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THE ROA
Page 42
Page 43
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A round-up of hundreds of trucks belonging to cowboy hauliers is due to begin in December when the Vehicle Inspectorate will be given powers to impound them. But, as Guy Sheppard reports, the fear is that honest hauliers may lose vehicles for minor offences while the real renegades escape justice.
An odd quirk in the law means that hauliers who break conditions on their Operator's Licence face curtailment or even closure of their business, yet someone with no licence at all is usually only fined a few hundred pounds. What is even more frustrating for honest hauliers is the likelihood that unlicensed rivals are probably ignoring other regulations as well because it is so difficult for the enforcement agencies to keep tabs on them. As South Eastern and Metropolitan Traffic Commissioner Christopher Heaps says: "It's like not joining up for the income tax system. If the tax office don't know about you, then you won't get a tax demand."
Persistent offenders
The need for tougher measures to deal with hauliers who evade the 0-licensing system has long been recognised and next month (December) the Vehicle Inspectorate is due to be given the power to impound their vehicles. A hit-list of persistent offenders has been drawn up by VI intelligence officers and by next year scores are expected to have closed down simply because they no longer have any vehicles to work with. According to a VI fleet compliance survey, r% of the UK's 420,000 strong trucks over 3.5 tonnes are being use without 0-licences.
One reason so many people flout the sys tern is the relatively light sentences dished ou by magistrates. Although the maximum fine for having no 0-licence is p2,500, the average is just p350, according to VI policy manage ment officer Caroline Billingham. "We prose cute them but the fines are not a significan deterrent," she says.
Another reason for non-compliance is tha cowboy operators are notoriously difficult te pin down. Transport lawyer Michael Cotelec a partner in Barker Gotelee, says: "Some pec pie give false names and addresses—there ar all sorts of things that make summonini these people more difficult."
Gavin Scott, the Freight Transpoi Association's regional policy manager fo Scotland and Northern Ireland, confirms thz. court action is not currently an effective soli: lion: "It's been very frustrating to enfora ment staff and indeed to the industry thz when these people have been caught they ca skip down the steps of the court and no dout set up under another name."
If cowboys are able to wriggle out of the C licensing system so easily, will they succese fully dodge the threat of impounding as well? Billingham says that for the first few weeks, the new penalty will be imposed sparingly and the number of impounded vehicles will only reach double Figures this financial year. He explains: "We have to test the legislation and see how it is actually working."
The VI has seven intelligence officers around the country who will pinpoint targets together with other VI staff and police. Once this is done a 'sting' will be set up with police and VI staff waiting to catch the offender in action. Billingham says: "We will gather information on target operators such as the vehicles in his fleet, the condition they are in, what the business actually is, and the routes being travelled. Once we have all that information, we will know where and when we can stop a vehicle safely."
Billingharn points out that only the police have the power to stop a vehicle on the road but a protocol is shortly due to be signed with the Association of Chief Police Officers which will ensure police support for arty impounding action.
The VI has contracted P&O Trans European to remove vehicles and provide facilities for impounding them. This means that no extra VI staff have been taken on to cope with the added enforcement responsibilities. If impounding proves successful and the Department of Transport wants it to be extended, Billingham says staff may either have to be recruited or redeployed.
Although the VI says that impounding will be restricted to hauliers who persistently operate without an 0-licence, there are widespread fears that honest hauliers will be penalised for more minor offences.
Bob Stacey, head of technical services for the Road Haulage Association, says: "Like all schemes, depending on its success, you extend it and I would expect it to be widened to encompass other offenders." He points out that when the Traffic Area Network's new TAN2r computer system becomes fully operational, enforcement officers will be able to complete on-the-spot checks on a vehicle's legal status at the roadside.
Extremely concerned
The FlA's Scott says: "I would be extremely concerned if impounding applied to `slip-up' technical offences where an operator is authorised for 20 vehicles and hires another one which means it is legally not covered by the 0-licence."
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association is also worried. Nora Leggett. head of member services, says rental companies will have to be able to show they displayed "due diligence" in checking that their vehicles are covered by an 0-licence if they are used for work when one is needed.
This is because there will be only three grounds on which an appeal can be made to the local Traffic Commissioner for the return of an impounded vehicle.
These are: it was already covered by an 0licence; it was exempt from an 0-licence: or it was being used illegally without the owner's knowledge. Once the 21-day appeal period is over the VI will dispose of the vehicle and there will be no opportunity to pay a fine to have it returned. Leggett argues that this timescale is too tight. "We are being told our members will get a phone call but there is scope for messages to go astray," she says.
Precious thing
How effective impounding will be in practice depends both on the quality of the intelligence gathered by VI staff and the quality of the legislation that empowers them to impound vehicles. Transport lawyer Gotelee says: "All too often specialist legislation is pushed through parliament without real understanding of the circumstances it is going to operate in." But if drafted well, he says, impounding should be a powerful deterrent because the most precious thing for a cowboy operator to lose is his vehicle.