IVI any international hauliers have a sneaking suspicion that they are regarded as a soft target
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by ' Continental law enforcers because they come from the U K. Henk Buzink, managing director of Fransen Transport in Kidderminster. Worcs, says: "It's difficult to prove but they seem to let their nationals off easier and come down hard on foreigners."
Andy Ingleston, managing director of Dockspeed in Hythe, Kent, believes the issue boils down to the enormous differences in the way vehicle regulations are interpreted: "Consequently. something you know is totally legal in the UK becomes an offence over there and you get fined on the spot. In the UK you are innocent until proven guilty," he says. "In France you're guilty until proven innocent."
He says his company, which has a fleet of 35 temperature-controlled vehicles, has been fined on several occasions in France because drivers have not carried seven days' worth of tachograph charts prior to their weekend break instead of the one that is required by law. Because proving this is a costly and timeconsuming process he makes no attempt to reclaim the money.
Karen Packrnan, manager of the Freight Transport Association's international department, says the French tendency to come down heavily on the most minor infringements is well documented.
"They will fine you for just about anything," she says, "even though it is not an offence. They tried to fine one of our members for not setting the tacho to French times. We had another member fined for driving an artic on a Sunday even though he was actually exempt."
Another widespread belief among international hauliers is that enforcement of drivers' hours regulations is far less strict than in this country. Buzink, whose company also specialises in temperature-controlled transport, believes that only Germany and Switzerland have comparable standards to the UK. He says that lack of enforcement is demonstrated in other countries by the way hauliers there insist that long-distance journeys are completed within a certain time frame: "You can never abide by the mles and keep to their timetable."
Variations
All European U n ion member states are required to check at least r% of all daily tachograph charts, but there are big variations from country to country. According to European Commission officials, Germany and Ireland check around 4% while France and the UK check 1.5%, with most other countries sticking to the bare minimum. This data is being collated for a report which could lead to the introduction of a directive requiring higher minimum levels of enforcement.
Enforcement agencies across the EU are already co-operating with each other more closely, which should ensure drivers and
operators are treated similarly in each country. In September, for example, traffic examiners from the Vehicle Inspectorate are due to meet their counterparts from Ireland, Belgium, Holland and France. The visit is part of the European Enforcement Harmonisation programme, which is designed to encourage a greater understanding of each other's enforcement practices.
Gary Geldart, enforcement policy advisor for the Vehicle Inspectorate, says the main difference between coun tries is interpretation, particularly in relation to drivers' hours: "Some people believe that the eight hours' rest should he any where in the 24-hour period and others believe that it should be at the end." Geldart says that Continentals are increasingly looking to adopt the UK system of having the eight hours at the end of 24 hours, because otherwise drivers can end up doing t3hr 30min of driving with only ihr 45min of rest. He believes that the UK tends to err on the side of interpreting the legislation for road safety purposes, while the Continentals are more intent on sticking to the letter of European law.
The harmonisation pro gramme has already brought some tangible results. According to Richard Denby, VI area manager for
Staffordshire and Shropshire, the French have recently adopted the idea of "silent checks" which have been used in the UK for 20 years. This involves noting down the time and location of vehicles on the road and then checking them later against tachograph records. "If, for example, we saw a vehicle on the MG at a certain time and later found the charts indicated a rest period, then it would provide a very sound indication of false records being kept," he adds.
Co-operation
Operation Baywatch, run by the UK and Irish Republic, is an example of how closer co-operation is also helping to clamp down on rogue hauliers. In May, vehicles travelling to and from ports in the Irish Sea were targeted, resulting in 42 VI prosecutions for hours, records and overloading offences.
Deidre Fannin, head of enforcement in the road haulage division of Ireland's department of public enterprise, says co-operation is vital because neither country can prosecute for offences not committed on its own territory.
Denby was one of the first VI officials to take part in an exchange visit to Hance. He says a different legal system gives the impression that the French are tougher on offenders than the UK, but this is not entirely true: "They have a system of what we often call onthe-spot fines but they are actually on-the-spot deposits against an eventual court case. The deposits are substantially more than fines for similar offences in this country but it is not unknown for the case to be thrown out and the deposit returned."
He adds that French traffic examiners are similar to their counterparts in the UK: "We do similar jobs under similar conditions and deal with common EC regulations. Apart from very very minor differences, we interpret and apply those regulations in a very similar manner."
Gerard Schipper, enforcement policy advisor to the Dutch traffic inspectorate, has also taken part in the exchange visits and says one of the biggest differences between Holland and the UK is the absence of Traffic Commissioners in Holland. He says this means that Dutch courts often lack the expertise to deal with more serious offences: "It takes a long time to get people convicted if they are not willing to pay the fine."
It may be small consolation to international hauliers, but comparison with Continental regimes does highlight the benefits of the UK system. As Dockspeed's Ingleston says: "There is a lot of publicity against our enforcement bodies, but at least they do tend to understand the law and apply it properly. We have a good old British sense of fair play."
• by Guy Sheppard