d As a small transport company which holds a UK
Page 42
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Operator's Licence we find every day a struggle to make ends meet. We realise that we're by no means alone in this—every haulier must be feeling the pinch due to the ever-increasing number of foreign hauliers operating in this country. Not only are we paying the highest fuel prices in Europe; we now have to endure foreign operators taking our work while they're also paying less for their fuel from the Continent. Living near the M2 and M20 motorways we notice foreign trucks substantially outnumber UKregistered ones.
It is obvious to everyone that the high vehicle excise duty paid by British hauliers and motorists is allowing these foreign hauliers to use our road system without contributing to its upkeep. This means they are able to charge lower rates when working in our country, meaning we are knocked out of business. Any lorry driver travelling the length and breadth of the country knows that trying to find a place to park on a service area at night is now becoming impossible. The number of non British registered vehicles parked up, sometimes for days, makes taking the required breaks difficult.
As if that wasn't bad enough, where we live in Kent foreign vehicles are parking in a lay-by in front of our house for weeks at a time. We are subjected to rubbish and noise from these drivers, and some also use the lay-by as a toilet.
These drivers are treating the lay-by as a service area, but forget that families with young children are continually subjected to their lewd behaviour. We also have to put up with the noise from vehicles starting up or parking at all hours of the day and night. The situation has now become so intolerable that the residents of our road decided to get together a petition which has been presented to all the authorities regarding the lack of consideration of these drivers.
After spending hours writing letters and making telephone calls to the Traffic Commissioner in Eastbourne, the police, the Department of Transport and the local council, the replies we eventually received were that no action could be taken to make these drivers move on and park in a proper service area.
It appears that when these foreign-registered vehicles are in our country, unless a local authority parking restriction has been introduced, they can park where they like, for as long as they like: they are doing nothing illegal. However, after a great deal of exasperating time and pressure the local council has now agreed to issue a Traffic Regulation Order banning all foreign and UK HGVs from parking in the lay-by. Our patience is to be stretched to the very limits as it will take around six months to get this introduced.
But although this may solve our problem, this piece of legislation will surely just move the problem on to somewhere else.
As all UK 0-licence holders are aware, when their vehicles are not being used they must be parked at their recognised operating centres. If they were to park their vehicles in service areas for days and weeks the Traffic Commissioners around the country would be very quick to act. Therefore something must be done to change this situation of "one rule focus and another for the rest of Europe"—and done soon!