PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITY?
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Is it too easy to get an Operator's Licence? According to the Road Haulage Association's northern director Geoff Dunning, the answer to that hoary old chestnut is a resounding yes. Dunning says the checks carried out at Traffic Area Offices simplyaren't rigorous enough to ensure that many would-be hauliers have the financial backing to survive. 'Twas ever thus: far too many starry-eyed wan nabes are applying for licences equipped with the financial acumen of the village idiot, and a purse to match. But why should the RHA complain about complaining? Considering that the RHA is among the few organisations granted the right to object to 0-licences, it ill becomes it to grumble about having to exercise that prerogative. After all, every underfunded would-be operator the RHA keeps out of the industry is presumably one less desperate competitor for its members to fight off. Is the RHA rushed off its feet with objections? According to the Licensing Authorities' last annual report 11,842 new 0-licence applications were received during 1995/96—CM would be very surprised if the RHA had objected to more than a dozen of them. Mind you, the Freight Transport Association has an even more idiosyncratic approach. Although it also has the right to object, it chooses not to "as a matter of policy...our faith is in the Traffic Commissioners". While that faith is no doubt touching, would it really hurt the FTA to add its not inconsiderable weight to the fight to keep underfunded entrants out of the industry? We'll leave the final word to North East Traffic Commissioner Keith Wciterworth (who denies that the TAOs are failing to spot poor finances among applicants): "There will always be cases where objections bring in extra information—that is one of the strengths of the statutory objection process." Quite. Objecting to 0-licence applications isn't a problem—it's an opportunity.