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VI swoop on danger trucks
Page 18
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VOSA returns only a fraction of 125 impounded trucks. David Harris reports.
THE VEHICLE Inspectorate (VI) impounded 125 trucks in its last year of existence, nearly half of which were in such a dangerous condition that they were scrapped or sold for parts.
The figures are revealed in the last annual report of the VI, which was replaced by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) in April.
While 57 trucks were taken off the road for good, more than 30 of the impounded vehicles were returned to finance companies and just seven were given back to their owners. VOSA is still deciding what to do with the remainder.
The annual report says that many of the trucks confiscated because they were not included on any Operator's Licence were also illegal in other respects. Frequently the vehicles had no insurance, while drivers were often driving without a licence, working while claiming benefit and using forged documents. More stringent checks on tachograph heads and speed limiters introduced last year meant that there were more failures of this equipment during the annual test.
VOSA believes that the failure rate will fall this year as operators become more familiar with the new tests.
The annual report also noted that the number of HGVs given spot checks at the roadside in 2002/03 increased by 14.6% from 74.683 to 85.598.