What colour is yours?
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Red diesel, blue diesel, plain old derv. Are there any more emotive topics for your average haulier?
That is why Derbyshire’s Operation Dynamo caught CM’s eye this week. Four hauliers, including Tarmac, have been given permission by HMRC and the police to run blue-dyed diesel after a surge in fuel thefts in the county.
And more hauliers are being urged to take part in the scheme, as the police attempts to get to grips with a spree that has seen 15 thefts and £45,000 worth of fuel stolen. These are tragic
circumstances for such action to be required, proving that the staggering price of fuel will force the less desirable parts of society into drastic exploits, but is there a chance that everyone could learn from Operation Dynamo? Why can’t all CVs run on blue-dyed diesel? It would point to where stolen fuel is coming from in the supply chain and help hard-pressed hauliers to protect what they spend more than a third of their running costs on. (Perhaps it could come hand-in-hand with an essential user tax rebate? We can only dream...) Next week’s CM is a crime
special, so we would love to get your response to the idea. Meanwhile, this week the Freight Transport Association has revealed its plans to increase its lobbying against the EU’s ludicrous 4m trailer height proposals. As you will see in our operators’ panel (p28), there is universal hatred for the bizarre proposal. The fight against 4m trailer heights has been fractured so far. We need a united front to stop it from ever becoming law.
Christopher Walton