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P LETTER OF THE WEEK
Page 18
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Working together to beat truck crime
WHAT IS WRONG with this industry? I've been looking into truck crime figures and it's a wonder any new drivers are coming into the job. Possibly not all the figures are accurate, but they are taken in good faith from sites that are said to be the most up to date, such as TruckPol.
Truck crime in 2007 cost the industry more than £1bn; there were 1,147 stolen vehicles with only 46% recovered. This amounted to 51% of the cost of truck crime. There were also 82 hijackings and 644 thefts from vehicles. Are we really safe out there?
The biggest and most shocking news was that one website had set up a text-alert system to assist in locating stolen vehicles and helping the industry and police beat truck crime. This was quite a simple operation that involved thousands of drivers being passed the details of stolen vehicles to look out for, such as registration and colour.
Reading the information available, it seems this scheme has not received any support from the police or the industry. The likes of TruckPol and the Road Haulage Association have actually turned away and ignored the possibility of help.
Surely if truck crime is increasing putting drivers in danger it is only right for every organisation, company and driver to work together in beating it.
How many of those 1,147 stolen vehicles might have been located and how many criminals apprehended if this scheme had been given an iota of support?
Come on, freight transport industry: I want to return home every night without worrying about safety. Help each other, work together and beat the criminals because if not, I and thousands of others will end up leaving the industry.
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