Home Office changes tack on safety enforcement the police win over VI
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• The police are to continue to enforce truck safety laws because Home Office specialists are dismissing the idea that the job should be done by the Vehicle Inspectorate alone.
The decision is a victory for the police who had expressed concern about deteriorating enforcement but it represents a U-turn by Home Secretary Michael Howard. Over a year ago he excluded traffic work from a list of core activities, leading senior officers to believe that police would be largely withdrawn from the enforcement process.
Howard is due to reveal his final definition on police core activities next month. Apart from the commitment to traffic policing, he will reiterate his Department's commitment to ending police escorts for abnormal loads. But he is not expected to give a launch date for the new regime, which will involve operators paying private companies to provide escorts.
Private escorts were expected to get underway this summer but it is taking longer than expected to finalise the necessary regulations.