Why is there such a shortage of lorry drivers?

A local testing centre, Mendip Training, explained the problem - and how they are doing their very best to help out.

Nub News spoke to Josef Harle of the Truck School in Radstock who said that they as a company were training as many drivers as possible and lobbying hard to get drivers out on the road.

He told us : " Demand for training is high. Tests are few and far between due to the coronavirus lockdowns and the DVSA are allowing training companies to only book ONE test per week, 10 weeks in advance.

"This means that training numbers are restricted. Luckily, we are able to grab cancellation tests if they pop up but arranging training at short notice is not always possible. "

The Road Haulage Association estimates that across the UK there are is a shortage of between 85,000 and 100,000 HGV drivers and they

have called on the government to help.

The timings of training and getting licences once drivers pass is not helping either

He explained to Nub News : "The government seem to be doing little to assist in the recruitment of new drivers. There are apprenticeship schemes that take around 12 months to complete and we are currently working with Skillcert in delivering traineeships to the unemployed, part time workers and self employed people earning less than £17k per annum.

" If the candidates are between 19 and 24 years of age, the nine week programme is completely free. However, because of the restricted tests, the process is taking far longer than nine weeks weeks.

"A normal driver going through the process would take between ten and 12 weeks but licences are being held for processing at DVLA for around eight weeks at the moment so the delays are even worse. "

So is he hopeful at all ?

"Will there be any respite in the delays? Who knows? All I can say is that we are doing our best to train drivers and get them out into the workforce to ease the situation as best as we can.

"At Truck School, we teach drivers how to drive rather than just the driving test techniques. This helps our pass rate, which is exceptionally high but it also creates safer drivers on the road networks, delivering goods and wares to the different sectors."

You can contact Mendip Training Centre which has a site in Radstock by calling 01761 325012 or emailing [email protected] for more details click HERE : the Mendip Training Centre