter of incentives and offering easy work permits.
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@Dionysos640 PS.This comment from an HGV driver further down this stream summarises the situation far better than I can. I have taken the liberty of copying it, in case you have not come across it. Simon Goddard 1 hour ago As a HGV driver I find this rhetoric so irritating. There is no driver shortage for companies that employ, pay and offer decent working conditions. The shortage is typically in retail where the business model is to use mainly agency drivers to avoid all the responsibilities and commitments of employing someone properly. Many large retailers fleets and warehousing operations are actually operated by gig economy companies like DHL and the like just running the trucks in the retailers livery with agency drivers they make no commitment to. The other shortage is long distance or ‘tramping’ work where drivers are away all week. This used to be a well paid job but in the main is now salary paid not hourly. A minimum of 60 hours ( the legal limit) will be expected but in many cases an 80 hour week is not unusual. This is possible thanks to what is called ‘period of availability’ add ons which were brought in years ago to appease greedy operators and basically means waiting time can be added to the 60 hours. Pay for ‘tramping’?...typically around £600 per week...you do the maths for an 80 hour week. This used to suit EU drivers who came here to work and just lived in the cab the whole time to earn a good wage comparable to what they could get at home, not so appealing to a UK driver with a home to go to. All these bad practices are now coming back to bite the exploitative part of the industry on the arse.
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