VI BLUES
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• Is it us, or is the Vehicle Inspectorate facing a few problems? As one of the first of the Tory Government's wonderful "Executive Agencies" the VI has certainly done a good job of improving its public image. Its annual reports are glossy and well produced, its senior managers articulate and its approach to business is, well, businesslike.
Unfortunately it's not all sweetness and light. Following its merger with the traffic examiners it has been claimed that some operators who plan to plead not guilty are being let off with a warning because of lack of funds. This week we learn that a local office of the VI has broken the rules by asking a haulier to send it his tacho charts — and the fraud squad has been investigating claims that a former VI examiner took bribes.
Nonetheless, the VI has a friend in CM. But if it is to do its job properly it's time to stop promoting the myth of "costeffective' enforcement. The Treasury and the DOT must give the VI the resources it
needs to get rid of cow
boy operators for once and for all.