Trucking for gold
Page 2
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I have to say I feared for this issue of CM. Not because I
lacked faith in our journalists, but because the Olympics could have created a two-week holiday for businesses as everyone becomes distracted by the quest for gold.
I must admit I’ve been absorbed by the beach volleyball at Horse Guards Parade as much as any man... Thankfully hauliers are less shallow and keep on trucking. Major world sporting event? Forget about it – let’s deliver the goods (see p7)!
This week I’ve found myself getting involved in discussions about authorised testing facilities (ATFs) and designated premises (DPs). A good haulier I know in northern England is considering turning his yard into an ATF. But what is the financial incentive for him? Frankly, and he would tell you, it’s not much at the moment, which is why the Road Haulage Association’s call to end Vosa’s ‘monopoly’ is intriguing (see p6). It’s fair to say that having a mixture of public and private sector operations delivering vehicle safety to UK roads has always been an uncomfortable one and now we have reached the tipping point, where the number of private ATF sites trumps public Vosa stations – the free market is winning.
What Vosa needs to concentrate on is making ATFs rewarding for private firms. My northern haulier could improve the geographic spread of ATFs – and our initial concern when it came to the closure of Vosa stations was the impact on hauliers in more remote parts of the UK. If it’s not in his interest, then the so-called monopoly will never end.
Christopher Walton