John English wrote to his MP yesterday:

"I must point out the UK haulage industry is dying on its feet. The obvious reason for this is the fuel price, of course but there are many others.

My trucks are extremely fuel efficient but my costs have risen by approx. £150 per week per truck in the last 5 months. Each penny that goes on the diesel equals around £10 per week per truck and it has been rising by a penny a week for sometime now.

I have always bought new trucks as they have historically been more fuel efficient than the previous models. With the introduction of the Euro 4 and Euro 5 emission regulations this is no longer true.

The EGR engines seem to use more diesel than SCR engines (plus Ad-blue) and both now have an 'overdrive gear' in a bid to compensate and if you're not in that gear (eg 40mph) your overall fuel will be less than a Euro 3 engine.

Apologies if I'm getting too technical but I would like to think you (and other MP's) knew what I was talking about as it is a real concern that is largely being overlooked. The Belgians and the French have 'essential user rebates' that can be backdated many years. What are the chances of this happening in the UK?

Amongst the other issues are the ridiculous training regimes that will soon be thrust upon us. After 25 years in the business, I will be forced to complete 35 hours 'periodic training' every 5 years to keep my licence.

This will naturally cause older drivers to quit the industry or take early retirement (and not even be able to do temporary work.). It will also, discourage new start drivers and they will have to undertake the training in September this year before they get their licence. Incidentally,

I am also a commercial helicopter pilot/instructor. The 'periodic training' required for me to maintain my commercial licence will be 7 times LESS than it is to maintain my HGV licence.

Do you think that is right?"

John English has been trading for 20 years, mainly international work but more recently in the UK. he runs 4 Scania artic trucks, all unmarked white, His drivers are all British drivers with around 20 years' experience.