Specialist Press Release - April 13th, 2005

SUMMARY

The European Parliament yesterday adopted its 2nd reading of new EU rules governing working conditions in the road transport sector.

The amendments adopted by MEPs this week will affect :

• Lorry drivers' daily rest periods (12-hour daily rest instead of 11 hours ; more flexibility around breaks)
  
• The definition of driving time (the time a driver is in control of his/her vehicle + the time to reach the departure point if the driver also drives to that point and the journey is over 100km)
  
• The number of road checks on vehicles (an increase in the percentage of driver working days when checks should take place)
  
• The types of penalties to be imposed for infringements of the rules (MEPs voted for a common spectrum of penalties, including immobilisation of the vehicle concerned)
  
• Types of vehicles exempted from the regulations.

MEPs also voted to delay the introduction of the digital tachograph, which was due to come in by August this year, but has now been put back to 5 August 2006 (for all vehicles manufactured after that date) and 5 August 2007 (for vehicles already manufactured but not yet put into service).

The more than 75 amendments adopted this week now go to the Council of Ministers. (If Council rejects any one of the Parliament's amendments, discussions would have to proceed to conciliation between the European Parliament and Council of Ministers).

CONTACT

Simon Duffin, Press Officer, European Parliament UK Office, tel 020 7227 4300, simon.duffin@europarl.europa.eu

DEBATE

Mike Nattrass (UKIP, West Midlands): on behalf of the IND/DEM Group.- Mr President, this directive is causing alarm amongst hauliers in the UK. Drivers say that they will lose £80 per week. The industry says that it will cost £1 billion a year and cause a shortfall of 65 000 drivers, ramping up prices and knocking UK trade…

This report comes from the German perspective at the centre of Europe, ideally placed no matter which way they drive. However, a lorry from Birmingham takes much longer to reach the target. These proposals will cripple British ability to compete in Europe. EU supporters say it is all about road safety, but the EU is really all about money, power and control. These proposals will put a lucrative spy beaming up to Galileo in every trucker's cab. Private vehicles will possibly be next. Look out truckers, because Big Barrot is watching you. So shout to him and say: 'This will take my truck off the road!' or, in short, 'Truck off!'.

Gary Titley (Labour, North West): … I welcome this directive because, as the Commissioner said, the current proposals are 20 years old. A lot has changed in that time: the abolition of frontiers, the single customs document and better roads, which means you can now drive for long periods of time without any natural interruption. We have an EU of 25 Member States, covering 1.5 million square miles of territory. Therefore it is vital for road safety to have a consistent set of rules across the European Union. It is currently possible to drive for up to 8 hours and 59 minutes with only a 15-minute break. That is unacceptable: tiredness kills, and failing to modernise these proposals would be irresponsible.

However, it is important that the legislation be workable and enforceable, not only simply, but also consistently across the EU. Therefore, I welcome Parliament's proposals to require new vehicles to be fitted with digital tachographs at least from 2006. The Commission is wrong to insist stubbornly on its position, given that only two out of the three potential tachograph suppliers are able to test pre-production models at the moment and are not able to go into full production.

It is important that the break periods be simple and easy to understand and that a degree in mathematics is not required to apply them! It is also important to have derogation for essential services delivered in the interests of the public, no matter the nature of the body that delivers those services… However, I still remain to be convinced that certain proposals can be enforced and understood. I recognise the problems with the express-vehicle industry but I am not sure how these proposals can be enforced. I do not think retrofitting digital tachographs is feasible at a cost that most people could afford.

Philip Bradbourn (Conservative, West Midlands): Mr President, as I said when this regulation first came before this House, the concept of this proposal is in my view impractical, untenable and unenforceable. That is why, with the help of some of my colleagues from across the political spectrum, I have submitted an amendment to have this proposal rejected in its entirety.

I would like to focus my contribution to this debate on the very essence of what the proposal means to people in my constituency, which I am sure is mirrored across the whole of the European Union. At present bus services in rural areas, where many people are elderly and rely on public transport, are run by small and medium-sized companies, which the EU claims to be the backbone of the economy. Yet legislation like this will cripple their very existence. Proposals for rest hours will mean increased cost to the consumer and industry alike, reduced services and, in some cases, no service at all.

In the commercial sector, just-in-time delivery systems, the backbone of modern-day supply for industry, will be jeopardised. This again will mean increased cost to the consumer and industry alike. In the UK alone it is estimated that the cost of this regulation and the working time directive together will be over £1 billion, and that is not my figure, it is the industry's.

The argument of road safety used by many does not wash from my point of view. We must stop claiming that over-regulation means safer roads. The UK, with less regulation, probably has the safest roads in Europe. This proposal has little to do with road safety, and more to do with an ingrained anti-road agenda from the European Commission.

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