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A PRIVATE ESCORT'S VIEW Alan Shaw runs AGS Abnormal Load
Page 56
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Services. A respected Kentbased former owner-driver and experienced Continental hand, most of his escort work is in France. Shaw speaks French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Shaw started private escortng before the 2004 switchover, having already realised a statutory attendant didn't have to be inside the heavy haulage vehicle. He uses a bright yellow LHD Citroen Jumper, fully equipped with tackle plus special CB and AM radios. "I like to have a lot of customers and do a bit for each. I get work by word of mouth and won't drop my price.
"A lot of foreigners want a pilot car when in the UK [but] STGO rules differ all over Europe, there's no uniformity at all. I've done a lot of wind turbines in France for a German firm. Most abnormal load people in France have pilot cars and police as well.
"You want someone you can trust at the back so [on the Continent] the truck driver can steer the trailer remotely from the cab following the escort's instructions. On mainland Europe there are far more restrictions; in France heavy hauliers can't use [toll] motorways.
'Loads are not getting heavier but they are becoming wider and more awkward. In the UK it might be better if there were a system of police-backed accreditation to recognise escorts' skills and experience. There's some talk of the RHA certifying pilot cars but the RHA is expensive for a one-man band."