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Don't kid yourself. I think most people on here recognise that the long hours that are all to common in this trade are dangerous, and antisocial. Most don't want to spend almost all of their waking hours sitting in a cab. They'd like to spend time with their families.
They do it because they have to, not because they want to and they know it won't change while everyone else is doing the same.
I'd rather achieve it by means other than tachographs but I see no viable alternative, and more importantly, the powers that be think its out of order. That's why it will happen eventually.
Judging by the deluge of support you're getting, I'd say you are very much in a minority thinking long hours are acceptable.
I,m no lover of long hours either, but a level head and realistic view of whats needed is not what I have come to expect from any government body. They'll take the easy opt out ans slap you with HGV/BUS driver hours which have no flexibility built into them for the likes of random pickups and unknown destination of your clients, unless they give you a full hour of emergency leeway at day end and a more relaxed sleep allowance it's going to reek havoc for those doing School, NHS or other Contract work where an early start is called for.
If it were 9 hours driving per day with an hour off which can be taken in small units to suit your clients needs, and then possibly 3 days where you drive up to 10 hours with with an hours break then I might warm to it. Its not the long hours I want to retain, Its the flexiblity of how we can use those hours, Be better to have the ability to have a decent days driving in which you can achieve a lot rather than a day carved into so many useless size segments where your frightened to take on work because you cant travel any more than a couple of hours without stopping.
Instead of the Law Comission just mentioning the word TACHOGRAPH without substance, why dont the feed us some detail on what driving hours and rest periods they propose we will be expected to abide by, and then come back and put it to us for some consultation. That might just scunner a few more of you believers once you see just how draconian these hours might be.
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They do it because they have to, not because they want to and they know it won't change while everyone else is doing the same.
That's somewhat flawed, You would only end up with more drivers competing at the busiest times of day to chase the money. If we all only get 8 hours driving then it stands to reason that we are all going to pick the best hours to work. Then come the quieter time clients will be hard pushed to find a vehicle for hire as most of their drivers will have no time left of their shift. And just how long would a shift be? you might have acheived little or no work for having sat at a rank for 8 hours but still have plenty driving hours left in the Tacho, and worse youve made no income. You then might get busier just before you knock off at the end of your quiet day, does that make you any less tired if you sit doing bugger all for 8 hours on a rank and then do several hours of driving later because things picked up.
As I say, Its nothing like HGV or PSV work where your driving because you have a guaranteed run and payment for it.
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