Flagging out: two months to decide
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• by Miles Brignall About 200 operators who have partially flagged out up to 700 vehicles are having to decide whether to re-register them in the UK or to apply for Operator's Licences in the countries concerned.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea has written to every haulier running foreign-registered vehicles on UK licences warning that they have two months to re-register their trucks in the UK or remove them from UK 0-licences.
This follows clarification of the law on partial flagging out by the Transport Tribunal (CM 1-7 March).
The tribunal had been asked to rule on the case of Reids Transport, an Ayrshire-based firm that had registered its trucks in the Republic of Ireland.
One Suffolk-based haulier who has registered two trucks in Holland says: "I'm not sure how we're going to cope with this. We're really fed up—whichever way we turn the government keeps changing its mind."
The tribunal's decision will not affect Pulleyns Transport: although it legally flagged out five vehicles last year, Pulleyns has already begun to reregister its trucks in the UK, reporting that the process has not been viable.
Senior Traffic Commissioner Michael Betts says he is glad the matter has fnally been clarified: "Essentially this was a competition issue. Some hauliers had chosen to register their vehicles abroad to gain an unfair advantage over those who remained in the UK.
"It is not up to us to .define the playing field, but it is up to us to make sure it is a level one for all operators." he adds.
• See feature, page 32.