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COMMENT

22nd January 1998
Page 8
Page 8, 22nd January 1998 — COMMENT
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ADDING TO THE BURDEN

s a semi-newcomer to this sector I've been shocked to find out just how much of the world seems to work against the haulier trying to earn a decent living-and this week's news contains yet another message of doom in the shape of the proposed DVLA fee on newly registered vehicles. At £25 a time it's hardly enough to make the difference between solvency and bankruptcy for most hauliers, but it's still a bitter pill to swallow, considering the huge sum of money already prised out of this sector in other ways. Commercial Motor fully accepts the value of vehicle registration when it comes to crime prevention and detection, but quite how the fee will promote this is unclear. Instead, it is simply suggested it will "help to improve efficiency" at the DVLA. This will be a welcome development but, at £60m, a very costly one. For this kind of money hauliers could be forgiven for wanting more than a bland promise of heightened efficiency. So let's hope that in the consultation and debate to follow, this is one idea that is quashed long before its proposed start date this April. • Among the improvements in service hauliers undoubtedly deserve is the introduction, at long last, of the Joint Enforcement Database Initiative (JEDI). However, the first phase now looks unlikely to be brought on stream before the summer. Why? In this day and age, setting up a central database of the 400,000 or so HGVs in Britain (for access by VI examiners on the road via laptop) shouldn't be this much of a problem. Whatever is causing the delay, the system cannot come too soon for honest operators, as they should be held up less while cowboys who are unfairly competitive will be easier to target. Roll on the roll-out.

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