Driver truck stops open across the country

ED RICHARDSON EAST LONDON-based Kempston Hire is improving productivity and safety by focusing on the comfort and training of drivers, says divisional director George Murdoch. It will be opening a string of truck stops across the country in order to provide drivers with a safe place to park that provides a top quality ablution block, meals, sports facilities, big-screen TV and HIV/Aids centres, in addition to a weighbridge, fuel and a communications hub from which they can send documentation by fax, courier or PostNet. Overnight toiletry bags are available for those who have left theirs behind. Both Kempston’s own drivers and those of other hauliers are catered for in the truck stops. “Our goal is to support the people on whom we rely so much to deliver the loads safely and on time,” he says. Annually, the industry is losing an estimated three thousand Code 14 drivers, with only about 1 300 entering the trade. This is resulting in severe shortages of skilled drivers. In response, the Kempston group has opened the Kempston Driver Academy, which provides training for Codes 8, 10 and 14 over six months. This training includes minor mechanical maintenance, documentation, and defensive driving. Drivers are given the opportunity of experiencing the effects of different load configurations through a vehicle simulator, which has been purchased specially for the academy. Learner drivers are given a monthly stipend as the programme is funded by SETA. Murdoch says the academy will be opened up to hauliers who want to improve the skills levels of their existing drivers. HIV/Aids clinics at the truck stops are also part of the strategy to retain drivers. The clinics are open between five and seven in the evening. They are responsible for education, as well as basic support.