Lords Committee raise road safety concerns over changes to HGV legislation

• The Drivers’ Hours and Tacographs (Temporary Exceptions) (No. 3) Regulations is the fourth “temporary” exception to the normal HGV drivers’ hours this year. The net effect of these Regulations is to extend an increase in the fortnightly driving limit from 90 to 99 hours or to add an extra hour to the daily maximum four times a week. These Regulations mean that this “temporary” exception will have been in effect for 16 weeks continuously, from 12 July to 30 October, and the Committee is concerned about the cumulative effects on HGV drivers, because tiredness affects road safety.
• The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licenses) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, aims to address the shortage of HGV drivers by making more Category C test slots available at Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVLA) sites. However, it does that by removing the requirement for car and van drivers to take an additional test (Category BE) to allow them to tow a trailer or caravan. There are currently around 500 serious accidents every year involving cars or vans towing trailers and DfT can give no indication of how that figure might change from 15 November when any car driver will be permitted to tow a trailer as soon as he or she passes their test. The Regulations only require the effects of the change to be reviewed after it has been in operation for three years; the Committee thinks that that is too long.

While the Committee welcomes efforts to address current supply shortages by increasing HGV drivers’ capacity, it is concerned that the Department for Transport (DfT) has made these changes without appropriate regard for the wider consequences.

The Committee’s report also highlights industry concern that the long hours are already causing experienced HGV drivers to leave the sector amidst safety concerns over fatigue.

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, Chair of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee said:

“We welcome the Government’s continued efforts to reduce the current shortage of HGV drivers, but when making legislation the wider consequences need to be considered too.

“We noted that the majority of those who responded to the consultation rejected the proposal to extend driving hours, citing safety concerns over fatigue, limited practical usefulness to the logistics industry, and recruitment issues.

“We were surprised that after 16 weeks of the drivers’ hours extension, the Department for Transport (DfT) had no accident data to indicate whether or not driver fatigue is increasing the number of HGV accidents. Although there are around 500 towing accidents involving injuries each year, DfT could not give any indication as to whether they might increase if the Category BE car and trailer-towing test is no longer required.

“If DfT cannot predict whether road safety will get better or worse as a result of these changes, then we recommend that the effects are frequently monitored and reported to Parliament after 12 months so that corrective action can be taken if necessary. We need more HGV drivers but not at the cost of more road accidents.”