Operators stuck between a rock and a hard place

摘要

Because of the extensive range of issues we cover, I find that when I get the call for copy for the next issue from Roadway editor Tony Hall, I can honestly say that I very seldom have to repeat myself. But this, the September Leader's Leader, is the exception and once again, it's about the driver shortage. You would have to be a castaway on a desert island not to be aware of our comments on this - in the past two weeks alone we have achieved a reach (that's the number of people who have read our comments in the newspapers, online, seen us on TV or heard us on the radio) of more than 95 million. Again, that's just over a two-week period. We are now at the stage where most people are beginning to feel the effects. Whether manufacturing plants struggling to get the just-in-time deliveries on which they rely, pubs now running short of beer, or empty shelves in supermarkets. From a personal perspective, the point I find most frustrating is that none of this is a surprise. On 25 October 2015, the Guardian newspaper reported on: "the continuing efforts of the RHA to stimulate recruitment to fill the estimated 50,000 shortage of qualified lorry drivers."