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Barry Proctor wishes festive things to all men except for

2nd December 2004
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Page 9, 2nd December 2004 — Barry Proctor wishes festive things to all men except for
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Tinsel

the thieves — who'll nick anything you leave unattended. So don't ...

Tinsel, fairy lights, carol singers, chestnuts on an open fire— all these things mean that despite the fact that we've only just crawled our way out of November, Christmas fever is in full swing. This means a period of brisk trade before the January slow-down, but it also brings its own set of problems.

Even the dimmest criminals realise that retailers have to get their Christmas goods to the shops somehow and chances are they are going to come on the back of a truck. Anything that can be easily disposed off down the car boot sale or sold in dodgy boozers is fair game to these lightfingered lowliffes.

So why help them do their Christmas shopping by leaving your fleet vulnerable? At a recent RHA Security Seminar a policeman said the aim is to cut road freight crime by 30% next year. He also said they could achieve this overnight if drivers simply stopped leaving their keys in the cab when they got out to pay for fuel or ask for directions. Think about that: a 30% cut simply through basic common-sense. It makes you wince just hearing the figure... 30%. No, let me rephrase that: 30%!

I can think of no excuse for such a brain-achingly stupid lapse of security short of the fact that the truck was on fire.

There's also the issue of secure parking. If your wagons park up on a lonely industrial estate or in a deserted lay-by then don't be surprised to find that the trailer's curtains are slashed or even that a driver's been abducted. OK, there's a separate issue about the lack of suitable parking areas, but if we ignore those we have, it plays into the hands of the criminals.

On a more cheerful note I'd like to congratulate Commercial Motoron its decision to launch National Truck Week. It's about time someone did something like this and fought our industry's corner —you can't tell the general public too many times just how dependent they are on the transport industry for their current lifestyle. "We could cut truck crime by 30% overnight if drivels simply stopped leaving their keys in the cab"

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