Newslink December 2021

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B+E Testing: the impact on ADIs Continued from page 23 “The way a car handles when it’s towing is very different to when it’s not. It’s a totally different dynamic, and that’s before you start taking into account manoeuvres, roundabouts, tight turns, etc – and loading. All that knowledge will now need to be learned on the road by drivers teaching themselves – because, trust me, the public won’t come forward for lessons now there is no need to be tested.” Steve has retained a handful of commercial clients for towing. For instance, at the time we spoke he had a few days work booked in with regular client National Resources Wales. “Companies will still consider it important to have some training as it protects them from corporate manslaughter charges and health and safety investigations, which can result from at-work incidents involving trailers,” he says. But apart from that, that’s it. He remains philosophical about the loss of the business, and tries to find some shafts of light, but “I can’t get away from it, as every time I come home, there on the drive is my towing car and the trailer I used on lessons. Both of them costing thousands and just sitting there idle.” Cruel timing hasn’t helped on that front. “I’d leased my last towing car since 2016 but it came off lease as we came out of lockdown. I decided to take out one of the government’s bounceback loans and invested in a new towing car… payments start in January.” There is some good news for Steve, which comes off the current shortage of ADIs available to teach learners. “I have three ADIs who work for me and they always got the lion’s share of the pupils, but I’d have 6-10 on my books at any one time. It was good to keep my hand in with learners and it was better for the Standards Check. With the increase in demand since lockdowns ended I’ve taken more learners on and I’m pretty much at full capacity already. “It’s need a big adjustment on my part but things are going okay. “I’d still be happier doing the B+E work, mind.” Does he think that training will come back? “I don’t think so. With no test required, we’re asking people to train to do something they reckon they all do well anyway. How many new caravanners will take up training? Ask yourself this: how many companies put their drivers through fleet training? Some, but not many. How many drivers take on ‘‘ The knowledge they need to keep them safe will have to be learned on the go – because trust me, the public won’t come for lessons now they won’t be tested... ‘‘ advanced courses or do any further training once they pass their L-test? Once they pass their L-test, most think they can do it all.” Steve thinks the future of B+E training will become clearer in March. “Over the past 18 years I’ve learned that there is a cycle to caravan sales. Lots of people have one last summer holiday and then say, ‘that’s it, we’ll pack it in’ once the autumn comes. They are looking to sell – but no-one will buy at that point as they know they’ll have to store it somewhere over the winter, and you can’t use your new purchase straight away. As a side point, if you’re ever thinking of buying a caravan, now’s the time! “The change comes in March. That’s when people start thinking about their summer holidays and they go looking for a caravan. I think, with all the virus stories still flying around, loads will be looking at getting one next year for the first time. “Normally my phone is ringing non-stop in early spring with people who’ve just bought themselves a caravan, whether new or second hand, and they suddenly realise they need to take a test. The demographics tell us that most people buy caravans when they’ve got young families – so around 28-40 years of age – and this group were born in 1981 to the mid-90s, so in the past they won’t have had the B+E exemption. I’d be flat out training that group.” Not now, of course, as there is no B+E test required. That will suppress demand but Steve hopes that some people will “get behind the wheel for the first time while towing and realise it isn’t as easy as they thought.” “They’ll get to a roundabout, the caravan will be swaying from side to side and they’ll think ‘woah, what’s going on’, or they’ll try to park it and it’ll be a nightmare. Hopefully, they’ll see sense and come for lessons.” It would help, he says, if the DVSA / DfT would launch an advertising campaign, informing the public of the dangers and telling them to take training. If not… “we’ll see standards fall – and that will mean crashes. I’d be interested to see the stats on trailer-related crashes in the future. I liked the cover of Newslink, with the crashed caravan and the stat: What was it… ‘In 1997, 46 people were killed in crashes that involved towing, with 238 other ‘serious’ incidents... by 2019 these figures had fallen to 96 serious incidents and just two fatalities...’ “That’s a pretty stark difference and shows the benefits the testing had. It’s not a coincidence. It shows what the roads were like before 1997… and what they’re like now. “It will take some time but every year, new people will buy a caravan or start towing a trailer, and each one is a liability, in their own way. “This will hit standards hard; I’m just hoping people don’t pay for this government’s decision with their lives.” 24 NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2021
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com The ‘history’ of the driving licence – Part III Rod Came goes all HG Wells as he looks back at 2021 from the near future and tries to make sense of the demise of the driving licence... Don’t worry if you haven’t read The History of the Driving Licence Parts 1 & 2... they haven’t been written yet. The reason is I wanted to reduce the use of paper and printing ink, this will help combat global warming. Cast your mind back to the 1960s. The railways were losing money, lots of it, so it was decided to do away with many, many loss-making rural lines. A lot of folk were not happy with this but it went ahead anyway. The lines were closed and the tracks ripped up resulting in very few goods being transported by rail. Several decades passed and it became more apparent that perhaps this was not a good idea after all. People still needed to travel and goods needed to be transported to customers, either directly or via retailers. The population grew, the range of goods expanded, more people moved out of towns and cities to the countryside, distribution and travel became a nightmare. Following the demise of the railways an increasing number of heavy goods vehicles appeared on the roads. The drivers were skilled and known as ‘The Knights of the Road’. As time passed it became apparent that there was not enough of them, in fact there was a national panic, more in Government than among the populace, and urgent unplanned rapid steps were introduced to give the impression of appearing to deal with the problem. Media reports in September/October 2021 of a shortage of petrol and diesel sent people into a flat spin which resulted in many fuel suppliers running out of stock, this being caused by queues of vehicles filling their tanks to the brim. It was very similar to the mediagenerated frenzy about the likely lack of toilet rolls roughly 18 months before. However, this highlighted the fact that the dwindling number of truck drivers who delivered such vital supplies was unable to cope with the demand. The loss of drivers had been going on for years, not only in the UK but also in Europe and America, but it had been ignored. The time had arrived for the UK Government to take action. It was decided to allow an increase of the number of working hours an HGV driver could undertake, as though that would make much difference, especially when the drivers pointed out that they work long enough as it is, thank you. It was also decided that it was no longer necessary for a driver who had passed their car driving test in a small car to have to take another test to drive a ‘‘ There were always some people who didn’t want to take a driving test of any kind, and the official declaration that some tests were not necessary only reinforced that view... ‘‘ towing vehicle and trailer weighing up to seven tonnes, contrary to the advice from all the road safety experts. Figures that had indicated a consistent drop in trailer-related crashes began to take an upward climb. Another change introduced was that HGV drivers would no longer have to progress test-wise from cars to rigid vehicles and then on to articulated trucks. They could go straight from their car test to driving an artic with just one more driving test, in an artic, which also allowed them to drive smaller rigid trucks. The number of new truck drivers barely exceeded the number leaving the industry, consequently little improvement in the distribution of goods was achieved. Another downside was that these moves started the demise of the driving licence. There had always been a minority of people driving cars and vans who did not think it necessary to take any sort of test or obtain a driving licence through the official avenues, and the government’s declaration that some driving tests were no longer necessary only reinforced their view. Back in 2030, in the UK, it was no longer possible to buy new fossil-fuelled vehicles, electric power was introduced in a big way. As time passed cars, vans, buses and trucks all became propelled either by plug-in electric power or hydrogen-generated electric power from fuel cells. Electronics had been used more and more in vehicles and when full electric power became the norm most of the activities which previously were the province of the driver were taken over. Ultimately, this moved to the point where vehicles of all types were able to travel from one location to another with no driver input. This resulted in the manufacturers being able to build vehicles with no controls for the driver to use and interfere with the progress of the vehicle in any circumstances. Vehicles became autonomous in their own right by not needing a driver. As vehicles now no longer need a driver, permissions such as a driving licence are no longer required, in fact, some antique licences are becoming collectors’ items, changing hands for considerable sums of money. In a little under 150 years a driving licence, once considered to be a right of passage, has now disappeared. Few will mourn its passing. NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2021 25
Page 1 and 2: msagb.com Newslink The Voice of MSA
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Page 8 and 9: News Delay, but B+E test axe still
Page 10 and 11: News More changes to test centres T
Page 12: News Staff left shattered as fleet
Page 19 and 20: You must include SEISS grants on yo
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Page 27 and 28: ‘It’s amazing where that little
Page 39 and 40: South Shields ADIs up in arms over
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