Smoke checks continue
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• Roadside emissions checks will continue this year because the number of vehicles failing is unacceptable, says road safety minister Steven Norris.
Department of Transport figures show that more than 5% of heavy goods vehicles and nearly 1O0 of light goods vehicles checked between April and September were issued with prohibition orders.
Of 2,866 HGVs checked in the six-month testing blitz, 26 were issued with immediate prohibitions with 122 receiving delayed orders.
Of 5,878 light goods vehicles checked, 25 immediate and 537 delayed prohibitions were issued.
Norris says: "There is a clear need to maintain our efforts to drive home the message about safeguarding the environment from unnecessary pollution from vehicles."
The RHA says law abiding operators have nothing to fear from checking. A spokesman says: "All operators know they have a duty in law to keep their vehicles in good condition and we must gut rid of the ones that are badly maintained."