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...and action!
Page 22
Page 23
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Find out what happened when CM joined Vosa on a nationwide initiative to clamp down on unroadworthy trucks.
Words: Joanna Bourke / Images Tom Cunning,i.ii.
AT 1.30PM ON A cold and rainy 2 October, CM joined road safety minister Jim Fitzpatrick at Doxey off the M6 near Stafford as Vosa launched its liveday Operation Boston — a nationwide scheme to promote its High Risk Traffic Initiative (HRTI ). The aim: to show that when it comes to non-compliant trucks, there will be no leniency.
So what is HRTI?
According to Vosa's business change manager Dell Evans, the new scheme is funded by ./...24m received from the Department for Transport (D1T) in April: it will involve a 24/7 roadside presence by Vosa enforcement teams.
Evans says: "The funds will be spread over a three-year programme buying new enforcement vehicles, extra office accommodation, enhanced sites and training staff. There has already been 50% more roadside activity this year."
Operation Boston results
The Vosa teams have certainly been busy — between 1-5 October they checked 3,628 CVs at 97 locations, imposing prohibitions on 1,889 of them.
The most common offences, CM is told, involve drivers not abiding by the hours rules. Martin Harris, area manager for the Doxey site, informs us that on the first evening of the operation, 15 HGVs were forced to park up overnight with the majority of drivers being told to get some sleep.
The majority (2,273) of trucks stopped were registered outside the UK and of these, 1206 (53%) were found to be breaking the law. We are taken inside one of the enforcement vans to see for ourselves how and which HGVs are targeted. The driving officers quickly signal to a Polish lorry to follow us to the check site.
Jay, who has been working as a Vosa officer for four years, explains: "You get to know the non-compliant operators and with time you can quickly spot an overload."
Occasionally problems include nonUK drivers who can't read the English or Welsh flashing words on the Vosa vehicle. However, Jay says that the majority are very compliant: "There are a few who may try arid drive past, but 99% of foreign drivers know they need to stop."
Fitzpatrick, keen to get involved in the action, pulls over a non-UK registered Mercedes-Benz Actros for being overloaded. Speaking to CM, he claims: "With the UK-led policing approach, we know who to look out for."
Offences included trucks having dangerous mechanical faults and tired drivers ignoring the hours limits. On one French oil tanker trailer the rear axle was insecure to the extent it could have failed and caused a serious accident.
Elsewhere in the country a driver stopped near Holyhead was arrested after he was found to be carrying a false licence and two digital driver cards which were registered to two unknown Dutch drivers and could have been used to alter drivers' hour records.
Vosa powers
From spring 2009, the police and Vosa will have new enforcement powers to ensure no drivers can escape punishment. Penalties for a variety of offences will range from £30 to £200. if a driver can't provide
evidence of a UK address, a deposit of a value equal to the fixed penalty will have to be paid immediately.
If a driver refuses to pay a penalty deposit, or if a driver has committed a serious offence. Vosa has the power to immobilise the vehicle and only release it when the cause for the prohibition is put right.
Worth it?
Judging by what we saw, the Vasa teams dedicated to stopping HG Vs are inspired by the old saying — better safe than sorry. For the 1,739 lorries and their drivers that drove away with a clear and nonpunishable conscience, there were 1,889 that were found to be unroadworthy. When danger outweighs safety and good practice, then clearly more work needs to be done.
Fitzpatrick concludes: "Operation Boston was not a onc-off. We are committed to tackling the dangers caused by unscrupulous hauliers and our message is clear: those who break the rules of the road will not get away with it." •