DEAR
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SIR
AGENCY DRIVERS • Your article (CM 16-22 July) indicates that the proposals on agency drivers were put to the 32nd Biennial Delegate Conference in an executive statement by me. This is incorrect.
The debate on temporary and part-time/agency labour centred around four composite resolutions, all of which were discussed and agreed on the basis of the General Executive Council's advice.
Bill Morris Deputy General Secretary, Transport and General Workers Union.
SPEEDO RIVER
• Having read R E Dent's letter (CM 23-29 July) I felt compelled to write.
It mystifies me that so much imaginative effort can be brought to bear on such an insignificant area as obvious standardisation by a manufacturer. I feel Mr Dent would be better occupied in directing his energies into becoming an exemplary driver: not bitching about management pressures!
I don't suppose the speedometer makes the VW LT any quicker anyway. A McLeod Swindon Wilts.
LATEST ON PLATES • There appears to be a high degree of confusion surrounding the International Green Plate Proof of Compliance requirements. Following discussions with the Department of Transport my understanding of the position is as follows: Cl The Proof of Compliance Plate/Certification is being introduced to improve clearance times through customs for vehicles on international journeys. El The Proof of Compliance Plate/Certification is not a licence for member states to refuse entry of any vehicle which does not carry the Proof of Compliance documentation — it will simply slow down the clearance process. LI Member states cannot refuse entry or stop vehicles running within their own boundaries if they do not comply with the EEC Directive, yet still fall within their own national regulations — this currently applies in particular to the generation of wide-bodied reefers corning into service all over Europe. For example, an international operator based in Europe arriving in the UK with a reefer van having an overall width of 2.58 metres would not comply with the EEC Directive, but would comply with the UK Construction and Use regulations, and therefore could not be refused entry for failing to display a Proof of Compliance Plate. LI Trailers already in existence carrying a ministry plate can be replated with the International Green Plate by operators simply applying to GVC Swansea — provided that they comply with the EEC directive on weights and dimensions.
LI On new trailers which are less than 12-months old and have therefore now had an MOT and a ministry plate fitted, it will be necessary for the operators to apply for an MOT and International Green Plate to GVC Swansea. This is necessary as the issue of plating and certification is a legal requirement controlled by the Department of Transport through GVC Swansea.
Discussions are under way in Brussels to increase the overall width of the refrigerated bodywork to 2.6 metres, which would bring those units into the Proof of Compliance net.
It would seem sensible to try and persuade the Department of Transport to delay the implementation date of 29 July 1987 for at least six months on the basis that the EEC directive rules will have been changed to accommodate the problems of wide-bodied reefers.
Tony Palmer Chairman, Transfrigoroute UK Technical Committee, clo Crane Fruehauf The editor welcomes readers' letters. Write to: Dear Sir, Commercial Motor, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, or use our 24hour answering service to dictate letters: phone 01-661 3302.