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Naming and shaming
Page 3
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Are we the only ones to find the IN programme Killer Lorries: Tonight depressingly familiar? At the risk of sounding callous, we've seen it before. And we'll see it all again until the problem is tackled with sufficient rigour And it won't happen until this government finally delivers on its 2006 promise of spot-fines and clamping for foreign law-breakers in 2009. Hardly a 'rapid response...
But before we all jump on the (left-hand-drive) bandwagon, we'd better consider the level of law-breaking in our own backyard. Indeed, were bemused by the Freight Transport Association's (FA) desire to 'name and shame' foreign villains. Why only foreigners? Why not name and shame every operator, home or away, who puts lives at risk by allowing tired drivers to get into dangerous trucks? In fact, we'd like to build on the ETA's suggestion that "...UK companies hiring foreign operators should know the extent of their compliance or Law breaking". We'd tell UK companies hiring UK operators about their law-breaking habits, too.
Next, prosecute those firms who knowingly hire a truck operator (of any stripe) who run bent to fulfil their contract. Did someone say Consignor Liability? As for the FTA's cairn: "It would be helpful... if Vosa published details of the worst-offending foreign vehicle operators on UK roads, thus giving them an incentive to improve their performance or suffer the commercial consequences", we'd say: "What commercial consequences?' The mason why these companies are in business and will continue to get business, across Europe is because they are breaking the law. How else could they charge such cheap rates? Everyone knows that... including the FTA. Spot-fines won't stop them coming.
The answer is to ban them altogether Until the UK has an enforcement policy that makes every operator think twice about breaking the Law, we'll be doomed to watch TV reports about "killer
truckson our roads, regardless
of where they come from.