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Hauliers drive fuel protest fight to Holyrood

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Published Date: 10 June 2008
By SAM REEVES
A CONVOY of lorries will take to the streets of Edinburgh today in protest at the rising cost of fuel.
Up to 100 lorries are expected to converge on Edinburgh where they will drive a go-slow protest through the capital.

Many of the hauliers will start off in Glasgow before making their way along the M8 to meet up with others at Hermiston Gait an
d entering Edinburgh.

The convoy will head towards the city centre, travelling at 15mph, before parking in Regent Road.

Three lorries will then be escorted by police to the Scottish Parliament, where a letter will be handed to Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister .

The protest comes a fortnight after hundreds of lorry drivers took to the streets of London calling for a cut in fuel duty.

David McCutcheon, one of the organisers, said the rising cost of fuel had left many hauliers in a "dire" position.

He is managing director of Bothwell-based Bullet Express and said his company was having to pay an extra £125,000 a year for fuel.

"The government are enjoying a lot of extra revenue that they didn't account for due to the doubling of the price of oil," he said.

"They are raking all that extra cash in and at the same time we are suffering.

"We have to go out there to keep our businesses running and keep the country running."

And Mr McCutcheon predicted fuel protests could become a weekly occurrence.

Some haulage firms had already closed because of the high cost of fuel and others were likely to follow, he said.

Mr McCutcheon said the aim of the protest was not to cause "mass disruption" and pointed out the trucks would be travelling at normal speed on the motorway.

The convoy will set off from Strathclyde Park, Glasgow, at 9am. Organisers expect to arrive at Holyrood at about 11am.





The full article contains 320 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 09 June 2008 9:39 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

truthsleuth,

10/06/2008 00:30:50
These hauliers do not pay the full costs of the damage they do to the roads. It is not so many years since Gordon Brown gave them massive reductions in their road yax.
It is they that damaged the Forth Road bridge.
It isd they that are going to obstruct the roads of Edinburgh
itIS THEY WHO ARE GOING TO GET A POLICE ESCORT FOR THEIR DEMONSTRATION AND YET they are committing an offence by obstructing the traffic.

We should stop pandering to their continual whingein.

I and other motorists have to pay fuel duty and VAT I believe the road hauliers get their vat back.


They should be made pay for the damage they do through EXTRA fuel duty not get a reduction.

No doubt they will say Everything comes by lorry prices in the shops will go up.

If they paud their full road costs our tax would be lower when paying for road damage etc.

Even better a large slice of the long distance traffic would go where it belongs - on the railways.
2

MGJ,

Edinburgh 10/06/2008 00:37:03
How exactly is the government 'raking it in' in tax; they levy a flat rate on fuel so it makes no difference what the cost is. If somehow the north sea has more being pumped out of it than previously then they might be, but isn't one main refinery shut still after the strike?
They'll be lucky to go at 15 mph with Edinburgh's road works. I just about manage that on the bike but rarely in the car.
3

Paraclete,

Edinburgh 10/06/2008 04:56:05
Truthslueth here are a few facts you dont know.

Buses get a fuel rebate
Rail doesnt work unless you are a supermarket and get a grant
Foreign hauliers use our roads for free, we pay road tax here and on the continent
Taxis get more per mile than we do


4

Unimpressed one,

10/06/2008 08:10:52
#1, Get a grip! Increased costs to hauliers impacts substantially on the cost of living for everyone. If inflation continues to go up, the BoE will surely raise rates which will stuff the housing market good and proper. It's a chain reaction in the making.
5

Daft Old Git,

10/06/2008 10:11:37
#2
Fuel rises 30%
VAT increases by 30%
Hey presto: Government earn more from tax
6

Embra Don,

10/06/2008 10:22:43
Why protest to the Scottish Parliament? Take the protest to Westminster which is collecting the tax and setting economic policy.
7

Daft Old Git,

10/06/2008 10:53:01
#6
Don't suppose they can afford the fuel to get there
8

geekpie,

forfar 10/06/2008 11:04:19
I hope they come up against the sort of heavy-handed policing that cyclists face when they slow down traffic once a month en masse for 10 minutes.
9

JoeB,

10/06/2008 12:58:45
I agree with #1 that loads being transported over long distances should be put onto the rail network. There are too many lorries on the roads, and they cause chaos with their erratic driving.

Have you ever wondered why you can never get consistently above 55mph on long distance runs on Dual Carriageways? Lorries!!!!

Each time Lorry A doing 55mph decides to over take Lorry B doing 54.5mph, generally with little or no indication, pulling out into a space barely long enough for the lorry, all faster traffic is suddenly slowed down from 70 to 55 for the mile or longer it takes the lorry to complete the over take manoeuvre. The result is cars and vans have so suddenly slow down, causing concertina effects which can bring all traffic to stand still in both lanes, and potentially cause an accident. Then all the cars and vans have to get back up to speed again burning up more fuel than is necessary. Then no doubt, a few miles up the road Lorry B will then over take Lorry A and the chaos starts all over again. What is even worse is when they decide to over take on hills, the over taking manoeuvre lasts significantly longer bring even more misery to other road users.

The result of this is that the potential travelling speed of cars and vans is reduced by 20 percent, so the lorries can go 1 mph faster.

It can’t be great for the lorries fuel consumption sitting in the outside lane, foot flat on the floor desperately trying to inch ahead of the lorry beside them.

So here you are guys’ until the price of fuel comes down try improving your driving manors and style to reduce fuel consumption and thus reduce costs. This would bring benefits to all road users.
1) Less slowing down and speeding up.
2) Reduce Fuel consumption.
3) Reduce the risk of accidents.
4) Faster journey times.

Could the government put this into law? Put restrictions on Lorries and other speed restricted vehicles making over taking on Dual Carriageways during peak traffic times manoeuvre.
10

Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 10/06/2008 13:57:12
Truthslueth,

Your "logic" is really amazing!

"It is they that damaged the Forth Road bridge."
No. It is weathering and corrosion that have DEGRADED the Forth Road Bridge over a period of 40 years or so.

"It isd they that are going to obstruct the roads of Edinburgh"
That's called a protest---and it pales into insignificance compared to the obstruction and congestion caused by the council and stupid labour anti-car policies.

"itIS THEY WHO ARE GOING TO GET A POLICE ESCORT FOR THEIR DEMONSTRATION"
Of course they are. Any major event gets a police escort nowadays for public safety if nothing else. Let's see them do it without a police escort shall we? And witness the gridlock that happens when normal traffic gets mixed up with it rather than being held back by the police.

"they are committing an offence by obstructing the traffic."
No they are not. There are no minimum speed limits on the roads concerned and they are taking part in a proper organised demonstration.

When you can get some basic facts right, then you may have enough credibility to carry on an argument.

 

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