Are Professional Drivers issues discussed here?

[celtictigress]

As a Royal Mail professional Driver, I am interested to know how other drivers, especially night drivers, in mail centers across the country, feel about solo deliveries to unmanned D.O's at night? Do any of you have to do these duties?

[disheartened]

Our night drivers go in pairs......2 x 600's with work for different d-o's,both the drivers go to both d-o's

[Talell]

our area is pending risk assessment from the area h&s rep, and still doing 2 man trunking. Don't think anyone is happy about solo night runs.

[SpacePhoenix]

It's been 1 driver per 600 per run to DOs here for as long as I've worked for RM

[xplore]

In Sheffield nobody is allowed to go to a closed DO on nights alone, we go in pairs.

[celtictigress]

@Spacephoenix... is that on night runs? Which mail center are you referring to?
@Talell.... Maybe h&s should speak to drivers who do these solo deliveries to unmanned d.o's, especially those who have been injured while doing so!!! And are h&s doing risk assessments on NIGHT runs to closed d.o's? We are still waiting to see ours....Appear to be rather evasive, as cannot get a clear answer as to where they can be found in our place....despite several requests...hmmmmm!
@disheartened... Which mail center are you referring to please?

[disheartened]

@disheartened... Which mail center are you referring to please?

The "death star" aka the new mail centre at Hemel HCN

[Talell]

@Talell.... Maybe h&s should speak to drivers who do these solo deliveries to unmanned d.o's, especially those who have been injured while doing so!!! And are h&s doing risk assessments on NIGHT runs to closed d.o's? We are still waiting to see ours....Appear to be rather evasive, as cannot get a clear answer as to where they can be found in our place....despite several requests...hmmmmm!

Yeah, night (0200~ arrival), to open, patrol, unload, load empties, lock up, a D.O.

Haven't done the risk assessments (they have been talking about them for around a year now), just finally getting around to the H&S manager and H&S rep to get release from duty to carry them out.

I don't know the full story, it's a different section from me, so I don't pay a lot of attention to what looked like a niche problem at the time.

I would assume that you COULD, in theory, refuse to carry out the task in absence of a risk assessment. I don't know the particulars, but someone here probably does, and it would get you a copy of it post haste.

[celtictigress]

@Talell....... thanks for that. Attempts have been made to refuse only to be met with 'well you are no good to us if you cant do your job'! that was after severe injury while doing one of these deliveries!!! Union seem not so much clueless as uninterested in drivers problems so proving somewhat ineffectual for us.. If you get the opportunity, dont support the proposal as someone is going to end up losing their life un-necessarily.. After all, apart from risk of attack there is also the risk of accident or illness, left unattended, which could have tragic results.. Heart attack, etc? Unable to call for help! Accident resulting in unconsciousness....in winter, its hypothermia that could prove fatal, not the accident, injury or illness. We have had a driver collapse with a brain haemorage.. Was with people at the time so help was available rapidly. and fully recovered now. Unattended for a couple of hours, it would have been a very different story. See what I mean? Better to do tandem deliveries rather than risk a life, surely?
sorry if I sound like am preaching. Head injury, no memory of what I did but drove back to depot... Severe concussion... Got back safely, but could have been so much worse! Wot if had passed out while driving?? All cos nobody there to advise me not to drive . frightening to have no memory of journey. Shows someone else needed to be there to stop me putting others in danger! Not something I would have done had I been able to think clearly...
Cheers for info..

[SpacePhoenix]

With DOs opening later I wouldn't be surprised if RM were to axe all runs between MCs and DOs throughout the country. The only stuff that DOs need 100% asap are any specials and tracked.

[rainbowwarrior72]

At JMC (Jubilee MC) we have two systems in place in the JMC drivers operate a 2 man buddy system But GU (Guildford) drivers go in on their own diue to a prior agreement they had at Farnborough. The management have made it clear they would like us at JMC to work to the latter system but as of yet they are sticking to the agreement even thru ex Farnborough drivers who transfered over to JMC seem to be working the latter system as well unofficially. I did phone the union to check if there was a national agreement in place re buddy runs and apparently it seems it has been left to local agreement. My issue is and always been Health & Safety as I am concerned if anything goes wrong that somehow RM will lay the blame on the driver. Hopefully Central RM and CWU will clarify it at some point