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Let the real battle begin

10th January 2002
Page 9
Page 9, 10th January 2002 — Let the real battle begin
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

We can't help observing with a wry smile the number of organisations stepping up to claim the credit for getting impounding onto the statute books. However, it's irrelevant who claims the victory, as long as the war against illegal operators is won. And before we all get too carried away by the fact that the VI can now impound a vehicle operated by a non-licensed carrier, remember that we've hardly seen the first skirmish in the battle.

We'll be keen to see how many HGVs are actually impounded (and stay impounded) come the end of 2002. Whenever the Department of Transport is asked: "How many unlicensed operators are there on British roads?" it's never been able to come up with a satisfactory answer Instead it tends to fudge things with an estimate of the annual mileage they cover. As if that helped. In truth they probably don't know how many cowboys are roaming the range. If we're to ever understand the size of the problem we need to have definitive data on how many there actually areā€”and roadside impounding will, in time, provide that data. No doubt some innocent customers will be caught in the cross fire. But that should serve to remind consignors of the need to hire properly licensed hauliers. There may also be some misguided souls who think impounding is too draconian. Utter tosh. The next step is to have roadside revocation. Now that would really improve

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Organisations: Department of Transport

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