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Pulling out the stops
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CM spent a day with Vosa on a London roadside check during which it found 19 defects, seven overloads and numerous C&U, drivers' hours and licence offences. Just a normal day then... Patric Cunnane reports.
Our day out with Vosa begins rather inauspiciously. As we drive along the M25 in a marked Vosa vehicle the traffic in front grinds to a halt. So do we, and the two cars behind us: not so the white van which is the third vehicle behind. It ploughs into the second car behind, pushing the first into our rear with an almighty thump. No one in the four vehicles is hurt and after the police visit the scene and take statements from all concerned we exchange the usual details, compliment White Van Man on his exemplary roadcraft and are soon on our way.
Our companions for the day are Graham Owen, Vosa's metropolitan area manager, and fellow Vosa officer Adrian Elkington who is the first Vosa 'stopping officer' in the country and technically a Community Support Officer.
Vosa was empowered to stop vehicles without being accompanied by the police by the Police Reform Act 2002 and we are on our way to spend a day at Vosa's purpose-built vehiclechecking site at Dagenham. A five hour roadside check will start at noon, using kit including a weighbridge and brake LesLing rollers.
Vosa controls the lights
On the road outside the check site two Vosa officers control a set of traffic lights to stop their target vehicles and direct them into the site. The officer further from the lights is the 'spotter'. When he spots a likely customer —a truck without an 0-licence disc, for example— he signals to the 'stopper' who turns the traffic lights to red.
The vehicle is directed into the queue for the site where a teamof traffic and vehicle examiners are waiting, We're in fora busy day. At least five offences are detected in the first hour, including two missing 0-licence discs, a dodgy driving licence, an overload and two defective tyres resulting in prohibitions: delayed for a Renault Magnum with a damaged sidewall and immediate for an MAN with a more serious defect We are trying to ensure we stop the non-compliant and we have become better at targeting," says Owen. "In a year or two we should start to struggle to find offenders because they have been deterred. The other scenario is that the penalties are not deterrents and there is no sustained improvement." Vosa carries out frequent checks at the Dagenham site but it varies the times so drivers cannot predict when they might be stopped. "Sometimes they will radio back and say 'the wheel tappers are here" Owen remarks.
The fact that Vosa can now set up its own checks without police support certainly allows it much greater flexibility.
A Ford Transit pickup driven by a youngster is brought into the site. Even to the untrained eye, its load of scrap looks to be on the large side. "When I was talking to him he was very nervous," says vehicle examiner Chris Ballantyne. It turns out the driver has good reason to be nervous. Checks reveal that he has been prosecuted three times for no insurance; twice for no licence and he is only on a provisional driving licence.And yes, the unit is overloaded.
Ballantyne reports that common defects involve tyres,indicators,spring defects in tippers and brake load sensor valves. He regularly gives evidence in court on behalf of Vosa." You can get asked silly questions like 'what was the practical effect of a brake defect?'." Public inquiries are better, he finds, because they are attended by transport specialists: "I don't mind Pis as long as I've done my homework —I don't write anything up that's not 100%
Turkish but no delight
Next up is a Turkish vehicle that measures 16 c/0 overweight through the kingpin. It's delivering to a depot within yards of the check site opposite Vosa so the driver is allowed to drop his load and come back for a reweigh. He is then released without charge. Owen says: "He may have been compliant in his own country because European weights vary, but his details will now be on our database,".
An orange Daf tipper is not so lucky:The roller test reveals a braking efficiency of 74%. The vehicle also lacks an 0-licence. The driver gives Vosa the name of an alleged licence holder but a phone call reveals he sold the vehicle two weeks ago, probably to the current driver.TheDaf is impounded pending further checks and the driver has to make his own way home, walking from the Vosa site with his possessions in a carrier bag.
"When you get to the end of non-compliance it's everything," says Owen, "No 0-licence, no tax. no insurance and overloaded. We've had drivers who just leg it over the fence.They have a £3,000 vehicle and they will get £3,000 of fines so they might as well leave it there."
A driver is not carrying his previous week's tacho charts. Vosa allows the employer to fax them through but the incident is recorded on its database and if another driver from the same firm turns up without sheets the company is likely to get a visit.
The driver of a Volvo FM12 carrying plant equipment appears to have correctly carried out his walk-round checks. In the past his employer has replaced tyres he has reported as defective but on this occasion two reported bald tyres are spotted that warrant an S-mark immediate prohibition:The driver remarks that his boss is not keen on spending money. We will visit the company and it could end up in a public inquiry," says Owen.
No action on reported detect
A vehicle examiner dealing with another vehicle shows CM a two-day-old defect report of "ABS warning light staying on". Ignoring such a defect could have led to an accident."We will go and see the operator and ask why he did nothing about it," says the examiner. "ABS is not fitted for any reason but safety."
During the five hours of this check CM is impressed by the dedication and energy of Vosa's officers in checking, at least temporarily, the flow of unsafe and illegal vehicles on London's roads. But it must be said that this good impression is somewhat spoiled by one examiner (not previously mentioned here) who made derogatory remarks about two separate ethnic groups, including the opinion that "all Nigerians are liars" before adding: "Don't quote me on that".
It is worrying that a public servant dealing with international drivers, where impartiality is required, should express such views to the press..