Too easy to get 0-licence—RHA
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by Karen Miles • Traffic area offices are making it too easy for 0-licence applicants to get licences because their checks are not rigorous enough, say-, the Road Haulage Association. RHA northern director Geoff Dunning says it is left to organisations such as the RHA to find out whether new entrants have sufficient financial backing.
Traffic Commissioners usually accept "flimsy evidence" from applicants as proof of their financial strength, says Dunning. "Our view is that all applications for operator licences should provide the level of evidence that the would-be operator finally provides when we object," he adds.
Since it announced a campaign in the autumn to force traffic commissioners to demand proof of greater financial assets, the RHA has objected to two applications for opera. tor licences on the grounds of lack of financial standing.
The first company withdrew its application and the second is currently providing more information on its finances.
But North East Traffic Commissioner Keith Waterworth refutes the claim that traffic offices 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," says Watenvorth.
Traffic Commissioners are bound by European legislation which says each new haulier must have access to £2,500 for each vehicle it runs. The RHA also wants that figure put up to around .E14,000.