Charlotte Vere, the UK’s Minister for Roads, Buses and Places, has just revealed on Twitter that the government is temporarily extending drivers' hours rules from the 12th of July.
In the aforementioned Tweet, published at 12.15 GMT, Charlotte Vere declared:
“We’re temporarily extending drivers' hours rules from Mon 12 July to allow HGV drivers to make slightly longer journeys where necessary, as we’re aware of a current shortage of drivers. Driver safety must not be compromised & operators must notify DfT if this relaxation is used.”
The news follows reports that officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) discussed such a move with with industry representatives just over a week ago.
At the time of the report, Trans.INFO forecast that a relaxation of drivers' hours was likely to be the first measure the government would implement to reduce the amount of empty shelves in supermarkets. This has now turned out to be true.
Details of the extension have not been published at the time of publication. One would expect them to be of a similar nature to the extension that was announced in December 2020.
@CharlotteV this is madness when the logistics industry has collectively and specifically advised against this. Loading more hours on to drivers that are already exhausted is not the answer, this will only push more to leave. It also risks road safety!
— Richard Burnett (@RHARichardB) July 7, 2021
Reacting to Charlotte Vere’s Tweet, RHA Chief Executive Richard Burnett described the decision as “madness” and stressed that the logistics industry had advised against it.
Once more details regarding this story and the specifics of the extension are known, we will update you.
Update 13.41 GMT: the UK”s Transport Minister has also announced the move:
We’re aware of a shortage of HGV drivers, so I’m announcing a temp extension of drivers' hours rules from Mon 12 July, giving flexibility to drivers & operators to make slightly longer journeys. We’ve ramped up the number of driving tests available & will consider other measures.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) July 7, 2021
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