Report backs Euro hours and VI stops
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Miles Brignall • The Department of Transport should abolish domestic tachograph regulations in favour of EC rules and should encourage Vehicle Inspectorate staff to become Special Constables to enable to them to stop trucks at roadside checks.
These are among the main recommendations of the Transport Select Committee report, published this week, advising the Government on how to improve enforcement of the road haulage and coach industries. It follows a three-month investigation, including the cross-examination of ministers, hauliers, unions and VI staff, the committee says:
• The Operator's Licence margin system, that allows many trucks to legally run without displaying an actual licence, should cease: • Vehicles found to be operating outside the 0licence system should be impounded; • All money raised by the 0-Licence fee should be spent on enforcement (currently fees go to the Treasury which draws up an enforcement budget); • The 0-licence fee should he increased to pay for the rapid computerisation of links between the VI and Traffic Area Offices and, in the future, for links with magistrates courts.
• The Cardiff and Manchester TAOs, which have been threatened with closure, should remain open; • Traffic policing should be reinstated as one of each police force's core activities; • The TAOs should train magistrates in truck enforcement issues to encourage higher fines; • Offences such as overloading should be dealt with by fixed penalty notices; • An advertised, confidential freephone service should be set up by the TAOs to help drivers "blow the whistle" on employers who force them to break the law; • Only certified mechanics should be allowed to work on LGVs; • The financial threshold for 0-licence applicants should be increased (a minimum sum is not mentioned): • Random checks should be carried out on 0licence applications to check operators are telling the truth; • All new trucks should be fitted with self-weighing devices and all ports should be required to provide weighbridges; • The LGV driving test should he carried out in loaded vehicles and cover load restraint: • Roadside facilities for drivers should be improved.
The report will now go to the DOT, which will decide which rec
ommendations, if any, it wishes to implement. The Transport Select Committee has a history for having many of its proposals acted upon in the past, although many of this batch have cost implications.