7. COWBOY OPERATORS
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Whether of domestic or foreign origin, poorly maintained, poorly driven vehicles are the bane of this industry. Quite clearly, they exert a negative influence on Joe Public's view of road transport.
Running overloaded and driven by exhausted drivers blindly following sat-nays into narrow lanes, trucks operated by rogue or cowboy operators tarnish the entire industry's reputation.
VOSA has got some belated investment from government to tackle the cowboys, and there are signs that graduated fixed penalties are having some impact.
But there must be safeguards in place to ensure that penalties and misdemeanours recorded by a foreign operator in another member state are notified to the appropriate authorities in the operator's country of origin — and appropriate action taken.
We hope that, in future, cowboy operators and drivers will have less and less impact on the industry.