Surrey fights 0-licence cheats
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• Surrey County Council wants the Department of Transport to get tougher with hauliers which flagrantly flout operator regulations.
The council is worried that operators without the appropriate licences are able to run vehicles illegally because Licensing Authorities are becoming less vigilant on enforcement matters. It is asking the Association of County Councils to take up its case and urge the DTp to tighten up on LA action.
Chief transportation planner at Surrey, Tony Bolden, says: "Many complaints are being made to us over the unauthorised use of sites as operating centres, breaches of environmental conditions on 0licences and lorry parking in residential areas. In the first nine months of 1986 we lodged 48 objections to 0-licence applications with the Metropolitan and South Eastern areas, but there seems to be a reluctance among LAs to take any enforcement action, even where there are serious breaches of the regulations."
Bolden cites instances where the county council has asked for action to be taken against operators running HGVs without 0-licences for long periods of time. "LAs have generally not been prepared to start proceedings against these people," claims Bolden, "and it would appear that no means exist for such illegal operators to have their vehilce maintenance and drivers' hours checked. This gives us cause for concern about the safe operation of such vehicles."