COMMENT
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What has happened to the All Party Committee report on Road Transport Enforcement? The Select Committee took months hearing wide-ranging, detailed evidence from all sides of industry. The Vehicle Inspectorate and the enforcement authorities were held up to intense scrutiny.
ft The committee produced a large • number of specific recommendations which were probably the most comprehensive, informed comment on road transport enforcement in the UK over the past three decades.
The response from the Ministry has been a vague commitment to establish a computerised data base and the closure of Iwo Traffic Area Offices—against the recommendation of the Select Committee. What about impounding, certification of HGV mechanics and other specific recommendations?
The Government and the civil service at the Department of Transport seem to feel that the industry should be self-regulating and all the Government needs to do is to encourage magistrates and judges to impose ever higher penalties on those who infringe the law, often irrespective of the degree of culpability. It would be a tragic waste for law-abiding operators if this wide-ranging report were to disappear without trace.