Trained drivers save lives and save money
A poorly secured load can cause major financial losses and every year people die on Europe's roads due to inadequate driver training. To improve the skills of truck drivers, including in areas such as the securing of loads, Volvo Trucks is the first vehicle manufacturer to roll out an extensive programme of driver training throughout Europe.
The incline gradually approaches 60 degrees. On the cargo bed is a two-tonne heat exchanger, strapped down with tensioning straps and restrained with a wooden beam secured by four nails. The heavy heat exchanger does not move an inch. We are at the Volvo Truck Corporation’s facility in Gothenburg, Sweden where load safety training is in progress. Another practical exercise is to see if the weight of the load has any effect on how easily it starts to slide.
"Most drivers think that lighter pallets slide more easily, but the only determining factor is the friction between the surfaces," says Nils Andersson, load securing expert and the instructor today.
The participants in the course today are already experts in the field. They are here to further develop their expertise and qualify to teach professional drivers themselves. All of them are going to be instructors in the Volvo Trucks Driver Development programme, of which today's course in load securing is a part.
"In Sweden the driver is always solely responsible and can be fined for poor load securing. But the worst thing is sloppiness that is not detected, because that can lead to injury and death," says An Paepen, Manager of Volvo Trucks Driver Development programme.
For example, in Sweden, one or two people die every year and 50 to 60 are injured or maimed by loads falling on them, according to statistics from the Swedish Work Environment Authority. Euro Contrôle Route, ECR, an association of 14 European countries for the inspection of road transport, notes that 25 per cent of all commercial vehicle accidents in Europe are caused by poorly secured loads and for the same reason 10,000 loads are lost at huge cost to the haulage companies.
Although there has been an EU standard since April this year, legislation in Europe related to the securing of loads varies from country to country. In Germany, for example, there is no law on load securing, preferring instead a ‘state of the art’ agreement, which is very strict.
An Paepen says that Volvo has offered its customers driver training for as long as anyone can remember. Now, however, because the new EU Driver CPC regulations say that all drivers must undergo 35 hours training within a five year period, Volvo has put together a new comprehensive training programme which meets the EU statutory requirements.
"We started rolling out this training package as early as 2009 and will be up and running throughout Europe in 2014, to meet demand from our customers. In the past two years we have trained over 15,000 drivers in 25 European countries and the number continues to increase. The courses are constantly being improved to satisfy the needs of our customers and our drivers," says An Paepen.
The level of expertise of professional drivers in Europe varies considerably. Kevin de Ridder, a driver trainer at Volvo Trucks in Belgium, sees the level of expertise of Belgian drivers as quite high when he says, "They generally know what they are about and how to do the job. Unfortunately there is some carelessness with things such as load securing, more because of stress than anything else. We are fairly late in the training process and the level of interest is not that high yet, but I gave a course on the haulage sector and legislative requirements last week and everybody was very satisfied."
In the Czech Republic, for example, the drivers are not as proficient yet.
"Generally speaking the proficiency level is low,” says Vladimir Myslik at Volvo Trucks in the Czech Republic. “We have a major shortage of drivers and many of them are young and lack experience. The older drivers can also be suspicious as they think they know it all already, but quickly change when they have done a course. We train both drivers and owners in several stages, everybody gets an introductory course when the vehicle is delivered and a follow-up course a month later."
The requirement for further training is only one of a series of measures adopted in recent years to make the requirements on professional drivers more stringent, and this is something that is changing the role of the professional. The digital tachograph, on-board computers, telematics and the development of the sector as such are some examples.
"I think we are going to see greater professionalism of the job, there will be fewer occasional drivers and the status of the job is being raised," says Gert Jardle, one of the participants in the Volvo Truck Corporation’s load securing course.
An Paepen explains that load securing training normally takes just over a morning and the afternoon is spent on transport security; that is to say how the driver can protect himself and his load against crime. In addition to load securing and transport security Volvo's courses for professional drivers include efficient driving, health and first aid, safe driving and the haulage sector and its legislation.
