Foreign hauliers face exclusion
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• The Department of Transport is to make greater use of its powers to ban foreign hauliers from entering the UK if their drivers break the law.
The decision to use the powers more freely follows representations from foreign governments protesting that drivers have been jailed if they are unable to pay fines or have no UK address.
The Magistrates' Association journal, The Magistrate, this month claims that one case
nearly caused a diplomatic incident.
Overseas governments have raised the matter with the foreign office, who in turn passed the complaints to the Home Office.
A Department spokesman admits that perhaps liaison with the courts and police has not always been what it should have been. The powers to ban foreign hauliers have existed for a long time.
"This seems more sensible than throwing somebody into prison," he said. Unlike the French, the police have no power to impound a lorry whose driver has broken the law. It does, however, have power to stop them coming into the country and is prepared to use it if either the firms fail to turn up in court or default on fines.
If the fines remain unpaid, then the Department has the power to confiscate the hauliers' permits.