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On the front line
Page 26
Page 27
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We spend a day with a Vasa vehicle examiner to discover the ins and outs of roadside enforcement.
Words: Roanna Avison / Images: James Davies ROADSIDE ENFORCEMENTrnakes up just a small part of the job for a Vosa vehicle examiner.
CM eagerly seized the opportunity to spend a day in South Wales discovering exactly what the men and women on the front line actually do by shadowing Kevin Gist, a vehicle examiner for Vosa.
Gist has been a vehicle examiner for 12 years. He used to be a heavy goods fitter for 10 years for the local authority. As an examiner, he works live days a week — normally from 8am to 4pm.
All Vosa teams possess mobile compliance devices that they use for targeting hauliers that have a history of offending. But this isn't the only weapon in their arsenal. "We will also look around and see what's out there and use our local knowledge to help us target those most likely to offend," Gist says.
The machine allows the enforcement officer to tap in the registration of a vehicle and it will give a red/amber/ green traffic light-style result to show how compliant they are. "That means we can target those that are more likely to be non-compliant," explains Gist.
He goes on to add the figures show more foreign trucks are non-compliant, but says: "We do find a lot of British vehicles that don't comply as well.
"Some of the worst cases have been foreign trucks. I saw one that had fractured suspension and the brakes weren't working.
"I have also seen a lot of temporary repairs done on foreign trucks that the drivers have carried out themselves during the journey," he says.
"I stopped one truck where the brake chamber diaphragm had gone; and the driver had just disconnected the pipe and unit rather than get it fixed."
Gist and his team tend to stick to the end of the M4 and the start of the A48 to stop vehicles — it's the only bit of motorway that there is in the area, and also happens to be the main route to and from Pembroke docks. A lot of HGV traffic goes from Ireland to Europe and vice versa, so there's a lot of Irish and Continental trucks coming through Wales.
The mechanical checks Gist does when he has stopped a vehicle will look at anything that could cause the vehicle to be un roadworthy or dangerous. "Defects are categorised," he says. "If I find something, I can match that defect to the category and this dictates what action I can take."
Gist focuses on the mechanical side of the checks. "I don't check tachos. We will always check 0-licences and annual tests. If a truck and driver has both, chances are, they will be compliant."
These days, Vasa enforcement officers adopt a more targeted approach. "In the old days, we used to stop 15 to 30 vehicles a day. Now, we target. We do spend more time waiting around.
Other areas of Gist's job involve fleet checks. On such a check, he will visit an operating centre and study a hauliers' preventative maintenance system. These visits are generally preplanned, so Gist would know in advance when he has one scheduled.
"This is the most varied job 1 have ever done," declares Gist.
Varied life
"1 could be going to an accident scene or I could be at a vehicle test appeal, which involves rechecking the vehicle. I could be working with Trading Standards or doing a static multi-agency check. If I find a serious defect on a vehicle from a fleet, I could be looking at the rest of the fleet tomorrow, so that can change my plans as well," he says.
"We try to do school bus checks at least once a week, and we will target coaches at events such as the rugby in Cardiff or at theme parks."
We meet up with Gist at Pont Abraham services at J49 of the M4 for our day of shadowing. Pretty soon, we're out watching the road from the motorway with Gist and fellow Vosa officer Mike Williams. The pair quickly spot an Irish truck from a haulier known to them. A check on the MCD shows that a prohibition notice was issued against the truck in January, so they pull it over for a check.
Gist then sets to with his mechanical checks, looking at everything from the brakes to the headlights.
Further investigation shows that the prohibition in January was for a headlight that wasn't working. This has been fixed and Gist finds nothing else at fault with the tractor or trailer.
Next, we head back towards Pont Abraham services, where another inspection team has put an Irish driver on a weekend break after discovering he hadn't taken enough rest.
While we're at the services. Gist takes the chance to check over a transporter carrying three Isuzu NQRs. "He was here anyway on a break, so it's worth checking," Gist says, -and we're not taking him out of his way." Once the driver is back from his break, Gist gives the vehicle a look. The P-reg Daf is found to have an air leak on the brakes on the second axle and the driver is given a delayed prohibition order. Strictly speaking, Gist says, we should take the vehicle off the road since the air leak will affect his brakes, but it's not immediately dangerous, so he is given time to get the fault fixed.
A key contribution
Next, we pull over a rigid that has its annual test due in May. As it happens, the driver has just picked it up from its six-weekly check and Gist can find nothing wrong with the truck.
We meet up again with the other team, which is dealing with an Irish truck that has too much weight over its front axle and the leaf springs are showing the strain. The Polish driver is told to either get a three-axle truck to pull the trailer, lose a couple of tonnes or redistribute the load.
Back at Pont Abraham services, we stop another Irish truck that has a laptop open on the dash. There are no faults found on the truck, so the Lithuanian driver is told not to have his laptop open while driving in future.
The last vehicle Gist checks while we're there is a Czech truck, again with a laptop open. The vehicle is running empty so it is not overweight and Gist can find no mechanical fault with it. The driver informs Gist he is using the navigation system on his laptop, but he is sent on his way with a warning not to do so while he's driving.
Gist and Williams then carry on their shift without us.
The time we spent with the Vosa pair shows what a valuable contribution enforcement officers make. The mobile compliance device really helps target those trucks most likely to offend and, coupled with Gist's and Williams' local knowledge and their keen eyes for faults, theirs is an extremely valuable roadside service. •
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