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I went out this morning to fetch a batch from my favourite batch bar.
‘Blazin Buns’ which can be found on the Bermuda Industrial Estate alongside the A444 near Bedworth.
Out of curiosity I kept an eye on the number of foreign trucks on the road.
More than half of the lorries that I have seen today have foreign registrations.
If this is mirrored across the country then that is a staggeringly monumental drain on our national economy.
There was a study undertaken by the government to find out the true extent of the issue but they abandoned it. This is a thorny subject according to the Transport network News: - Foreign Lorries And Fuel Duty
Following the Government's abandonment of the proposed Lorry Road User Charging (LRUC) scheme last month, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the Road Haulage Association (RHA) announce a series of actions.
These actions are designed firstly to determine the impact and cost to the UK economy and the road transport industry from the increasing number of foreign lorries operating on UK roads; and secondly to clarify the competitive effect on UK operators of the substantially higher rates of duty applied to diesel in the UK compared with the rest of Europe.
The Government's proposals were intended to level the playing field by taxing foreign lorries running on UK roads. They would also have provided a framework for decoupling fuel duty on lorries from fuel duty on cars. Since scrapping the scheme the Government has given no indication that it intends to deal with either matter.
According to a report on Auto Trader : - Foreign lorry crashes up by 10 per cent
Foreign lorries are three times more likely to be involved in collisions than UK lorries, according to the Association of British Insurers.
Most accidents were the result of ‘side-swiping,’ which is commonly caused by left-hand drive lorries due to their wide blind spot.
The Road Haulage Association reports that: - May 1st a good day for foreign trucks
May 1 sees a landmark, unwelcome day for the British road haulage sector. That is the date when thousands of hauliers from the EU Accession states get the right to compete in our domestic market under cabotage rules.
Low-cost Polish, Lithuanian and other Central European trucks will add to the pressure on rates and are expected to take work from British firms. And these are not just newcomers to EU haulage market; they are often owned or controlled by long-established Western European transport firms.All this at a time when the British industry is reeling from the credit crunch and trying to ensure sustainable haulage rates – and British international hauliers have never had it so bad.
I have previously earned a living as a driver of heavy goods vehicles and have watched with a heavy heart as the industry has been decimated in front of me.
The politicians responsible should never be forgiven for this.
Don’t forgive them
Vote British National Party every time!
