YES, NO, WAFFLE AND FUDGE
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here most be something the "Government response to the Transport Select Committee Report on the adequacy and enforcement of regulations governing heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches" is good for. Insomnia? Swatting wasps? It's a weighty tome all right but it's very dull. Where's the spark of enthusiasm, the fire of commitment? As Gwyneth Dunwoody, senior Labour member on the Transport Select Committee notes: 'The Government's response does indeed hold many words but it is sadly lacking in substance." So how has the Government answered one of the widest-ranging reports into LGV enforcement ever undertaken? In order to produce a straightforward analysis we placed its responses into four distinct camps: "Accept"; "Reject"; "Consider Further"; and "Waf-fle & Fudge". Here are the results. Out of the 39 recommendations we counted from the Select Committee, 16 were rejected outright; eight landed in the "consider further" column; nine were either waffled or fudged (in some cases both); and only six were accepted outright by the Government. Unfortunately, of those six, only two—the need to establish a central computer database on dodgy operators (but with no commitment to funding) and that enforcement should concentrate most on drivers' hours and mechanical safety—really amount to anything much. Among those items rejected were calls for prosecutions for speeding based on tachograph charts, consignor liability, and the requirement for only certified fitters to work on LGVs. For the full, depressing list we recommend you read the Government Response to the Select Committee yourselves.
Meanwhile, impounding under consideration, r ' and laden testing remain although given the time spent on them already we're tempted to reclassify them under Waffle & Fudge. In the battle to curb the cowboys Dunwoody says that while the DOT may have missed a golden opportunity to "bring forward sensible and practical legislation in this year's Queen's Speech I have confidence that an incoming Labour Government will do so". Well Gwyneth, come next July we'll see, won't we?