Courier Business Stuff

I was checking the search engine referral statistics for the Courier Info site and noticed that it seems to be getting quite a few hits from people searching Google using phrases like “do I need a courier licence” or “do I need a licence to be a courier” which bring up the page Do I need an Operator’s Licence? as the first result.

So – Do I Need a Licence to be a Courier?

In the UK there are is no special licence required to operate as a courier. You’ll need a full driving licence of course if you want to drive a van, car or motorbike. You could ride a motor bike on a provisional licence but you’d be limited to 125cc bikes which are of very limited use in the courier industry; you’ll also struggle to get proper courier insurance on a provisional licence.

Your normal full driving licence will allow you to drive vans up to Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, Insurance for Couriers, Vans

Karoshi is a Japanese word which is literally translated as “death from overwork”. It generally refers to sudden deaths by stroke or heart attack caused by work-related stress.

In 2006 a 45-year-old Toyota employee died, apparently from working less than 20 hours overtime per week in the run up to launching a new product.

His death has now been classed as an industrial injury, meaning that his family can claim against his employers’ insurances.

60 hours per week is classed as a short week by many in the UK same day courier industry. While HGV drivers are limited by law to 48 hours work a week and any employed workers can insist on working a maximum of 48 hours per week with 5 weeks holiday per year, many courier owner-drivers and courier company owner-managers work in excess of 70 hours per week with few if any holidays.

For the working man, doing his best to provide for his family, is it not better to have a few more years to spend with the family, rather than a few extra quid each year and an early death? Life is apparently a journey, not a destination.

(Written by me, working at 1837 on a Saturday evening)

Posted under Courier Basics, Courier Business, Drivers' Hours, Employment

I won’t go into the full details of the Road Transport Directive (RTD) here since most companies affected by it are haulage companies rather than same day couriers and should have a CPC holder with knowledge of such matters. I’ll cover it in full in a future posting. Since the RTD has much stricter rules than the Working Time Directive it’s important to know whether you’re covered by it.

Does the RTD apply?

The RTD applies only to mobile workers who work in vehicles to which EU drivers’ hours rules apply – that is vehicles with a tachograph fitted. THIS WILL INCLUDE MOST DRIVERS OF TRANSIT OR SPRINTER VANS USED TO TOW TRAILERS.

‘Working in’ would include driving, shunting, navigating, training, loading etc and would include driver’s mates.

It applies to some self-employed drivers under limited circumstances but looks set to include all self-employed drivers (of vehicles with tachos) from March 2009.

Workers who only occasionally drive or work in vehicles to which EU drivers’ hours rules apply are still subject to the RTD even when not driving if they work in vehicles with tachos for 11 days or more during a reference period that is shorter than 26 weeks or 16 days or more where the reference period is 26 weeks or longer.

For example a warehouseman who takes a 7.5 tonner out to refuel it now and again would be covered by the RTD during all his working time if he drove the 7.5 on 11 separate days during the reference period, even if it was for just ten minutes each time.

A worker who is covered by the RTD because of work carried out for one employer would also be covered by the RTD if he carries out any other work for other employers – weekend work for example.

A mobile worker who isn’t covered by the RTD is still covered by the Working Time Directive (WTD)

What does the WTD mean to couriers?

The Working Time Directive does not apply Read More…

Posted under Drivers' Hours, Employment

Dartford Crossing Tolls – Dartford Tunnel & Queen Elizabeth II Bridge (charged both ways)

Motorbikes FREE
Car £1.00
Goods Vehicles with no more than 2 axles £1.80 (£1.00 2200-0600)
Vehicles with more than 2 axles £2.90 (£1.00 2200-0600)
Vehicles towing trailers charged at twice their standard toll

Humber Bridge Tolls (charged both ways)

Motorbikes £1.20
Cars and Goods Vehicles up to 3500kg £2.70
Cars and Goods Vehicles up to 3500kg towing a trailer £4.90
Goods vehicles over 3500kg but under 7500kg £4.90

Mersey Tunnels Tolls – Queensway and Kingsway (charged both ways)

Solo Motorbikes FREE
Cars and Goods Vehicles up to 3500kg £1.40
Cars and Goods Vehicles up to 3500kg, towing a trailer £2.80
Goods vehicles over 3500kg, with 2 axles £2.80
Goods vehicles over 3500kg, with 3 axles £4.20
Goods vehicles over 3500kg, with 4 or more axles £5.60

M6 Toll (charged both ways)

Motorbikes £2.50 (£1.50 2300-0600)
Cars and Small Vans (less than 1.3m high above first axle) £4.50 (£3.50 2300-0600)
Cars and Small Vans (less than 1.3m high above first axle), towing a trailer £8.00 (£7.00 2300-0600)
All Vehicles over 1.3m high above the first axle £9.00 (£8.00 2300-0600)

Severn Bridge Tolls (charged westbound – into Wales only)

Motorbikes FREE
Cars £5.30
Goods Vehicles up to 3500kg  £10.60
Goods vehicles over 3500kg £15.90
No extra charge for trailers

Tamar Bridge Tolls (charged Eastbound only)

Motorbikes FREE
Cars and Goods Vehicles up to 3500kg, with 2 axles £1.00
Goods Vehicles over 3500kg, with 2 axles £2.50
Goods vehicles over 7500kg, with 3 axles £4.00
Goods vehicles over 7500kg, with 4 or more axles £5.50
Vehicles towing trailers charged at twice their standard toll

Tyne Tunnel Tolls (charged both ways)

Motorbikes 20p
Cars and Goods Vehicles up to 3500kg £1.20
Goods vehicles over 3500kg £1.50
No charge for trailers

London Congestion Charge

£8 per day to enter, or drive within, the Congestion Zone at any time between 0700 and 1800, Monday to Friday. Charged once per day only, no matter how many times you enter the zone. See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/roadusers/congestioncharge/whereandwhen/

Erskine Bridge, Forth Bridge, Skye Bridge & Tay Bridge are now toll free.

There are numerous, cheaper, toll bridges and roads scattered around the country on minor roads. See http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/overseas/european_tolls_select.jsp for their location and the toll costs for a car.

 Compiled 17th July 2008. No responsibility taken for any errors.

Posted under Tolls, Charges & Fines

For some reason there’s a lot of criticism, mainly coming from ‘old hand’ courier companies, about owner-drivers and small same day courier companies ‘moaning’ about being paid late by other courier companies.

While the people ‘moaning’ and threatening to ‘name and shame’ are widely lambasted as being unprofessional, unbusinesslike and not taking normal business practice into account, I can’t help thinking that maybe it’s the ‘old hands’ that have got it wrong.

Should it really be acceptable that new entrants to the business are forced to fall into line with the pre-existing sloppy practices of the courier industry? ‘Real’ businesses don’t allow elastic lines of credit to unchecked, untested and undeserving customers; why is the same day courier industry so different?

Why are the new entrants, at the bottom of the ladder, forced to accept late payments that are mainly caused by the slack credit control practices of the courier companies they subcontract to?

It’s not so much the late payment that’s a problem with some companies it’s the fact that when they take advantage of extending their suppliers’ credit terms they’re sitting on an enormous pile of debt. Lending your hard earned cash to anyone in this industry is a very risky step to take, more so now than ever before.

Even with its shaky finances in the recent past Nissan is a Read More…

Posted under Courier Business, Courier Financial Issues, Late Payment

A week or so ago I read the PC Pro review of the new TomTom GO 930 satnav with IQ Routes™ technology (is there a TomTom equivalent of the annoying Intel sound that has to be played every time that phrase is read out?). If satnavs are your thing then it looks an impressive piece of kit.

One particular paragraph of the review stopped me in my tracks and made me think about the general problems people have had with satnavs since their introduction – namely satnavs sending drivers down unsuitable roads:

According to PC Pro, “The most significant upgrade to the new range is TomTom’s new route-finding ability – dubbed IQ Routes. What this means is that the 930T, along with the rest of the new “x30″ range, calculates routes not using the speed limit data alone, but also by taking into account the average speed of real-world traffic on those roads.”

Just pause for a moment to let that sink in - not the fact that IQ Routes™ (cue the jingle again) calculates routes based on the average time taken to travel those routes but that TomToms in the past have calculated the fastest route based on the speed limit of the road.

Even my first copy of Autoroute had options to set different driving speeds for different types of roads – rural A roads, urban B roads, urban motorways etc. It beggars belief that up to now TomTom have been basing their route calculations on speed limits.

Think about it – is it generally possible to make better time on an Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, SatNav

What is CMR?

CMR stands for “Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route” which translates as “Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road”. It was devised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and was brought into UK law by the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965.

When does CMR apply?

It applies to every contract for the carriage of goods by road in vehicles for reward, when the place of taking over of the goods and the place designated for delivery, as specified in the contract, are situated in two different countries, of which at least one is a contracting party to CMR.

The current contracting countries are: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan.

It doesn’t apply:

(a) To movements between the United Kingdom, The Republic of Ireland, The Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, Insurance for Couriers, Legal Issues

The recent rise in popularity of the use of satnavs by same day couriers may actually be slowing down deliveries and causing couriers to drive more miles than necessary, if the results a recent experiment conducted by Reader’s Digest magazine is to be believed.

According to a report in The Scotsman, the navigational experiment took the form of a ‘race’ over a 989 mile route between three teams of drivers.

The race was won by a team of men relying on reading road signs and asking directions. In second place was a team of women relying on their map-reading skills and the car relying on satnav finished over an hour and a half later.

So apparently men can ask for directions, women can read maps and satnavs don’t always find the most appropriate routes.

The report goes on to quote Luke Bosdet from the AA: “Unfortunately, many drivers become slaves to their satnavs – turning sharp right on to railway lines, rivers and, in one instance, a toilet on a German building site.”

Sarah Sands from the organisers of the experiment, Reader’s Digest, is quoted as saying “It goes to show that when you’re trying to find remote locations in the Lake District or navigate busy city centres, you’re better off relying on the people who live there, rather than a line on a piece of paper or a computer.”

I’d suggest that the outcome of this experiment Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, SatNav