Impounding
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by Juliet Parish
• Unlicensed "cowboy" hauliers could have their trucks impounded under proposals about to be recommended by a government working party.
The Department of Transport's illegal operations working group is expected to recommend that Traffic Commissioners should be empowered to confiscate vehicles belonging to hauliers caught operating without 0-licences.
It is due to report to Transport Secretary John MacGregor by July."We feel there is a very strong case for heading in this direction," says Jack Winder, responsible for enforcement at the DOT At last weekend's Road Haulage Association TipCon conference, Winder denied that impounding lorries was too extreme for those failing to be correctly licensed. "People into such illegal operations are probably blatantly abusing the system in other respects," he told delegates.
However, Winder promised that confiscation would only be used as a last resort: it would be a "very selectively used deterrent". Traffic examiners would probably be given the job of impounding vehicles; they could be given the power to drive vehicles away from roadside checks or hauliers' yards. Trucks could be held for up to three months, after which hauliers would have to pay for their return. Otherwise they could be sold.
Impounding illegal hauliers'
trucks has long been called for by senior Traffic Commissioner Ronald Ashford, the Road Haulage and Freight Transport Associations, Commercial Motor and safety groups. Two years ago the Government rejected the idea as "Draconian". However, North Eastern Traffic Commissioner Keith Waterworth said he did not believe the proposals could work. He believed the way to deal with illegal operators was to "get them into court and get them fined up".
Waterworth called on trade associations and law-abiding operators to give Traffic Commissioners more tip-offs about illegal hauliers.
The illegal operations group has also called on the Building Employers Federation to ask its members to refuse work to unlicensed hauliers. It also wants local waste regulation authorities to check whether operators who apply for certificates to carry waste have 0-licences. Hauliers in the construction and waste disposal sectors are thought to be the worst offenders for operating without 0-licences.