Honesty is not paying...yet
Page 11
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A recent report on traffic safety makes rather sad reading for the haulage industry. Things aren't getting much worse, but they ain't getting better either.
by Rob WiHoek • limest hauliers will no doubt be as disappointed as the Vehicle Inspectorate (VI) by the news that fines in 1996/97 for convicted HGV operators failed to register any significant increase on the average for the previous year.
The average fine following convictions for HGV offences in England and Wales is now just .E158, up only 2.5% on last year, an increase which doesn't even match inflation.
In Scotland it's worse. The typical penalty is just L115, and that's if the conviction sticks— only 62% of the 2,256 HGV offences in Scotland were even pursued, compared with 88% south of the border. "Following discussions with the Crown Office in Scotland, we are investigating how to increase the number of cases pursued, for instance by better case presentation," says the VI.
In England and Wales, drivers' hours offences currently warrant a paltry £86 punishment, tachograph misuse collects just £104 in fines, and even Construction & Use infringements are deemed reparable with a £158 cheque to the Treasury Consolidated Fund. Legal operators are entitled to ask, "Where is the deterrent for the cowboy?" Without sharper teeth, the law has no bite. Whatever the intention, the message actually being sent out by the Lord Chancellor's magistrates is that cutting some corners is cool.
In its annual effectiveness report, which highlights these figures, the VI voices its frustration at the ineffectiveness of the current legal penalties.
"There is no sign that average fines in England and Wales are increasing, despite efforts by ourselves and the Traffic Area Network to inform magistrates about the significance of roadworthiness and traffic offences," it complains.
Offences of all types reported for prosecution in the UK were up by 28% to 18,907 in 1 9 9 6 9 Prosecutions, in turn, rose by a similar percentage to 15,886.
Prohibitions were issued to 28,282 HGVs following roadworthiness (spot and fleet) checks, up 16% on 1995196. Nearly half were issued with immediate effect to vehicles with serious defects causing risk of injury. But the increase was mainly accounted for by single defect, delayed prohibitions, says the VI. Its examiners are now more likely to prohibit
VEH INSPEC
on minor offences than just issue a warning.
HGV trailers had a high, 19% prohibition rate, despite their relatively simple construction, says the VI report.
Against a background of generally narrowing regional differences, and an average prohibition rate of 20%, the North-West suffered a four-point rise to 22%, overtaking Scotland as the worst region for vehicle maintenance.
Failure rates at annual test, however, are consistently significantly higher in Scotland, adding weight to the VI's view that maintenance quality is variable by region.
But national results suggest that standards of maintenance are stable, it adds, perhaps as a veiled criticism.
At annual testing across the country there was a small increase in HGV failure rates, reports the VI. "As always, it is disappointing to find that levels of compliance with the law remain low," comments VI chief executive Ron Oliver.
Worryingly, braking systems continue to be up among the most common reasons for HGVs to fail the test. And braking defects will probably become even more apparent as the VI aims to improve the effectiveness of its HGV brake efficiency tests. A series of trials is being run at the VI's test station at Hastings, and will be extended to Exeter this year, brake testing unladen vehicles and extrapolating results for fully-laden brake performance.
There is an increase in the failure rate in direct proportion to vehicle age, but while a 45% initial failure rate for 11-yearold vehicles might be expected, if disappointing, the 14% test failure rare for one-year-old trucks is inexplicable.
And as one industry commentator says: "If the owners of those vehicles can he guilty of neglect within just 12 months, God only knows what their wagons will be like after five years."