A “ticking timebomb” means the UK could be on the brink of a nightmare where thousands of lorries could be forced off the roads by new legislation.
A Whaplode based training company has issued the stark warning, fearing millions of deliveries of vital supplies could fail to be made because of a shortage of qualified drivers.
From September 2014, new rules mean all LGV drivers must complete CPC Periodic Training before they are allowed to operate.
And training specialist NTP Services Ltd say time is running out.
Kimbly Mackman, managing director, said: “The result will be that many businesses across Britain could be faced with a shortage of fully qualified driver, meaning logistics across the country could be hit hard when the law changes in less than two years’ time.
“It’s a ticking time bomb and one that companies need to get a grip on sooner rather than later, unless they want to see their fleets taken off the road for operating illegally.
“Despite lots of discussion about this issue, many companies are just not taking action and consequently this head-in-the sand approach could spell disaster for fleet operators further down the line.”
And, according to NTP Services’ business development manager Daryl Moore, it is the big operators who have been slow to act on the changes, which could result in hundreds of hours of lost man hours as they are forced to send drivers on intensive courses to meet the deadline.
She said: “The trouble is that the responsibility ultimately lies with the driver, but companies with fleets need to be putting their drivers forward for training.
“Businesses need to invest on their drivers and I would argue they have a moral responsibility to put their drivers forward for training.”