I COMMFN MUST DO I f you think the industry has a
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good record on vehicle maintenance, think again. Here's what Vehicle Inspectorate boss Ron Oliver has to say in his introduction to the VI's latest report on its ehctiveness as an enforcement agency: "As always, it is disappointing to find that levels of compliance with the law remain low. Although the average test failure rate has dropped over the past five years, it still remains unacceptably high." How high is unacceptable? How about a 36.3% initial annual test failure rate for HGVs. That's nothing to be proud of. Of course the figures vary from fleet to fleet— they always do. For operators of up to five trucks the average failure rate is over 40%, falling to below 29% among operators with more than 100 wagons. And while the VI says that the failure rate for trucks and artics "is not seen as indicating any significant deterioration in maintenance" (though that's hardly a ringing endorsement considering how many do fail) it notes that "braking system defects continue to be among the most common reasons for HGVs to fail their tests." You'd expect older vehicles to face a tougher time at their annual test. But would anyone attempt to justify the 14% test failure rate for trucks that are just a year old? If the owners of those vehicles can be guilty of neglect within just 12 months, God only knows what their wagons will be like after five years. So what's the answer to such poor levels of maintenance? Tougher enforcement is the obvious remedy, backed up by higher fines. The VI report reveals that the average fine for tacho offences in England and Wales during 1996/7 was just £104.49; for Construction and Use offences it was £157.69 and even for running without an 0-licence the average fine was a mere £245.91. Does anyone out there really believe that these derisory figures will give the cowboys any sleepless nights? The enforcement agencies deserve better support from the courts.