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SOMEONE MUST DO SOMETHING!
Page 10
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The introduction of digital/smartcard tachographs was already a dog's breakfast. Pass the Pedigree Chum, Rover, because you just got brunch. The latest word from the EU's Transport Commissioner is that all EU roads are still leading to a launch date of 5 August 2005. And, as we warned last year, the industry isn't ready. In fact the DVLA has admitted: "No decision has been made regarding the date that digital cards will be issued in the UK." VOSA faces the monumental task of training and accrediting all the tacho calibration centres as well as ensuring the police and VOSA enforcement officers are trained to carry out roadside checks. But there's little sign of any major activity on that front, either.
So far only one company has gained EU type approval for the necessary equipment. Others will follow, but by the middle of next year these companies will need to be in high-volume production. Meanwhile the truck manufacturers have yet to reveal when the first digital tacho-equipped vehicles will go into production. Best estimates say April, but plenty of non-digital-tacho-equipped 'new' vehicles will remain unregistered by the August deadline. As usual the road transport operator will be expected to deal with this chaos with no loss of efficiency. It's a mess and we urge the EU to sort it out once and for all rather than shuffling it under the carpet yet again (see news, page 6).
"As usual the road transport
operator will be expected to deal with this chaos
• Guess what French operators have started bleating about rising fuel prices. They've soared by 19% over the past 12 months and the French trade associations are now appealing to their government for help. We trust the pleas will be met with the same deaf ear that's greeted UK operators' requests to Whitehall. But the word is that Spanish operators have received some form of state aid to cope with rising fuel costs. Which brings us onto the whole subject of government help for transport operators.
We'll be reviewing the various schemes in place around Europe in a forthcoming issue. The Germans, Dutch and Spanish governments all plan to offer a system of rebates to encourage early introduction of cleaner-engined vehicles. Meanwhile, as usual, the UK government continues to sit on its hands. We deserve better.