Let the truck driver no longer be "on the road"

Source: Economic Daily

Improving the working environment for truck drivers is not a solution that can be solved by one department and one place, and all parties need to take action and work together to promote the implementation of relevant measures.

Another year of "Double 11", the activities of major e-commerce platforms have been carried out in full swing, and consumers who have placed orders are looking forward to getting their own express delivery as soon as possible. Behind these express delivery transportation, in addition to the courier brothers that everyone often contacts, there are also the efforts of tens of millions of truck drivers.

Road freight is a basic service industry for the development of the national economy, with early opening hours, many employees, and a high degree of marketization, which is an important area for the people to choose employment. According to the data, in 2020, 17.28 million truck drivers in the whole industry completed 74% of the freight volume and 31% of the turnover volume of the whole society, making important contributions to supporting economic and social development, ensuring and improving people's livelihood.

However, the majority of truck drivers in the car as home, with the road as a companion, parking difficulties, rest difficulties, wind meals and sleeping situations are still there, overloading and exceeding the limit, arbitrary fines, low income problems occur frequently, "people on the road" from time to time staged, not only affect the efficiency of transportation, but also reduce the work experience and income of employees. Whether it is from the perspective of promoting the high-quality development of the transportation industry, or from the perspective of improving the sense of happiness and security of the truck driver group, it needs to be paid attention to and promoted improvement.

First of all, it is necessary to extensively improve working conditions. Truck drivers have been on the road for many years, away from the imperfect life of family life. It is necessary to further increase the parking space for trucks, build a "driver's home", let the car have a place to park, and truck drivers can also sleep well in long-distance driving, eat hot meals, drink hot water, take a hot bath, enhance professional happiness, and reduce anxiety.

Second, we must pay attention to ensuring transportation safety. There are thousands of roads, and safety is the first. Stubborn diseases such as illegal modification and overloading have seriously damaged highway traffic facilities and bridge facilities and affected road traffic safety. At the same time, it has also had an impact on truck drivers who are compliant in transportation, seriously disrupting the order of the transportation market. Relevant departments should strengthen law enforcement, treat both symptoms and root causes, carry out source management, continue to strengthen and improve truck traffic management, and provide safety guarantees for more than 10 million families.

Third, road transport services should be strengthened. Truck drivers are not afraid of hard work, but they are often overwhelmed by some materials, procedures, and inspections. It is necessary to simplify the procedures for truck drivers to handle certificates, strictly implement the reform of "three inspections and one" for ordinary freight vehicles on the road, continue to promote the "inter-provincial general handling" of high-frequency government affairs for road transport practitioners, improve the recycling system of scrapped motor vehicles, and effectively reduce the operating burden of truck drivers.

Finally, it is necessary to earnestly solve outstanding problems. On the one hand, crack down on car bandits and road bullies in accordance with the law, continue to crack down on criminal and evil forces to collect "protection fees" and steal vehicle fuel, goods and other illegal and criminal acts, and effectively regulate the rescue service behavior of highway trucks. On the other hand, people-oriented resolutely clean up unreasonable penalty regulations involving truck drivers, smooth the channels for truck drivers to complain and report, and make administrative law enforcement more intense and warm.

It should be emphasized that improving the working environment of truck drivers is not a department and a place that can be solved, and all parties need to take action to give full play to the role of the inter-ministerial joint conference system for the high-quality development of the road freight industry and reasonably promote the implementation of relevant measures. Transport enterprises should also exert their social responsibilities, reasonably determine the freight rate and the time limit for delivery of goods, so that truck drivers can get sufficient rest while obtaining reasonable income, and grow and benefit together with the industry. (Source of this article: Economic Daily Author: Qi Hui)