COMMENT
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Wrong arm of the law...
And so the inevitable has happened: the first operator has lost his licence under the new regulations which require Traffic Commissioners (TCs) to revoke if an operator is convicted of traffic offences, rather than "repeated" offences.
South Eastern & Metropolitan TC Brigadier Michael Turner apologised to the operator in question, Thomas McHugh, and explained he had nowhere left to go. And that's the whole problem: TCs simply have no discretion left. The unfortunate effect is that McHugh also now has nowhere left to go.
Supporters of the new legislation will point out that an operator still needs to incur at least two convictions before revocation, and that law-abiding hauliers can avoid this. Maybe. But what about situations like overloading, which they may know nothing about until it's too late? Is it fair to remove an operator's licence for this? Or does the law now expect every driver to make his own way to a public weighbridge, get every load checked, and return to the client if there is a problem?
Little wonder that transport solicitors and TCs alike are known to be aghast at the new legislation, and seriously concerned about the effect it will have on Britain's haulage sector. The industry needs to act swiftly to get this ill-thoughtout and unfair situation changed before thousands of law-abiding hauliers are, like McHugh, left with nowhere to go.
• The Transport Select Committee's investigation into the UK haulage sector is excellent news and its findings, due before April, will make very interesting reading. Let's just hope the final report is taken to heart by the policy-makers.