EXECUTIVE DECISIONS
Page 5
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• The Vehicle Inspectorate celebrated its second anniversary as an Executive Agency this week with an optimistic report on its plans and achievements.
Certainly its range of services has increased and improved dramatically over the past 24 months. Hauliers are responding enthusiastically to the concept of Saturday vehicle testing, voluntary brake testing and commercial training. No doubt they will also welcome the simplified booking procedures under which they will no longer need to specify the vehicle to be tested, and will be able to book tests at short notice.
Such an approach is long overdue. It makes sense for a regulatory authority to present an understanding and human face to those it seeks to regulate, and operators are more likely to maintain their vehicles properly when they know they can put them through the annual test with the minimum of fuss.
Standards may also be raised as a result of the VI's plans to pool information on computer about all the country's commercial vehicles — and let's not forget that this information will be linked with the Operator Licence data held at Traffic Area Offices, enabling the enforcement authorities to concentrate their attention on operators with a poor maintenance record. Similar links are planned with the police and the DVLA. This should improve enforcement, and help reputable operators to compete in a market where all too often those who bend the rules prosper.
What a contrast with the Traffic Area Offices where staff are planning industrial action to protest at plans to reorganise their operations. HGV and 0-Licence applications are likely to be delayed (see pages 4-5).
The civil service unions complain that their suggestions for improvements have been ignored, and describe the handling of cabotage permits as a disaster.