In a move that the company says recognises that, as a truck manufacturer, it stands in the front line with hard-pressed hauliers, in the search for solutions to the national shortage of drivers, Volvo Trucks has announced that it is to be the headline sponsor of the FTA Driver Crisis Summit on Thursday 12th March at Coventry’s Ricoh Stadium.
In addition to being the headline sponsor of the event, Volvo Trucks is also fielding two speakers. Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland Managing Director Arne Knaben and Volvo Trucks Product Manager John Comer will deliver presentations on the company’s views that can be summarised as: ‘The best drivers deserve the best trucks.’
In essence, Volvo Trucks view is that, in order to attract and retain the best quality drivers, transport operators need to provide them with the most technologically up-to-date, safe and environmentally-friendly trucks.
Arne Knaben summarised the Volvo Trucks point of view thus: “With the reality of the driver shortage now affecting all areas of the transport industry, Volvo Trucks has moved to take the issue centre stage as a manufacturer supplying the UK and Ireland market. The scale of the problem is potentially devastating for many road transport businesses. No drivers means no deliveries, it’s as simple as that.”
He added, “At Volvo Trucks, we recognise that, as a manufacturer, we really are all in this together. That’s why we have taken the major step of becoming the headline sponsor for the FTA ‘Solving the Driver Crisis’. We believe that we should take our place ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with the transport companies in the front line affected by this crisis. Why? Well because, as a global company, we have experienced similar driver shortages in other areas of the world.”
“Our experience is that, as the job of truck drivers around the world has become more and more circumscribed by legislation,” he said. “There has also been a corresponding increase in the need for drivers to be IT-savvy and professionally equipped to deal with a multitude of pressures. These range from responding to customer service-related issues, to managing their own performance (especially in terms of driving technique) and how it affects their vehicle’s fuel usage, for example.”
“We have found that, if an operator wants to attract and retain the best quality drivers, they need to operate the best drivers’ trucks,” he explained, adding “Now, we recognise that this provides only part of the answer to the challenge of the driver shortage crisis. But, it is an important part of the solution. One that Volvo Trucks is well placed to answer. Our latest range of trucks, from 10 to 150-tonnes, is designed around the needs of the driver as much as the operator. Leading-edge safety, class-leading comfort and an ergonomically-efficient workplace, together with fuel efficiency and environmentally-sound design and construction are built into every new Volvo truck – and drivers appreciate that.”
