WORKING HOURS OF DRIVERS

Early day motion 972, tabled 26 February 2007 by Dawn Butler (Labour). Signed by 50 members.

That this House notes that on average 70 people are killed every week on the UK's roads and that one in four of these deaths are caused by regulated commercial drivers; further notes that taxis, private hire vehicles and chauffeurs are only regulated by the European Working Time Directive in relation to the number of hours driving and that they are restricted to a 48 hour working week with a minimum 11 hour break between shifts; recognises, however, that this can be meaningless given that there is an opt out; further notes that drivers' representative organisations and road safety groups are supporting the call for an inquiry into claims that drivers are working up to 100 hours a week; further notes that a survey carried out by drivers' union GMB identified that many drivers feel that they are being forced to work 70 to 80 hours a week; and urges the Government to undertake an inquiry to authenticate such claims and to consider legislative proposals to outlaw such dangerous practices, including relevant penalties for those responsible.

Signatures by party: Labour 42, Liberal Democrat 6, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1, UUP 1.