I EDITOR'S COMMENT
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FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
• If the Department of Transport has got its sums right on enforcement it should be congratulated. But if the traffic examiners are to be believed and there is insufficient money left in the kitty to police the haulage industry effectively, then it deserves to be pilloried. The average haulier obeys the law because he is afraid of it. Afraid of getting caught, afraid of being punished, and afraid of what could happen to his business if he strays off the straight and narrow. Self-regulation is not a viable alternative. The "cowboy" operators who plague the industry and allow the majority of law-abiding hauliers to carry the can when they break every rule in the book have a more cynical attitude towards authority. They may fear it, but that fear recedes in direct proportion to enforcement activity. The only way to beat them is to be on guard 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Nothing less will do.
The DTp cannot have it both ways. If it is keen to see a professional, law-abiding road transport industry then it must provide a well-regulated, properly funded framework of enforcement.
The concept of "cost-effective" enforcement is riddled with holes. Switching resources from one area to another, from drivers hours to overloading, whichever is the most politically sensitive, is counter-productive. The DTp must convince the Treasury that road haulage enforcement costs money, and more enforcement will need more money than it is getting at present. Perhaps Transport Secretary Malcolm Rifkind could gently remind the Treasury how much money it receives from the road transport industry in VED and fuel tax.
According to the National Union of Civil and Public Servants the average salary for a traffic examiner is £12,621 a year. Considering the potential earnings of the "cowboy" driver it is not difficult to understand the sense of frustration some examiners are now expressing. If the DTp wants to rid the country of illegal operators it has no option but to step up the fight against them. As Cicero said: "The sinews of war, unlimited money".