It’s oh, so quiet… but tell that to the delivery drivers
- If the radio is on, ensure the cab windows are closed and switch the radio off before opening the door.
- Be aware of how far your voice can carry when talking outside at night.
- Think about how to minimise contact between hard surfaces, particularly metal on metal.
- Don’t stage an impromptu am-dram version of the popular musical Stomp.
All but one of these little nuggets come courtesy of Transport for London (TfL) with the aim of helping businesses keep noise to a minimum during out-of-hours deliveries during the Olympics.
In total, the new code of practice on out-of-hours deliveries, which was developed in partnership with the Freight Transport Association and the Noise Abatement Society, features 40 separate examples of ‘best practice’ on how to be quiet, such as “do not sound your horn” and my particular favourite: “When working in the vehicle load space avoid banging cages in the vehicle walls”.
I do think TfL deserves some praise for producing the code. During the Olympics, a lot of businesses in London will taking deliveries out-of-hours to avoid peak traffic, so it is right that guidance is advised.
But I can’t help thinking they could have slimmed it down, particularly for drivers. The code provides 21 tips on how to reduce their noise and advises businesses send them a copy in advance and have them display it in the cab so that they consult it whenever they need to.
I wouldn’t want to suggest delivery drivers aren’t dedicated to keeping noise to a minimum, but I hardly think they’re going to learn 21 things off by heart when going about their work.
Surely it would be better to just break it down into four or five simple tips, such as:
- Don’t bang
- Don’t shout
- Don’t use noisy equipment
- Think
Alternatively, you could reduce the tips down even further to and keep it to just one – sshh!
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Rules are there but will delivery people follow? Perhaps, responsible parties are to be penalized for breach. Noise levels might be monitored by sensitive devices to alert responsible parties.