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High-tech traps on the way following trial
Page 14
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MORE THAN 20 roads around the country are to be fitted with high-tech devices to trap lawbreaking operators.
The Department for Transport is spending E2m on weigh-inmotion systems (WIMS) and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. This follows a successful six-month trial earlier in the year.
A spokeswoman for the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) says WIMS identified 271 vehicles that were overloaded during the trial, including 204 that were stopped from going further because they were so overweight.
ANPR is linked to VOSA's computer records so it can warn enforcement officers which vehicles are worth stopping to check for other infringements as well.
"It makes for effective targeting," says the spokeswoman. "During the trial, 52 drivers were not allowed to continue further until they had had a rest period and 44 prohibitions were issued for mechanical defects."
She says VOSA plans to set up four more similar sites by the summer. The £2m funding announced in this month's preBudget report will pay for up to 20 more sites by March 2007.
Transport Secretary Alistair Darling says there will be a "focus on ports traffic in response to evidence there are significant levels of infringements by lorries travelling into the country". This follows industry anger about foreign hauliers getting away with breaking the law.
Under the Road Safety Bill currently before Parliament, enforcement agencies will be empowered to take cash deposits from foreign drivers, who often escape punishment when they commit offences in the UK.