FIRM HOLD OF THE STRING
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According to some satirical magazines London taxi drivers (and Sun readers) have a robust attitude to crime and punishment summed up by the immortal line: "String 'em up...it's the only language they understand."
While we've never actually heard a London cabbie utter those words, we can't help feeling that hidden behind that much ridiculed expression is a clear understanding of what makes many people obey the law. For years Commercial Motor has greeted the Annual Report of the Licensing Authorities with the demand for more 0-Licences to be revoked; the only way to keep hauliers on the straight and narrow is to show them what happens when they stray. Sadly, in the past, many LAs appeared reluctant to use the ultimate sanction. However, during 1992/93 the LAs actually started slinging some of the bad apples out of the barrel, revoking 611 0-Licences—up 68% compared to the previous year. Go to it lads! And it's not just rotten hauliers that are getting the old heaveho, Errant LGV drivers who fail to toe the line are also feeling the (As' wrath. In 1992/3 962 the growth in revocations has to be seen in context. The number revoked during 1992/93 amounts to less than 0.5% of the 131,011 0-licences currently held by operators. That undeniably small figure either means everything in the garden is rosy (which we doubt) or that LAs are giving too many hauliers an undeserved second chance (which we fear) or that there are still enough dodgy hauliers operating who have yet to be caught (which we regret). Will next year's LAs' report show the revocation trend still growing? For the sake of law-abiding hauliers we hope so. Ironically the current recession might prove to be a significant factor behind the rapid rise in revocations. According to South Eastern and Metropolitan LA, Michael Turner there has been: "...a marked failure rate among operators whose licences were in mid term,,. Some have surrendered their licence when they realised they could no longer meet the standards required. .Others have gone into bankruptcy or liquidation or merely stopped operating without informing us.. .where it is clear the operator no longer has the Finances needed we have been forced to take action to end the licence." So is the jump in revocations really nothing more than a matter of economics? Let's hope not. We'd like to think it's because the LAs share the view of Scottish LA Michael Betts: "I place great emphasis on road safety and the maintenance of professional attitudes and intend to set a firm standard in dealing with operators who flout the law..." If that equates metaphorically to "stringing up" the cowboys, you won't find many honest hauliers complaining.