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PR ifitTE
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FOUR YEARS ON
How well have private escort firms cope since the withdrawal of routine police escorts for abnormal loads in January 0 Dave Young finds out,
From January 1 2004 the government — after years of pontificating — permitted the private escorting of abnormal loads in the IJK.Although private escorts existed before this, STGO and wide movements in Britain had to be shepherded by traffic police. Responsibility would be passed over at each of more than 40 police force boundaries, with each area having its own rules. Consequently, moving such cumbersome cargo could be a long and expensive process with lots of waiting for changeovers.
Nearly four years into the new regime, more than 100 enterprises offer private escort services. Some are independent; others are heavy haulage contractors' in-house units. Both the Abnormal Load Escort Network (ALEN) and the Road Haulage Association (RI1A) provide lists of such specialists.
Talk to anyone in the business and key themes quickly emerge. The lack of uniformity among escort providers across Europe, the absence of government accreditation of these operators and— most significant— the inability of private escorts in the UK to legally stop or direct traffic.
Tony Lovell is MD of the UK's biggest private escort provider. Convoi Exceptionnel, based at Hamble near Southampton.The firm was founded 30 years ago when its bank manager advised cutting high interest payments on capital investment and concentrating on selling industry knowledge rather than running trucks.
Organising permits
Lovell took the decision to maintain a core pilot car fleet — typically Renault Trafic vans with sleeping accommodation, night heaters, air conditioning and laser height measures to take crews away on trips as far as Madrid — but not to "runhundreds of escort cars and the dead mileage that entails". Instead, in conjunction with the Heavy Transport Association (MA), he set up the ALEN website (www.
alen.co.uk)—effectively a LOCAL ESCORTING REGULATIONS job brokerage for escort Local escorting rules vary. contractors.
These apply to the Dumfries and Much of Convoi Galloway police area: Exceptionnel's work Width (self-escorted): 4.6m comes from organising Width (police-escorted): 4.9m permits and route surveys Weight: 100 tonnes for UK and pan-European Length: 30m rigid abnormal loads—and to Any haulier wishing to self-escort this end it has developed its may do so only on the A74(M), own software and employs with the exception of heavy loads foreign-language speakers.
travelling from or to the ports on "There's no proposal from the A75 from or to the A74(M). government to have any A haulier must give at least two form of management for working days notice (excluding this system," says Lovell.
Sundays and bank holidays) to the Consequently ALEN has police, attempted to establish Annual dispensations are given standards of vehicle to some hauliers. conformity for members, including a code of practice and ensuring appropriate insurance covera major issue. In return they receive an ALEN certificate of compliance, a good example of road transport industry self-regulation.
"There are known rogues in the trade," says Lovell. He declines to name them but cites inadequate equipment, turning up late and "quoting anything to get the workamong their failings. "Our clients often have timed deliveries and have arranged cranes etc; we're into a planned approach," he adds. When it comes to recruitment, Convoi "always favours people with knowledge we employ a lot of ex-police traffic officers-Abe firm is, according to Lovell. constantly going back and forth to France and has "a network of contacts and partners across Europe".
Directing traffic The Highways Agency (HA) oversees private escorting for the Department of Transport (DtT),and Lovell says:"I've been going to HA meetings for years on behalf of HTA and ALEN." Directing traffic is the biggest issue and he and his colleagues have asked for the refusal to permit this (largely at the behest of the Association of Chief Police Officers) to be minuted. Contrary to popular belief,"nowhere in Europe do they [private escorts] have power to direct traffic," reveals LAwell."But in practice every day of the week they do."
Bob Tuck,a former senior police traffic officer who writes for CM and sister magazine Truck & Driver and who has written many books on heavy haulage, believes "private escorts have saved countless hours of police manpowerit's been a huge improvement". He is confident that the vast majority of motorists will give way, whether a load is escorted privately or by the police. However, some police forces still decide (or are asked) to help with the largest loads -for example, if they need to close roads or employ a contraflow -and, as Tuck points out, may now charge hauliers for this service. John Rawcliffe is chair of the RHA heavy haulage group, which along with the HTA is one of the sector's main voices. For his members, directing traffic is an ongoing problem...normally speaking it works very well"hut this can depend very much on local circurnstances."[We] keep banging the window of government agencies on this one, but each county is a law unto themselves. We've got national guidelines [see panel], but in practice it isn't that simple -there are times when you've got to have the police as well.
Experience is key The key thing for private escorts is experience: a wide load is different from a long load, caravans can move quite quickly, heavy haulage is usually very slow. Drivers can fulfil the duties of a second man, but unlike on the Continent it's illegal for the trailer to be remotely controlled from the cab on the public highway so someone can't be the trailer man and drive the escort van at same time," says Rawcliffe.
"The HA sees the current system as working at present...but the risk is if someone goes ahead and stops traffic for safety reasons and something goes wrong they have no [legal} authority. The colour of warning beacons is less of an issue than the education of other road users. Private escorts have helped a lot with reducing standing time and... can run straight through county boundaries if the road is clear." • CONTACTS AND FURTHER INFORMATION www.abnormalescortforum.com WWW. a le n .co. uk WWW.hta.uk.nel viww.highways.gov.uk/roads/2617.aspx www.rha.net/specialist-groups/heavyhaulage www.dg.police.uk/foi/class_cat/policy/ abnormal_loads.pdf www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/aboutria/ria/ regulatoryimpactassessmentri5565?page=1 www.convoi.co.uk WWW.ihrawclifie.com AGS Abnormal Load Services (Alan Shaw). 01234 768503