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Hauliers have a "vital responsibility" to make sure their foreign drivers understand basic English, according to traffic commissioner Beverley Bell. Speaking to Motor Transport about her experience in the North-west, Bell says hauliers need to have proper systems in place so all drivers they employ are able to understand conversations and read important instructions and signs as part of their job. Bell says: "I think foreign drivers play an important part in our industry.

"However, operators  have a vital responsibility to remember the undertakings in their licence and have proper arrangements in place to make sure drivers do their job properly. "Language training can be an individual thing and vary from company to company but training systems need to be more robust. It doesn't matter whether drivers come from Poland, Lithuania, Timbuktu or wherever. I have seen cases where problems have occurred and I want to raise the profile of this issue and educate operators so they don't fall into the same trap."

Clive Watkins, managing director of Eastleigh, Hants-based Lambert Brothers Haulage has a large proportion of Poles in its workforce. He agrees with Bell's comments: "About 10% of our drivers are from Poland and we always make sure they have a good knowledge of English," he tells Motor Transport. "When we interview drivers, we speak to them about their past work and experience and from this we find out what level of English they have. We also insist they go through  a professional driver training school in England.

"The younger ones usually adapt quicker to the language," he adds.