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A thoroughly modern man
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Page 23
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Senior TO Philip Brown wants the role to move with the times and believes he has the experience to make it happen.
Words: Christopner Walton / Images: l7ranam Richardson
YOU MAY not think of Philip Brown as a moderniser. For a start, the Traffic Commissioner for the South-Eastern and Metropolitan Area, as well as the senior Traffic Commissioner for Great Britain, is based in Eastbourne, on the south coast of England a town more synonymous with the retired than reformers. But in his 18 years of service as both a deputy and a full-time TC, Brown has seen the enforcement of haulage rules change dramatically, particularly with the creation of Vosa in 2003 (through the merger of the Vehicle Inspectorate and the Traffic Area Network), and the adoption of Working Time Regulations in 2005.
The Local Transport Bill is now threatening to shake things up again, strengthening the role of the senior TC by making it a statutory appointment with powers to issue directions and guidance to the other commissioners. "There are a lot of changes going on, and I want to drive them through," says Brown. "If I find myself in a position where I can drive them through...
Brown stops himself and starts again: "Part of the frustration of the senior Traffic Commissioner's role is that you cannot always do that. As a spokesman on behalf of seven Ts, I will wait until anybody sees what the Department for Transport has lined up for the new statutory role."
Brown may be playing the waiting game (the Local Transport Bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 27 October). but he still insists that there is a much greater need to make the role of the TC more apparent to the world at large.
Proactive role
"It has really had to modernise. The TC's role has had to become more proactive, certainly in the years I have been doing the job. It has evolved in the type of trends that the TC had to deal with, with a trend towards more complicated cases, better intelligence, better presented information and TCs are striving very hard to achieve a consistent approach to all of their work. Since the creation of Vosa back in 2003, the TC has had the opportunity to develop their role as an effective regulator," he says.
"It has become more efficient," he states. "I don't think we'll ever sit back and say it is the best it could be. We've moved in leaps and bounds in modernising, not just the role of practical decision-making, but the support of those like Vosa enables us to be consistent." Maintaining aconsistency and independence in the TC's decisions is vital to Brown, who is keen to preserve the openness of the hearing process. He also wishes to remind hauliers that the terms of the 0-licence, alongside the numerous road transport laws that arc in place to control the operation of heavy goods vehicles, are there for their own benefit.
"The rules enforce road safety and help maintain competitiveness. In an ideal world, the TC would be able to license every application, you would not have to take action against anybody; it would all run very smoothly and the TC's job would be very easy.
"However, we know that in reality, that is not always the case and that is why we are here. We are here to ensure that operators comply with the rules and don't act in a way which is competitively advantageous."
Brown clearly does not want to see operators breaking the rules left, right and centre, but he is not averse to offering advice to 0-licence holders who are looking to keep on track in the face of minor transgressions. He says operators will often come to him after various legal seminars, either in association with CM or organisations such as the Freight Transport Association, claiming to have a 'friend' in need of help and advice.
Brown says he is happy to give this advice and see the operator address any problems quickly rather than for the situation to spiral out of control and end up in a public enquiry.
Open and honest
"We are dealing with human nature most of the time. Know the rules and follow them. If, for any reason, something goes wrong, make a note of what happened and explain it when asked or even report it. You cannot be wrong by saying 'we cocked this up, we sorted it and we are better for it'."
However last month Joan Aitken, the TC for Scotland, appeared in the news pages of CM claiming that the era of "light touch" regulation was coming to an end. Aitken said that light touch was great if the TC wanted to be loved, and she would help operators with problems if addressed with them, but she would have to consider where they had taken business from those who were compliant.
Brown says: "An example of softtouch regulation is the Working Time Directive. Vasa is the enforcer, and when it was introduced, Vosa said its approach would be a soft one.
Change of approach
"But earlier this year, the decision was made to start to change this approach and enforce against operators who did not comply. They gave it a couple of years of soft regulations and an advisory approach, and now you have to make sure you comply with them.
"That was not the decision of the TC; that was just policy to do that. Now we know what the current approach is, we will see over the next few months where that will make a difference," he adds.
Brown says he gains no satisfaction from being punitive — unless an operator is seen persistently again and again and has not learned from its previous experiences.
With the role of the senior Tc set to change, you cannot imagine Brown not learning from his professional career in the Office of the Traffic Commissioner: "I take each day as it comes. I've been doing it now for eight years full-time and 10 years part-time. I am as experienced as anybody, I very rarely look beyond tomorrow because tomorrow is always another day." •