I've been asked to write an article for publication and it's something I always enjoy doing, but this one has to be perfect.
Now I'm Ok with the content and can waffle on about that forever, in fact it's all in my head and I'm raring to get on with it.
I'm having a problem though, with what angle to approach it from.
The subject is: Discussing the use of tachographs in the UK
I need to know whether to go at this as a pro's and con's basis, the evolution of tachographs and the effects, or possibly my personal experience of them. Or even some other angle?
Now it's turned cold and the garden isn't quite as attractive as a warm radiator, I can't wait to get this done, even though I have until April 2011 to submit it.
I know Lud and a few others on here do this sort of thing as second nature, and I would also appreciate the input of the tachohrapg users and TM's around here too.
TIA
Pat
PS, Iffy will you proof read and edit please when it's done:)
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Q&A always gets me started. E.g.
- what are they for?
- when were they introduced?
- how have they developed?
- who needs one?
- what are the advantages - to the driver, the operator, the regulators
- ditto diadvantages
- how might the system be improved?
Chuck out the irrelevant ones, add any missing ones, write the answers. Once done, you don't have to keep the Q&A format, you can just put it in a logical order, top and tail it as required.
Depending on the audience, you might add what I call seasoning. This could be some surprising facts or statistics, or an anecdote.
And proof read it 10 times.
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>> PS, Iffy will you proof read and edit please when it's done:)
>>
iffy will expect you to have a one line space between each sentence.
;-)
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Yes, I know!
But I need it to be perfect and as irritating as he can be, I think he's the right man for the job:)
Off to do some research, thanks L'es.
Pat
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...and as irritating as he can be...
Moi?
You're right, of course.
Returning to the article, a tachograph is an inanimate, essentially boring, bit of tin and plastic.
You are a living, breathing (sometimes difficult to love) human being.
In other words, your idea of bringing some human interest into the article is a very good one.
It's not always possible, but unless you are writing an instruction manual, it should be.
As regards writing style, don't try to reinvent the wheel.
Short, simply constructed sentences should be the norm, although they can be broken up with an occasional longer one.
If you look at features in the quality newspapers, the last line usually refers to the first.
Think of it like the hands of a clock.
A well-constructed feature should start and end at the same time, it doesn't matter what time you start, provided you work your way around the clock and finish at the time you started.
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The only artciles I remember written about inanimate objects are those written with wit and panache about personal experiences with them.
Otherwise it's just a lecture (yawn)..
Human interest is all - a bit of levity helps.. but not too much..
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You have a while, all winter in fact.
Why not do a bit of research into the subject, stuff you don't know now, but might be interesting or useful to know.
Like, How do accidents rates compare where they don't have tachos or drivers hours regulations. How do other countries enforce drivers hours without tachos or even with.
Then put it into comparison with EU/UK regs accident statistics.
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That's not a bad idea Z but I do want to have it done and dusted by Christmas as I start training with a vengeance in January. It's a slack time for lorry drivers and a good time to be off the road for a day.
Pat
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Pat. On a very serious note how often do drivers records get looked at? This is a very serious question and one which may not be appreciated by the drivers on here. Genuine enquiry.
Regards...........Martin.
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Your records are looked at weekly by your employer and you are notified and warned of any infringements. Usually there is a limit to how many you can acquire before dismissal happens.
As regards being checked by VOSA, it's difficult to say because they work on the traffic light system.
To try and explain it simply it works like this.
It's called officially OCRS ( Operator Compliance Risk score)
Let's take an individual firm. They have an Operators licence and have to comply with a set of conditions to retain this.
Their compliance with the law is recorded on that licence.
Things that affect this are failed MOT tests, defects found on the road in checks, and all types of infringements for drivers hours laws etc, even down to drivers using a phone or not wearing a seat belt.
This triggers a score chart called the traffic light system and it changes weekly as events happen.
About 20% of firms are in the green band and they almost never get stopped and checked.
60% are in amber and will get pulled in and have visits to the firm from VOSA occasionally.
20% are in the red band and will be stopped as soon as a vehicle is spotted on the road and will be visited regularly.
A Police officer or VOSA can spot a lorry and put in the registration of firms details to their on board computers and find out instantly which band they are in and will then decide whether to stop and check or not.
It's called targeted enforcement, and by and large it works but it is also responsible for the 'shocking' figures you see reported when a 24 hour check has been held and something like 65% of the vehicles were illegal.
It gives the impression that for every 100 vehicles on the road, 65 are defective when this simply isn't true as the green and most of the amber band would not have been pulled in.
It's a pretty good system really and it is beginning to work far better now that in the past.
Hope this helps, but the answer to your question isn't a direct one!
My email is available in my profile Martin if you need it in more detail than the above.
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Thu 21 Oct 10 at 04:51
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I know I didn't ask the question but that's very interesting info Pat... thanks for posting.
Regarding the article a few years back I wrote several thousand words of semi-technical/infomation every month for a quality club magazine. I would always use the Iffy circular style starting with an appropriate and not over-long personal intro, then getting into the meat of the issues/detail... finally rounding off to tie in with the first paragraph.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 21 Oct 10 at 07:51
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That cant be how it works, it has far to much common sense about it.
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Any written article anywhere has to fit the needs of the particular publication. Without knowing that information it is impossible to get the tone and slant right.
Is it:
A trade magazine for lorry drivers?
A technical paper for designers of monitoring equipment?
Heath & Safety Monthly?
A layman's guide, for a newspaper, Wikipedia, etc?
A campaigning journal with an anti-surveilance agenda?
Friends of the Earth magazine wanting the green angle?
Private Eye wanting a send-up of lorry drivers?
You are writing for an audience - who are they?
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It's for a book published annually and aimed at the Freight Industry as a whole.
Pat
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Suggestions please! - Manatee
