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A refined opinion...
Whatever you do, don't call this a Uturn. It's not a U-turn. It's not a change of mind. It's more.. .a refinement of opinion. Amazing! In June, the DOT said partial flagging out was fine. In July, it has, ummm...refined this opinion to suggest that operators who flag out partially will, er, "probably" be treated differently by the courts to those who opt for full emigration.
So how should the haulier who wants to partially flag out take this? Sorry, we have no idea—and neither does anyone else. Clarification on the legality, or otherwise, of partial flagging out is urgently needed. But if the DOT is consistent over anything, it is in its refusal to test this issue in court.
Is this because our friends at the DOT can't bear to see hauliers suffer any more than they are already? Or is it that they don't have any confidence that they would win such a case? Maybe it's simply in their interests to intimate illegality without taking things any further. Who knows? Maybe we'll find out in August...
• What's the most dangerous thing to do while driving? Judging by two cases this week, the answer is apparently to fudge the issue of drivers' hours. Two Welsh tipper hauliers have narrowly avoided jail for tacbo chart falsification, and Fullers Transport has been fined more than £37,000 for permitting drivers' hours breaches.
But not everyone gets such heavy penalties. So it's good news that sentencing guidelines are now set to emerge from the new panel set up by Jack Straw. If nothing else, they might outline a penalty structure that will deter those who make illegal nanning part of their normal business practice.