HOT NEWS OR HOT AIR
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• This week, in a quiet room in the Department of Transport, there sat a working party. Its task? To look at ways of tightening up the laws governing Britain's truck and bus operators. Oh to be a fly on the wall. Just in case any member found themselves momentarily staring into space wondering what to change, here are a few suggestions.
First, give Vehicle Examiners the power to impound a truck that is being run by someone without an 0-licence. Then make speed limiter accuracy part of the annual test. Next legislate on consignor liability so hauliers aren't prosecuted when greedy forwarders are economical with the truth about the weight of a load. While you're at it, set up a nationwide network of at least 500 selfweigh dynamic axle weighers, open 24 hours a day 365 days of the year. Ensure that would-be LGV drivers are taught and tested on laden trucks.
But please, kick out any proposals for continuous 0-licensing (a cowboys charter); scrap the planned increase in 0-licence fees (140% is downright greedy); and rewrite the Traffic Act so that anyone found guilty of persistent maintenance, overloading or hours offences is barred from holding an 0-licence for life. Either the industry wants to get rid of the cowboys or it doesn't—but don't keep giving them "second chances". Abandon all thought of self-regulation: spend more money on enforcement and introduce environmental grants to encourage hauliers to adopt green measures in advance of legislation. And above all, rewrite the hours law so that everyone finally knows where they stand.
Whatever the working party decides on let's hope the DOT gets the parliamentary time it needs to do the job. Otherwise, like many other working parties, it will all be a complete waste of time.