VI row erupts over failed prosecutions
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by Karen Miles and Amanda Bradbury • A number of court cases against hauliers have been dropped following an administration shake-up by the Vehicle Inspectorate. Hauliers whose cases are dropped are expected to receive warning letters.
The VI blames a new rule which it introduced requiring traffic examiners to submit cases to their legal offices within five months of an alleged offence being discovered.
But traffic examiners say they always attempt to submit cases to legal staff within weeks; some examiners allege the cases are being dropped because of the closure of the VI's legal administration centres at Eastbourne, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh. The closures leave only two centres in the UK and follow a Government decision to put the VI's legal administration out to tender. Freight Transport Association director-general David Green has condemned any Government move which allows illegal operators to escape justice. "It's not our place to say how the VI should organise their affairs," he says, "but there must be more certainty that the lawbreakers are not getting away with it. Clearly, in this case, they are." According to the VI, since the beginning of the year 17 cases from one traffic area have been dropped because they failed to reach one of the two remaining centres, at Bristol and Cambridge, within the specified time. A further 26 cases have been dropped because they were not prepared to the correct standard, says the VI VI management denies that the problems are caused by re sourcing problems and promises that pre-court administration work will continue to be properly funded. Deputy chief executive Julian David says: "I am determined to see that the resources in those offices are sufficient to deal with the volume of cases."
But there are widespread fears among traffic examiners that staff at the two remaining legal centres will be unable to cope with the influx of hundreds of cases from the regions.
One source says that his area has up to 80 prepared cases in the pipeline; he claims to have been told that lack of resources will inevitably mean that some cases will have to be dropped. Leslie Tromans, a partner of two-vehicle general haulier Light Transport in OlcIbuly, West Midlands, points to the "unfair advantage" that lawbreakers are being given over those who stay within the law. "There is now no deterrent," he says.