Foot and mouth rules cause havoc
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• The foot-and-mouth epidemic is causing havoc in the second-hand tipper-trailer market, says wellknown independent used truck and trailer dealer, Robert Reynolds.
"Every tipper trailer sold to companies in the grain business has to be accompanied by a letter that states that it has not been used to move carcasses," he says, "otherwise, it cannot be used to transport grain."
But because the government will not release details of the vehicles that have been employed on footand-mouth work, it's sometimes difficult to be certain about what a particular trailer has been used for, he admits.
Responsible traders like Reynolds will make every effort to investigate a trailer's pedigree, but he's conscious that identification plates can be easily switched from one to another.
"It's a major problem, it is going to get worse, and I don't know what can be done about it," he says. "It's very worrying." It affects tractors too, he adds.
"How can a unit that's been used on foot-and-mouth work be disinfected properly?" he wonders. "The drivers will have been climbing in and out of the cab with who knows what on their shoes, so are you going to retrim the cab interior?
if a truck has been carrying offal, and you valet the cab thoroughly, you can still smell it if you leave the vehicle parked for the day with the windows closed." The tain1 lingers, and he suspects the same will be the case if a truck has beer hauling carcasses slaughtered due to foot and mouth.
Reynolds also wonders if any body has thought about the impaci on exports. No overseas customer iE going to want a truck or halite] that's had anything to do with foot. and-mouth traffic—but how wit they know if it has or it hasn't?