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Bell: Raise a glass to impounding regs
Page 8
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• by CM Caswell Haulage enforcement top brass have thrown their weight behind the impounding of cowboy hauliers trucks.
North-West Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell behaves that impounding will make life fairer for the law-abiding majority.
And the TO, who made a scathing attack last week on operators who break the rules (CM11-17 Oct) says offenders can expect little mercy: "I will have a celebratory glass of champagne when impounding comes in—it is frustrating for me when I revoke an operator's licence and hear reports that they are continuing to operate.
"It is my biggest concern at the moment that the powers that we currently have are not sufficient to deal with this problem, but impounding will address this."
Bell repeats her warning that offenders can expect to pay a high price if they are caught.
She points out that the problem does not only lie with cowboy operators, adding that some blue
chip companies are not paying enough attention to their legal obligations. Bell reflects: When I took up my post here 18 months ago I was aware that the North-West had the highest vehicle defect rate in the country. It is therefore pleasing to see that prohibition levels have fallen this year.
"Operators who continue to put other road users and the public at risk will lose their licences—but they can also expect to be disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence in future."