VOSA checkpoints are in the wrong location, says report
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CM COVER STORY
By Roger Brown VOSA'S EFFECTIVENESS is being hampered by some of its roadside check points being located in the wrong places, argues a report from the National Audit Office (NAO).
In its publication Enforcement of Regulations on Commercial Vehicles the government spending watchdog says that due to changes in the road network, a number of sites are no longer positioned at strategically important locations.
However, a spokesman for the NAO tells CM that it could not provide specific examples of where these sites are.
In its study, the NAO adds that VOSA's ability to target risky commercial vehicles entering the UK is limited because the organisation cannot always inspect incoming vehicles at ports. This limited ability is further compounded by a lack of access to ships' manifests and other information held by the government.
A transport select committee report in August last year highlighted the same issue, mentioning a lack of enforcement at ports.
Head of the NAO, Amyas Morse, says: "VOSA needs to focus its resources on those activities and areas where it can have most impact. For example, looking at where its staff and stopping sites are located around the country." She adds: -It
needs to help educate CV drivers and properly identify those vehicles that pose the greatest danger."
VOSA spent £36.6m on enforcement of CV regulations in 2008/09. During this period, the organisation prevented 36,500 unsound CVs and drivers from continuing their journeys — a 26% increase on the previous year. A VOSA spokeswoman says: "We are already making good progress in many of the areas mentioned in the report, including introducing enforcement teams at new strategic traffic hotspots; working with port authorities to check vehicles coming into the country; and ensuring our checks are targeted at those vehicles most likely to be breaking the law.
"In addition, we are working with other agencies to carry out a range of driver education campaigns to improve standards on our roads"
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