Bottomley warns on CV safety failings
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• Roads and Traffic Minister Peter Bottomley issued stern warning to intimidating truck drivers, persistent overloaders and HGV test failures, at last week's Commercial Motor Fleet Management Conference (pages 26-32).
Bottomley is concerned that a large number of vehicles fail their annual DTp test: "When I look to see what they are failing for, I see a high proportion are on braking systems." Acknowledging that many smaller operators are finding it difficult to have their vehicles brake-tested before putting them in for an annual test, Bottomley says: "There may be a way in which we can help." Questioned by delegates, however, he failed to give any further details.
Despite being impressed by the "dedication" of many of our HGV drivers, Bottomley says he is, "worried at the intimidation by a number of drivers who think they have a right to be driving along 12 feet behind another vehicle at 60mph." The offenders says Bottomley, are a "minority most of the time, but I wonder if anyone actually looks at their tachographs."
When driving on the motorway, Bottomley says, he "often has a clear road in front of me, because HGVs have overtaken me and cleared off out of sight."
In one of the broadest hints to date from a Transport Minister on whether the Government is to introduce mandatory truck speed limiters, Bottomley says: "Most changes will come about because leading operators are actually demonstrating what works. I'm not threatening the use of speed limiters on heavy vehicles, although I can see that might be a topic that comes up when they come in for coaches."
The coverage of accidents in the popular press is a particular target for Bottomley. "They give more attention to the spectacular accident on the M4 and M6, than they do to the 80% of deaths in builtup areas, where there is only 40% of the traffic. You could take out every single death on a motorway, and still be left with 5,000 deaths annually," claims the Mininster.