1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198 
El .7m a year bill for VOSA checks
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE LICENSING authorities will have to find an extra £1.7m a year as Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) personnel replace the police in stopping vehicles for roadside checks.
Transport Minister David Jamieson gave the figure in a parliamentary reply to Gwyneth Dunwoody, chair of the transport select committee.
Jamieson added that the Department for Transport is providing finance for the setting-up period, but in the long run this activity will be funded through fees.
VOSA was first empowered to stop vehicles for roadside checks in a pilot scheme last September. The move is designed to ease the pressure on police and help crack down on unroadworthy vehicles and illegal road-users.
VOSA staff have been trained by the police to maintain public safety: they drive patrol cars in distinctive yellow and black markings.
A VOSA spokeswoman says: "Between October 2003 and January 2004 we stopped 5.059 commercial vehicles. We understand that there have been only low instances of drivers not stopping. Early indications show that VOSA has stopped more vehicles than before with police assistance, and is therefore spotting more non-compliant operators.