The realm of farce
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AM K's spokeswoman hit the nail right on the head this week when she described the fine off28,000 for illegal immigrants found in a trailer that was rented out to a third party as a "bloody cheek". It's certainly crazy that you can't rent out equipment without being legally liable for what someone else does with it. But when the problem isn't even down to that someone else—when the immigrants are present in the trailer without the driver knowing and despite proper checks—that cheek factor moves into the realm of farce.
If the Home Office considers the two parties "jointly liable" why aren't AMK and S j Freight sharing the fine, instead of both being hit for the full amount? To us that isn't "jointly liable"; it's "doubly liable".
We've yet to find out how easy the appeal procedure in these cases will be, but if this particular appeal is unsuccessful and SJ Freight is forced to close, it will doubtless be only the first of many. The recent changes to immigration law have made international haulage a game of Russian Roulette unless you've got thousands of pounds of spare cash you don't mind giving to the authorities for an "offence" you knew nothing about.
AM K's spokeswoman was right— the people who make the rules simply don't know what they are doing.
• Is partial flagging out legal? Not according to Scottish Deputy TC Richard McFarlane's suggestion that vehicles specified on a British 0-licence have to be registered in Britain. It remains to be seen whether other TCs follow suit, but let's hope that whichever way they go, they do so quickly.
Hauliers can't be expected to operate within the law if no-one in authority can tell them what it is.