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e:mtents The licensing
Page 31
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laggards
The road goods industry has rightly criticized the unsatisfactory scramble to introduce drivers' hours and records regulations, but the industry's indignation would carry more weight if its own record were better in the case where there has been sufficient time—operators' licensing applications. A check on Tuesday of this week showed that 26 per cent of the application forms sent out by traffic areas have still not been returned.
Beginning early in December, 46,006 application forms were dispatched to A, B. and Contract A licence holders. In order to hold 0 licences by March 1, as the law demands, these operators should have had their applications in before the end of December. Yet by February 3, five weeks after the due date, only 34,153 forms (74 per cent) had been returned. The LAs are not obliged to issue March 1 licences to latecomers: if they run goods vehicles without an "0from that date they are liable for a E200 fine on each count, and risk disciplinary action. In fact, the Authorities have been very reasonable, but a warning on Monday from Mr. Birnie, the Scottish LA, that hauliers who do not apply quickly may find themselves off the road in a few weeks' time, is one that would be echoed by his 10 colleagues. There is a limit to leniency.
Many of the forms dispatched will obviously have gone to dead addresses, non-operating firms and so on, but this cannot account for the size of the discrepancy. The number of forms dispatched and, in parenthesis, the number returned by last Tuesday is as follows: Metropolitan 7.050 out (4,958 back), Eastern 2,650 (1,808), W. Midland 5,200 (4,128), Yorkshire 5,256 (3,649), Northern 2,900 (2,251), Western 3,730 (3,164), North Western 7,312 (5,052), S. Wales 1,620 (1,342), Scotland 3,988 (2,630), E. Midland 3,500 (2,962), South Eastern 2,800 (2,209).
The effect of delay is cumulative. Of the 27,473 requests for fees dispatched to applicants, only 16,872 (61 per cent) have been met. Without the fee the LA cannot issue licence discs, so vehicles cannot legally be operated. Too many laggards seem intent on running themselves into trouble.