VOSA misses deadline to take LHV legal action
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DICK DEN BY HAS been denied his day in court to fight the law surrounding the use of longer. heavier vehicles (LHVs) on British roads after VOSA failed to serve a summons to the haulage boss for his brief trial of a 25.25m Eco-Link trailer on the roads of Lincolnshire last year.
According to the company director of Denby Transport. VOSA had to take action against the operator within six months of the incident, which occurred on 1 December 2009. But the 1 June has passed without Denby having any contact from the agency.
At the time, a PG9 prohibition notice was issued, but later withdrawn when Denby reversed the Eco-Link back into his yard.
"VOSA and the Department for Transport (DM are allowed six months precisely to serve a summons, which expired on 1 June," says Denby, who admits he has heard nothing further from either party with regards to potential legal action. 'I did remind them more than once before this date. Our intention was not to flout the law, but to test it." According to VOSA, for the majority of offences when the agency intends to prosecute, the case must reach court within six months of the offence.
Den by has not been shy of explaining that the initial trial was done with the intention of clarifying the law, through legal action, for the use of vehicles beyond the maximum permitted length of 18.75m.
He believes that the interpretation of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 allows for a combination of two or more trailers up to 25.9m in length.
LHV pioneer Denby hit the headlines after he attempted to take the Eco-Link for a seven-mile run on the A46 without a government permit on 1 December 2009 (CM 3 December 2009). He was stopped by police as soon as the truck left the gates of the yard in order for them to carry out tests. The incident attracted a large amount of national media interest. A spokesman for VOSA said the agency would not discuss any potential legal matters with a third party, but encouraged Denby to contact VOSA himself to take the matter further.
An investigation into the Dutch experience with LHVs (CM3 June) will appear in next week's CM.
• See letters, p20, for Stan Robinson's view on the I.HV debate.