DEAR SIR
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PARKING PROBLEMS
• I have read reports recently in Commercial Motor about a public inquiry in Leeds where 15 operators were given severe warnings about unauthorised parking of vehicles and trailers.
The reason for calling the 15 operators to the public inquiry was because vehicles owned by the various companies had been "illegally" parked at places other than their authorised operating centres; eg, in laybys, on waste ground, in residential areas, on an industrial estate etc.
The deputy LA stated that the vehicles should be returned to their operating centres if they are in the general area.
He did not define what he meant by "general area". He stated that there was a difference if the vehicle was away overnight outside the Traffic Area. If the vehicle was away from base he would regard that as not contravening the Act, but if a vehicle was home based he would expect it to be
parked at its operating centre at all times. What is the difference between being away from home and being home based?
I do not understand what the deputy LA is trying to say.
Surely if a driver is running out of hours he would not be expected to carry on and exceed his hours to get his lorry back to its operating centre.
Would he not be permitted (or required by law) in such circumstances to park his lorry in a layby, on waste ground etc until such time as he could legally continue? How would the deputy LA's decision apply if the driver was at the end of his weekly hours and the vehicle remained in the layby for 48 hours? .
At weekends in particular it is very common to see lorries parked in all sorts of places — probably in the majority of cases near to the driver's house because of reasons such as to enable the driver to get an early start or because the driver lives a long way from his employer's premises.
Does the deputy LA's inter pretation of the law mean that because the vehicles are not at their operating centres over the weekend they are illegally parked, and that their operators' licences could therefore be in jeopardy? If this is so then I can see a lot of operators' licences being at risk.
I am sure that events as described above are very common occurrences and would therefore be grateful for your views on the LA's comments.
Are copies of the LA's decision in cases such as this published, and if so where can they be obtained?
C Richards Elsick, Lanarkshire.
We would hesitate to secondguess an LA's decision; certainly an operator who is dissatisfied with a decision is free to appeal to the Transport Tribunal. Details of decisions are available through Traffic Area Offices. For Leeds the North Yorkshire Office is at Hillcrest House, 386 Harehills Lane, Leeds LS9 6NF, phone (0532) 499433. All TAOs are in the phone book. — Ed.
INTERNATIONAL DANGERMEN
• As a local delivery driver I used to envy the boys on international runs.
I have been following the stories in Commercial Motor about the three truck drivers stranded by the Gulf crisis.
I wouldn't mind the money the international drivers get but I don't think I'd want to swap places with them any more.
It makes me angry sometimes when the public and papers run down trucks when international drivers take serious risks in doing a job that the public depends on so much. Peter Hornsey, Bilston, West Midlands.