P VOSA PENALTIES
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GFPs: they are a start but need to target perpetrators not the driver
I READ WITH interest VOSA's figures on graduated fixed penalties (GFPs) (CM 10 June) and I feel that — although it is a necessary tool and it gives VOSA a sanction against foreign offenders — the penalties are still too heavily loaded against the driver.
Those that persistently commit hours offences for their own reasons deserve all they get. But there are many out there, probably in the majority, who are given little choice in the matter and that can also apply to some overloading offences.
When it comes to compliance. there are many operators, including some from Ireland. who think that compliance refers to only ferry timetables and delivery windows. If the driver doesn't comply with that requirement simply because he's out of time, he risks losing his job.
In these days of unsure job security and a lack of alternative jobs, the driver simply pays up, takes it on the chin, and doesn't cause a fuss.
It also states some of the onthe-spot fines refer to 0-licence and driving licence terms. Does anybody know of any drivers. apart from owner-drivers, who have any influence or involvement in the application or control of their vehicles' 0-licence?
The introduction of on-thespot GFPs is a start, but the cause of the offence is often beyond the driver's control. The real perpetrators, be it the operator or consignor, simply carry on as normal while the driver carries the can. Mike Davies
Waterlooville