HGV driver says 'there's always been a shortage' of UK truckers

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Speaking to LBC on Friday, Anthony, a trucker from Liverpool, explained a host of issues spanning back to 2005 including driver welfare, low pay, the pandemic and squalid conditions are responsible for the slow burning crisis which has resulted in a 90,000 driver shortage in Britain.

His comments come as the UK is gripped by a petrol shortage sparked by delivery delays as a result of the driver shortages.

The crisis has led to hundreds of forecourts running out of fuel and leaving Britain running on dry.

The chaos has been worsened by panic-buying Brits who have rushed to the pumps to fill up on fuel as concerns rise of long-term shortages.

It has also led to some observers blaming Brexit-related issues for the chaos.

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But despite the noise, Anthony explained: “The driver shortage started in 2005 and there was a 50,000 shortage of drivers back then!

“That is over 15-years now.”

LBC host Andrew Pierce interjected adding how that would mean the crisis started when former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair was in government.

He slammed: “That is successive governments that have ignored this!”

HGV driver slams Insulate Britain as truckers could receive fines

Anthony went on to reel off a host of other issues as he demanded people look at the appalling treatment of HGV drivers in Britain and realise why so many are leaving the profession.

He said: “Imagine if your canteen was closed until 7-am but you start at four… Or if you had another office over the road but they wouldn’t let you use the toilet!”

The driver compared the excellent facilities available to truckers in the US who are provided with showers and canteens compared with the UK where truck stops are “falling apart” and closed and drivers are forced to live in squalid conditions.

And in a hard-hitting moment, he said how after long and exhausting journeys, drivers are treated like they “have got the plague” on arrival at their destinations as he demanded the country give lorry drivers the respect they deserve for the job they do.

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The HGV driver shortage has been compounded by Covid-related issues which have hampered HGV tests for new learners.

Poor conditions over the pandemic have also been blamed for many leaving the profession behind as drivers faced almost a total cut to the facilities available to them.

While pay for drivers is also a major area of grievance from drivers who are working a demanding and anti-social profession as many of them spend days away from home on the road.

Some observers have also blamed Brexit for adding to the driver shortage as new rules have made it harder for European workers to drive in Britain.

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