Tag: driving during coronavirus

An End to Border Chaos?

Posted on by News Desk

Good news this week for international drivers, especially those caught in the channel crossing chaos over Christmas.

The UK announced plans to open 20 new COVID testing centres.

These centres are designed specifically for van and truck drivers, providing rapid testing to streamline their journeys.

Consequently, drivers can move forward with ease before reaching the border into France.

This week, officials opened the first centre in Peterborough at the Peterborough services on the A1M.

The army joined the effort to support these centres, aiming to prevent the delays and tailbacks from just a few weeks ago.

The government is taking furthers steps too.

Giving hauliers the chance to set up their own test centre at their premises, with free of charge test kits. 

This is part of a plan to give lorry and van drivers a Kent Access Permit.

This is to help ease the delays that were causing chaos throughout Kent, as divers queued in huge tailbacks as they awaited tests.

Additionally, light goods and van drivers have access to these government centres for testing before they reach Dover.

Enabling them to move quickly through customs and border control and onto the continent. 

The centres provide results within the hour and offer free advice on new border processes.

This is to help ensure van drivers have the correct paperwork, as we navigate this new Brexit era. 

Surges and Savings

Posted on by News Desk

As another big tranche of the work gets back to work this weekend, there is, inevitably, more traffic on the road than before. Every van driver’s nightmare. What is worse is that many of these drivers are going to be out and about at rush hours, because they are choosing to drive, rather than commute using public transport. In fact, some reports are suggesting that there may even be twice as many using their cars to commute than there were pre-covid.

And as if dealing with more traffic isn’t bad enough, we are still waiting to see if any of the powers who be do anything about the fact that the massive savings that car and van insurers made during lockdown have not been passed on to us, the humble drivers who all do our bit to follow the law with a good and valid car or van insurance policy. 

Car and van insurance for new customers has gone down in that time, but if you haven’t renewed recently, you’re unlikely to be one of the few whose insurers have refunded them some of the savings they have made or to have seen any savings being passed on to you. 

It also looks like the van industry is getting back on its feet after a turbulent few months, with van insurance quotes up a massive 37.7% in May, compared to April of this year. 

This is good news – a buoyant van industry means more work for us all. But what this also means is that these people renewing or getting new van insurance now are going to be saving more than those whose policies run out at the end of the year. 

It’s worth calling your van insurance company to see if there are any savings they can offer. If your policy doesn’t have long to run, you may save money by renewing sooner (remember, about 3 weeks before it expires is usually the best time to save money). But if you don’t ask, you don’t get and with all this extra money kicking about at insurance companies, while the rest of us are scraping together a living, it won’t hurt to ask.

We’re Leaving Home…

Posted on by News Desk

Another week dawns, and with it, we finally have some reasons to be cheerful. First of all, FOOTBALL IS BACK! We’ve got La Liga with crowd noises finally feeling like footy used to feel, and the Prem kicks off this week with your trusty editor’s team of their birthright, relegation-facing Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United this Wednesday. 

For van drivers around the UK, life is also starting to form a semblance of normality, with shops and non-essential retail reopening from today, meaning deliveries need to be made and people need to buy things – and, if the reports of people queuing round the block to get into Primark and Next are true, then that’s a lot more deliveries that are going to be happening. Will the bubble of retail enthusiasm last? It remains to be seen, but it surely bodes well for the lifeblood of the UK economy, the white van man. 

With it though, comes more stupid drivers out on the road, some of whom haven’t been out in their car for the best part of 3 months. Just as we cautioned last week, there’s a lot of it about, and reports this week show that there has been a massive increase in insurance claims for accidental damage, as Doris reverses into that bollard, or Clive scrapes that car he’s trying to parallel park next to. 

In the South-Central region, vehicle insurance claims for accidental damage are up a whopping 48%, compared to the previous week, with numbers similarly bad in London and the North East. So, while your white van men and women get on with doing what you’ve been doing, keeping the country moving in bread and value pack knickers, it is a case of worrying about what the other idiots on the road are doing and going all out to avoid them. 

Also, worth avoiding are any retail parks where there is a fast food outlet, as reports reach us of queues around the block for certain Mcmeals which are back on the menu. Queues of up to 3 hours have been reported at some branches for a drive-thru after months of home-cooked food only. And we see a great deal of you have been in those queues yourselves. Was it worth it? Just be aware that in some areas you’ll find whole lanes queuing for a taste of those golden arches, so if you’re in a hurry, maybe give those hotspots a swerve.

We hope your lives are returning to normal. We’re sure by next week our soccer enthusiasm will be back to despair, meaning life really has resumed its status quo. In the meantime, safe driving. 

Beware! Dangerous drivers!

Posted on by News Desk

If you’re out on the road this week, keep an eye out. What for? Those fresh-out-of-lockdown drivers who have forgotten how to actually drive. 

Up to a fifth of motorists say that they have struggled to get to grips with gearing back behind the wheel after months of staying home in lockdown.

Many car owners have driven just 90 miles (some fewer than 25 miles) while restrictions have been in place, meaning they are considerably out of proactive and an even greater liability to van drivers of the UK, who never stopped motoring through the crisis. 

This is bad news for everyone, with the added possibility of un-roadworthy vehicles out there, thanks the waiving of the MOT scheme. 

In other news, there are a number of initiatives underway that are aiming to boost the high street when it reopens, but that may have huge impacts for van delivery drivers. Many high streets are calling for pedestrianised streets, restrictions in speed limits and no-go zones for vehicles, all in a bid to drive foot traffic back to shops when the time comes for them to reopen, with sufficient space for social distancing outdoors. What this does mean, where it goes ahead is little to no van parking, restrictions on out-of-hours delivery times and slower deliveries, as a result of speed restrictions. 

Thankfully, some traders are banding together to object to these well-meaning plans, seeing not just the issues for white van men, but for those who are unable to walk far, or those who need to collect or drop off goods by car. If they do happen, you can kiss goodbye to the quick drop off on the High Street that you know and love. Fingers crossed that people see that these well-meaning ideas will kill the high street, not bolster it.

As always, stay safe out there.

By Special Delivery, c/o BA.

Posted on by News Desk

Heartwarming news this week, with the tale of the pilot, turned van driver. 

Peter Login, a British Airways pilot found himself at something of a loose end when coronavirus hit, and he was furloughed by BA. Rather than staying home and twiddling his thumbs, instead, Peter, who is from Horsham, East Sussex decided to do something useful. He is now working as a delivery driver for Tesco in nearby Crawley, to help ensure vital supplies get delivered to those most in need, who find themselves self-isolating. 

His quick job switch has been celebrated by many as a sign of the good people out there who refuse to sit around and wait for better days to come, choosing instead to get out there and make a difference. 

Pilots up and down the country have been forced to take a massive 50% pay cut and forced to take unpaid annual leave, but we can only assume Peter has taken on the Tesco role out of the goodness of his heart, rather than for a pressing need for cash. 

He is certainly lifting the spirits of those Sussex residents who are lucky enough to have Peter knocking on their door. He says it’s obvious that some have not seen anyone for a while and he always makes time to have a quick chat from a safe distance before dropping off their supplies and going on his way. 

And, as van drivers, it’s important to acknowledge that this isn’t just Peter, but many of you, who are playing a vital role in the mental wellbeing of those you are delivering too – not just groceries, but other goods and services to places where human interaction may just be a little thin on the ground right now. A cheerful wave can quite literally make somebody’s day right now. So why not make the most of it – let’s face it, this is quite likely one of those times when people have never been happier to see you and knowing that you could make somebody’s day can not just put a smile on their face, but it should put one on yours too. 

Van Drivers of the UK – keep smiling. You’ve got this. 

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