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Time to make them pay!
Page 9
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Barry Proctor realises that VOSA is over-stretched but reckons we have to find a way to crack down on foreign operators who laugh at the current level of fines.
Without wishing to bang on about it, the subject of this month's missive is the File on Four radio programme on illegal drivers that has already caused so much controversy.
If you peer past the inflammatory headlines— "50% of HG \ drivers are breaking the law" and so on — the programme did identify a serious issue, namely the lack of resources at our enforcement agency VOSA. I do have some sympathy with the agency; it's been asked to take on an ever-increasing workload with a limited increase in its funding. The upshot is that VOSA simply does not have the time or resources to tackle the current level of illegal operation.
And before I'm deluged with angry e-mails telling me that hauliers over here are scrupulously clean, let me tell you now that we all know that's tripe. There are more than enough UKbased firms out there engaged in dubious activities to keep VOSA busy for the next decade, but that's not really my point. Add to this the ever-increasing number of foreign vehicles on the roads and it's easy to see why VOSA can't cope.
Anecdotally, we've all heard stories of VOSA examiners admitting to avoiding pulling foreign trucks because it's simply too much hassle. While this initially provokes a sense of outrage, I can grudgingly sympathise.
The current sanctions are pretty poor. What possible difference can a £30 fine make to a driver or foreign operator? Many would put it down as a small price to pay— if they cough up — for the chance to disregard our hours and tacho rules. There's also a language barrier: after all, how's your Polish or Hungarian? So why, without extra funding, should we expect VOSA officials to be multilingual? This is not to excuse the lack of enforcement, but simply to explain why it's the way it is.
If we are to have a level playing field we need to find a way of making VOSA more efficient and give it more teeth to tackle foreign law-breakers — and we could use the extra revenue!
"What difference can a make to a foreign operat driver? Many would put it as a small price to pay"