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• Freddie Plaskett, in his swansong speech at an at times stormy Road Haulage Association conference in Portugal, said he was leaving the RHA with a surplus of over £220,000 and enough assets to conduct big national campaigns.
Membership at 11,000 was on the up and the RHA was strong enough to move towards a stronger code of conduct for members, said Plaskett, who retires as directorgeneral this month.
An operators' licence was not enough. "How much stroll.ger would we be if members were required to show higher standards like BS5750?" he asked. Under it a firm would have to prove it met operational disciplines, equipment maintenance, standard of service and training. "Eventually your customers are going to insist that you are BSIregistered," he asserted.
Harmonisation
The biggest issue was harmonisation of conditions of competition, he claimed. At present taxes in the UK were unfair. The RHA had to persuade the Government to change its views or British hauliers stood to lose to private operators from the Continent.
He dismissed for good any prospect of a merger with the Freight Transport Association. Now the FTA had presented itself with a "problem of identity" by opening its door to road hauliers: "Your association has no such problems," he assured delegates.
Earlier, Ron Oliver, chief executive of the newly-hived-off Vehicle Inspectorate, said its new status had put service to the operator first and would make efficiency gains of 29 million over the next decade.
The VI was moving towards a method of linking vehicle records with operators' records. "We want to target the bad operator — the cowboy who cuts corners. If we don't we'll be maintaining a competitive advantage for the cowboy, and that can't be in the interest of road safety or the economy," he said.
Later, Oliver threw the question of the fitting of airbrake silencers to trucks under the conditions of the London lorry ban into further confusion. He admitted that trucks would be classed as unlawful if they failed their annual inspection test because the owner had been forced to fit silencers against his will.
The inspectorate was spending £2 million a year on replacing its test stations. Most of its equipment was 20 years old and needed refurbishing. It was spending 25.9 million over five years on new roller brake testers, jacking and load simulation equipment, he said.
At the beginning of the week, keynote speaker Peter Bottomley, Roads and Traffic Minister, praised the UK haulage industry but offered little on 40 tonnes, reducing road tax or fuel duty as several delegates had hoped. Confederation of British Industry director-general John Banham hit the right note when he warned that Britain's clogged motorways could lead to operators from Bruges beating those from Bradford to business in the South East (CM 13-19 October).
In his welcoming speech, new RHA chairman Roy Bowles said traffic congestion could become a major political issue, costing industry and the Government dearly. Sponsor Leyland Daf told delegates about its quality drive for trucks.
Co-sponsors, who also made presentations, were GICN Chep, Lucas Kienzle, Perkins Engines, Shell, Dunlop and ZF Gears.
The future of diesel engine design was the subject of one of a syndicate discussion led by Perkins Engines as delegates split into three groups on the Wednesday morning. Others were on RHA financial services — the haulier and his money, led by Bob Entwhistle of North Western RHA, and on the British Road Federation and you, presented by BRF director Peter Witt.
A lively open forum on the last day of conference, Thursday, saw a strong attack on the format of the national event by an Eastern district official. Charles Gam, who chairs Ipswich sub-district, said the conference was a "transport managers' jolly" with no chance for members to properly discuss a long-term strategy (see Headline News).
Criticised
His views sparked contributions from several delegates. Ralph Cropper from Mortimers Transport in the South East district criticised moves to shift the South Eastern into the new national headquarters in Weybridge.
Plaskett, however, said the move made better financial sense. South East would have the advantage of enjoying superb facilities at head office but would retain its independence. "My successor would never dream of looking over the district manager's shoulder," he said.
Top Department of Transport civil servant Patrick Jackson congratulated the RHA on putting its case to Government effectively. 'Freddie Plaskett has the trick of knowing when to shout and when to persuade. He knows who to turn to in the Dip. This approach works. You don't always win, but at the end ministers are in no doubt what your views are," he said.
Roy Bowles ended the conference by paying tribute ti Plaskett and secretary Len Harper, who retired from the RHA last month.
"When Freddie joined the association seven years ago, it was at a low ebb. His influeno in the corridors of power is much recognised in Whitehall making the RHA the envy of other trade organisations," he said.
The gala night and Leyland Dafs party night were well attended. Charles Garn topped an eventful week by buying an auctioned Leyland Daf truck fo £47,000. Proceeds over the cost price go to the RHA benevolent fund.
0 by Murdo Morrison