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Over-load of rubbish
Page 9
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Two strikes and you're out. It's has a ring about it. But we're not talking about murderers or rapists; no, we're taking about overloading offences. Recommendations buried in a Home Office publication Report on the Review of Road Traffic Penalties suggest just that—commit two or more overloading offences within a three-year period and you face mandatory disqualification.
Drivers, consignors and 0-licence holders all come under the scope of these recommendations, which suggest that "temporary forfeiture of the vehicle may be a particularly appropriate penalty for owners who deliberately flout the law".
The FTA describes the whole approach as draconian and we tend to agree. It's one more example of legislators failing to understand the realities of road haulage (who mentioned stowaway fines?). Of course overloading is a problem—but that does NOT mean every offender is a bad'un. Inaccurate on-board weighing kit, load distribution on multi-drop work—even a drop of rain can catch out law abiding operators.
As yet, there are no detailed proposals, and no indication of the way any legislation would apply, which probably means it's a long way off becoming law. But it's not good enough that the government is attempting to sneak yet another law in this way. It's something the industry must keep a close eye on, and must be prepared to fight. The devil, as always, will be in the detail—and that detail could sweep the innocent off the road along with the guilty.