abnormal load will operate. Escort considerations are contained in guidelines
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laid down by the Association of Chief Police Officers. It is the chief of police in each area who is empowered to make the decision that an escort is necessary "There are some occasions when a charge is made for the escorting of loads,' says David Pryer, Acting Superintendent, area 14 traffic, of the Kent Constabulary. This is dependent on the time of day, whether or not it is a Bank Holiday or weekend. When a charge is made the criterion usually is that the abnormal load service which is offered by the force is not in operation and therefore officers have to be brought on duty especially to cover this eventuality, hauliers and the like are charged at the private duty rate."
Problem
Local traffic conditions also affect the decision," says Superintendent Goodson: "In the middle of the country most of these loads may only be passing through the area and may never leave the motorway They might not need an escort. However, if the journey ends near a port there is a different problem."
The increased number of secondary roads and greater potential for traffic congestion in areas such as ports adds to the need for careful management of the movement of the load, he add& The haulage argument hinges on the duty of the police and their right to make the charge. Jonathan Lawton, a solicitor specialising in transport law, says: "If a Chief Constable decides that an abnormal load requires an escort then that is within his discretion. He is paid to exercise that discretion but in my view he has no authority to require a payment to be made."
PHH's Jon Hugill is incensed about the attitude of the police, who he says take the money without any offer of guarantees: They accept no responsibility for any costs incurred in delays or non-fulfilment of their obligations," he says. "In such a case the police are saying that they want to be paid for providing this service but will accept no responsibility for it if it isn't done well. If they do charge they should accept exactly the same contractual obligations as any of us who charge for a service." Superintendent Goodson responds: "We could not be held liable for unforseen or unexpected incidents which could even cause a need for the diversion of the load."
The hauliers believe that as specialists they could ensure the safe passage of their consignments in most cases, but there are occasions when large abnormal loads have to go the wrong way around a roundabout, for example. "That requires somebody in the middle of the road to stop the traffic," says Jonathan Lawton. "Giving the authority to a private individual to direct traffic is a different kettle of fish.
This raises the question about the legal implications if the escort of abnormal loads was to be privatised following the Home Office review.''We are trying to find out which duties could be lifted from them," says a Home Office spokesman. "The police have mentioned to us that there are certain areas which they do not consider their main activities, including providing a car to escort an abnormally wide load," David Allely is a director at heavy haulage operator Allelys Heavy Haulage. His company makes a run to Germany every week which involves the use of a private escort company, PF3, without any problems. "Our view is that we would dearly love to see private escorting in the UK," he says. "The police are very good, and when they are there they keep you moving, particularly in the metropolitan areas. The trouble is you are having to wait for them all the time. It's the unreliability factor, and changeovers at borders means you can lose up to five hours in a day."
Privatisation
Privatisation of the escort service would mean that while most heavy operators don't pay at the moment, they probably would have to in the future.
However, Allely says: "At least you would know the cost at the outset and how long it would be likely to take when you prepared the quote for the job." He adds that there are places where the police would be needed, and suggests that these would be at each end of the route. This brings us back to the police and the right to charge.
It appears that the charges dispute will continue until, as Superintendent Goodson says, it is challenged in court. Meanwhile, says Hugill, it could hurt the economy in port areas if the companies which originate the load either decide to use other port areas where the police do not charge for escorts, or redirect the manufacturing of the products to areas where the local constabulary chooses not to charge.
As Tom Llewellyn says: "If these companies are winning export orders for the country, why should they have to pay for escort services as well?"
E by Steve McQueen