FRENCH LEAVE
Page 55
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)RE very long, and . especially if the plans are ied out for Britain's entry into •the Common .ket, there will have to be drawn up more precise n at present to govern the carriage of goods by Jad operators to other countries, and by foreign ; into Britain.. The end must be approaching of the on period following the realization that a roll-on, ;rvice across the Channel was a practical possibility. .fficulties have always been there. The pioneers moiled to heavy weather in the initial stages. They that their new service would be run at a loss until overcome the teething troubles. Their admirable a speedily dealt with the more obvious difficulties, then began to get some advantage out of their irk. Their example encouraged other operators, now certain that the scope and volume of the rill increase.
y certainly there will have to be a number of some of them involving new legislation, both and international. . What may Seem to be no an minor annoyances while traffic remains at ;tit volume could bring it to a stop if it increased certain level. There are, already signs that some aerators are running into trouble. The possibility ays there and has been envisaged. from the Only With the development of the set-Vice has it af felt.
Jell difficulty that has been reported recently is authorities in France are objecting to the entry on British lorries or trailers. The precise reaSons ire and it would appear that only a minority of ators concerned have experienced this particular Possibly some misunderstanding has arisen that iuickly ,cleared up. Even if this is the case, the Nill remain significant. Evidently misunderstandoccur too frequently and are likely to recur bsence of a satisfactory code applying to every
mphibious haulier is a new phenomenon that has fled classification both in Britain and on the rest ontinent. Beyond the Channel there have been .al obstacles to the crossing of frontiers by road and a system that would allow this to be done was as a matter of course. Restrictions that one chose to impose on its own operators would have e sensible arrangements for international activities. necessary was the conclusion of satisfactory agreeith other countries.
entral feature of all these agreements has been dishment of a quota. The volume of traffic from atry to another had to bear some • relation to the carried in the opposite direction. Through traffic mted a slightly different problem, solved partly by of a tax on entry to each transit country. Within 3pean Economic Community these checks and :becks will become obsolete when the Common s functioning fully, but will have to be continued ch country keeps to its own ideas for regulating Lai transport.
it was drawn up, the British licensing system did ;age the development of international transport. A insular piece of legislation, it even left out of account the Channel Islands, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. It must be admitted that there was no point in trying to deal with traffic that did not exist. Goods in and Out of Britain came by ship. They were unloaded at the docks, and their journey began at that point as far as British road operators were concerned. The subsequent growth in air traffic made no fundamental change in the situation.
On the other hand, the entry or departure of loaded road vehicles makes a great deal of difference. The traffic does not "originate" or disappear at the docks, although it may be traffic that has previously and for many years been crossing the Channel by the traditional method. It may come from places a thousand miles or more inside Europe. The foreign operator Who has always brought it to the Channel has now the facilities for taking it to its final destination. What he lacks is a British licence, and he is unlikely to get it while the British operators who want the work' still have breath to protest and while the customer is so far away.
THE foreign operator who finds himself thus frustrated might, be excused for taking his revenge when his own country is about to be invaded by a British haulier. There are certain reasons, 'however, why traffic from Britain has not so far been seriously disturbed. On the whole, there has been a genuine desire on the part of all the countries .coneerned to encourage trade and not to stifle it. The crossChannel ferry service has proved its worth for. the carriage of certain commodities, notably pieces of machinery that the manufacturers prefer to send complete and that would require elaborate packing and all kinds' of other precautions if they 'were sent by any other means. This useful traffic would be brought almost to a halt if the countries between which it took place decided to work to rule.
The volume of such traffic, although it is growing rapidly, is still tiny in comparison with what is carried by road between other countries. Road vehicle traffic across the Channel by British operators in 1959 amounted to a little over 30,000 tons, as compared with a figure of nearly 9m. tons for the Netherlands. White the problem is thus limited, the authorities in every country could well turn a blind eye.
For technical rather than for licensing reasons, British and foreign operators using the ferry service have concentrated on trailers rather than on rigid vehicles. This has helped to make it unnecessary to bend the rather stiff licensing structure too far. The British haulier has permission to tow the trailers to and from the docks. The problem of the foreign operator may be a little more complicated, but it is easier when he is using his own prime movers.
Whether the present situation will be allowed to continue with little or no alteration must depe.nd upon the trend of the traffic. The sporadic outbreaks of trouble at the French border or at the French coast ought to be taken seriously as an indication of what could happen in the future. There could be other obstacles as well. If the volume of traffic arriving in Britain on trailers really becomes substantial, objections to increases in the licences of the operators concerned may become more determined. There may have to be revisions in the licensing system well before entry into the Common Market—assuming that it comes—throws the whole system into the melting pot.