The restrictive limits of the EU Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive were agreed in Brussels and have been backed by Britain’s Health & Safety Executive. The directive was immediately condemned by the National Farmers' Union as a “masterpiece in madness”. The NFU led opposition to the directive because it meant farmers would have been forbidden from driving a tractor for more than three to four hours a day. However, the impact of the law will be even heavier on other industries. The HSE said it would cost £3 billion to £4.8 billion to implement. Ben Gill, the NFU president, said: "This directive has been driven through without any scientific justification. This is the European nanny state gone mad." Using an arcane formula to measure the “whole body vibration”, the time limit for using a chainsaw would be one and a half hours. Lorry drivers would be restricted to working for only six hours and dumper truck drivers to two hours. The time limits for using a road drill would be 47 minutes. Daily Telegraph 14/3/02.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Shake up for farmers
THOUSANDS of farmers and other workers may be banned from driving tractors, lorries and dumper trucks for much of the working day under an EU directive on vibrating machinery. 
The restrictive limits of the EU Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive were agreed in Brussels and have been backed by Britain’s Health & Safety Executive. The directive was immediately condemned by the National Farmers' Union as a “masterpiece in madness”. The NFU led opposition to the directive because it meant farmers would have been forbidden from driving a tractor for more than three to four hours a day. However, the impact of the law will be even heavier on other industries. The HSE said it would cost £3 billion to £4.8 billion to implement. Ben Gill, the NFU president, said: "This directive has been driven through without any scientific justification. This is the European nanny state gone mad." Using an arcane formula to measure the “whole body vibration”, the time limit for using a chainsaw would be one and a half hours. Lorry drivers would be restricted to working for only six hours and dumper truck drivers to two hours. The time limits for using a road drill would be 47 minutes. Daily Telegraph 14/3/02.
The restrictive limits of the EU Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive were agreed in Brussels and have been backed by Britain’s Health & Safety Executive. The directive was immediately condemned by the National Farmers' Union as a “masterpiece in madness”. The NFU led opposition to the directive because it meant farmers would have been forbidden from driving a tractor for more than three to four hours a day. However, the impact of the law will be even heavier on other industries. The HSE said it would cost £3 billion to £4.8 billion to implement. Ben Gill, the NFU president, said: "This directive has been driven through without any scientific justification. This is the European nanny state gone mad." Using an arcane formula to measure the “whole body vibration”, the time limit for using a chainsaw would be one and a half hours. Lorry drivers would be restricted to working for only six hours and dumper truck drivers to two hours. The time limits for using a road drill would be 47 minutes. Daily Telegraph 14/3/02.
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