Pairing partners
Page 17
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Over the past decade officialdom has been concerned with how to punish Continental operators who break the law while in the UK. The official argument presented to CM on more than one occasion in the past has been that effective punishment was difficult since the foreigners had nothing to lose.
When British operators are apprehended in Europe the punishment usually amounts to. an "on-the-spot" fine and in many cases allowance has been made for this when the operator priced the job in the first place, so that their method has been equally ineffective.
It may be, however, that Mr H. E. Robson, the Eastern area Licensing Authority, whose territory includes the Ports of Felixstowe and Harwich has provided the basis for a solution to this international problem. His action last week, when he refused an operator's licence to a British applicant whose Danish associate company had been breaking the law is something which could be easily developed (CM February 9). Not every haulier has a business associate in Europe or vice versa but there appears to be no good reason why every international operator cannot have a pairing arrangement with a counterpart in every country that he intends to visit or pass through.
There need be no commercial connection between the companies so that their individual freedom to trade would be preserved. They would only be guaranteeing the good behaviour of the visitor.
Any misdemeanour on the part of the visiting operator would result in the domestic law being applied to his guarantor. The scheme could apply equally well to dCCOMpanied and unaccompanied traffic and would ensure that only law-abiding operators survived in international haulage. In addition it surely has the merit of being simple to operate and at the same time inexpensive, since operators applying for permits would simply be required to advise the issuing office of their pairing partners in the countries applied for.