Where have the drivers come from?
Government action eases shortage of lorry drivers in the UK – bottlenecks averted. The UK government reacted to a shortage of lorry drivers and instituted measures after Brexit to train additional road haulage specialists. The next steps, which include channelling drivers into city logistics, have already been envisaged.
One year on from the height of the lorry driver shortage in the UK, when the government created an extra 5,000 temporary work permits to try and entice heavy goods vehicle drivers over from mainland Europe, to help manage the great volume of pre-Christmas deliveries, the situation is greatly improved.
The government’s proactive measures included a sharp increase in the number of HGV driver tests carried out by the licencing body, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Department for transport statistics released last month show that almost 11,200 tests were carried out in the first quarter of 2022, a 74% increase over Q1/2021.
The DVSA adds that the nigh-on 30,000 tests it carried out between March and May this year were 54% more than in the corresponding period of 2019, before the outbreak of Covid-19. The changes include simplifying the process of HGV tests and recruiting more vocational driving examiners.
An extra 11,000 HGV training places were also made available through intensive skills training courses, and GBP 52.5 million invested in improvements to roadside facilities and lorry parking.
In order to prevent future shortages of HGV drivers the government has launched a public consultation to seek the logistics industry’s views. One suggestion is to revert to the UK driver licensing regime that existed before 1997. Then people who passed their driving test for a normal car were also allowed to drive vehicles weighing up to 8.25 t.
The industry body Logistics UK has welcomed the initiative, but pointed out that future zero-emission-tailpipe vehicles will be heavier than the petrol or diesel units they replace.
Demand for these drivers is also based on the fact that the home delivery of supermarket food and other retail goods purchased through the internet is especially prevalent in the UK.