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Scrap breaks out over impounding
Page 6
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Confusion reigns within the enforcement community as the Senior Traffic Commissioner launches an attack on VOSA, which is vigorously defending itself. Emma Penny reports.
VOSA HAS HIT BACK at Senior Traffic Commissioner Philip Brown after he criticised its approach to impounding trucks.
In the TCs' Annual Report, published last week, Brown reveals that the TCs are becoming increasingly worried that there is no uniform approach to impounding. He says a steady stream of vehicles has been impounded by VOSA, a proportion of which are requested back from TCs. But Brown impliesTCs lack confidence in VOSA's approach. "It remains unclear to Traffic Commissioners whether an impounding policy exists within VOSA and if so, exactly what that policy is, since it is difficult to identify a uniform approach throughout Great Britain.
But VOSA says this is completely untrue. A spokeswoman says all VOSA staff were issued with full guidance notes and instructions when impounding powers were introduced: "We even sent a copy to the Senior Traffic Commissioner, so we're not sure where this has come from.
"If someone appeals against an impounding the TCs have to know the procedure we have followed in order to make a judgment about whether it was correct, so they must all know the procedure."
A spokesman for the TCs says he believes it is the procedure for "targeting" vehicles that is being questioned, But VOSA says this is also covered in the guidance given to all its staff.
Targeting vehicles to be impounded is straightforward, the spokeswoman adds: intelligence is gathered, and vehicles which are working without 0-licence authority will be impounded.
• Legislation introduced in January 2002 allows VOSA to impound vehicles that are being used without an 0-licence. In 2003-04 the TCs received 128 applications for the return of impounded vehicles, of which 52 were returned. Sixteen appeals against refusal to return vehicles were lodged with the Transport Tribunal, three of which were granted.