Break the law, lose your truck
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Impounding the vehicles of rogue hauliers who operate outside the law will be the ultimate deterrent if the long-awaited Government proposals are approved.
by Nicky Clarke • The heyday for cowboy operators is drawing to a close. Hauliers who persist in flouting the law are going to have their vehicles impounded if long awaited proposals, soon to be published by the Government, are approved.
The Department of Transport's ille gal operations working party has been scratching its head for almost three years about how to deal with rogue hauliers who flagrantly operate outside transport and, in particular, operator licensing law While the number of operators outside the 0-licensing system is estimated to number 6-12,000 compared with 127.000 0-licence holders, the obvious financial advantages afforded them means that they upset the level playing field. Not surprisingly, efforts to catch them have long been the subject of discussion among government ministers and traffic commissioners who apply the operator licensing law.
In 1991 an amendment to the Road Traffic Bill included, largely due to the efforts of the Road Haulage Association, the impounding of hauliers' vehicles. But this was turned down at the eleventh hour by the House of Lords as a Draconian measure.
Senior traffic commissioner Ronald Ashford, who is responsible for the western traffic area, and south eastern and metropolitan traffic commissioner Michael Turner are keen advocates of impounding. Turner presides over an area — south London — where it is known that a number of illegal operators are based. "Illegal operators are like quicksilver they disappear. It's no good imposing penalties on them because they disappear" says Turner.
The DOT's illegal operations working party will, in July, make recommendations to Transport Secretary John MacGregor based on its three—year long study of cowboy operators. And it is likely to call for legislation to allow traffic commissioners to empower the Vehicle Inspectorate's traffic examiners to impound trucks.
It is also calling on the Building Employers' Federation to ask its members to refuse work to unlicensed hauliers.
Strong case
At the RHA's Tipcon conference last month Jack Winder, head of enforcement at the DOT, said: "We feel there is a very strong case for heading in this direction". Winder denied that impounding lorries was too extreme for those who fail to be correctly licensed. "People into such illegal operations are probably blatantly abusing the system in other respects" said Winder.
The DOT's plans do not mean that, if caught, they will have their vehicles seized tomorrow though. Winder promised that confiscation would be used only as a last resort: it would be a "very selectively-used deterrent".
While Turner is keen on impounding, he would like to see it used only after the culprit has been prosecuted for operating without an 0-licence.
"There needs to be a filter and impounding needs to be the end of the line" he says. However, north eastern traffic commissioner Keith Waterworth questions the practicalities of impounding. He would like to see existing powers which are available to deal with unlicensed operators used to the full, "before moving to acquire more Draconian measures.
We need to talk to magistrates to convince them that unlicensed operators are a serious matter — they may be people who skimp on maintenance" he says.
He believes magistrates do not impose fines as high as they could. He is planning to meet magistrates later in the summer to urge them to "stiffen up in terms of the level of fines".
Waterworth would also like to see enforcement effort targeted more accurately to find unlicensed operators.
One of the problems of impounding is what to do with hired vehicles. Should a hire company ask to see an operator's 0licence before agreeing to hire the vehicle? It is likely the working party will propose that traffic commissioners use their discretion on whether seized hire vehicles would be returned to hire companies if proof of ownership is shown.
Trucks that are seized would be held for three months after which owners would have to pay for their return. Otherwise they could be sold. Trailers would not he impounded.
Responsibility
And while it is thought that the police would be happy to accompany vehicle examiners who would drive seized vehicles away, they are unlikely to want any other responsibility given the current pressure from the Home Office on police chiefs to acquire value for money services.
There have been many mooted changes to transport law during the past few years which have failed because of lack of parliamentary time needed to introduce legislation. But the DOT has recently been vociferously fighting its corner in bidding for such time.
Hauliers operating without an 0-licence—you have been warned!