VI wants hauliers to test their own
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by Juliet Morrison • The Vehicle Inspectorate wants hauliers with good maintenance records to be empowered to test their own trucks.
Julian David, head of the 'VI's road traffic enforcement division, believes that self testing is an "exciting possibility" which could happen in five years.
Speaking at the Freight Transport Association's national conference last week, he said: "We have already started broad discussions on the sort of regime that might be possible. Operators with approved quality systems and a good record might be allowed to do their own testing, subject only to the occasional spot check and verification by the Inspectorate." Hauliers with less impressive records would still be required to have their trucks tested annually by VI staff.
Some hauliers fear that self-testing would reduce maintenance standards. One FTA delegate told David that he might find it difficult to justify his maintenance expenditure to his accountants if the exist ing test framework was replaced. The plan would save the VI money at a time it has been ordered to make 20% efficiency gains by the Government. But hauliers would benefit too. Not only would they avoid spending time taking vehicles to and from testing stations, they would save the annual test fee, which currently ranges from £32.70 to £34.70 for trucks and from £16.70 to £17.90 for trailers.
Parcels delivery company Parceline, which has a 1,500-strong fleet, could save as much as £30,000 a year by self testing. Technical services director Chris Ogg says: "It would mean we could get an extra day's work a year out of most of our trucks."
Senior Licensing Authority Ronald Ashford adds a note of caution: "I am sceptical of self regulation," he says. "I believe in an independent audit of one's standards. However, I would need to see the proposals in detail."
The move would need approval from the Government and possibly the European Commission; this could take more than four years. Some hauliers' sites are already approved to hold annual tests, but the tests are done by the VI's own staff, although subsequent repairs can be carried out by the haulier. Last year the Government rejected proposals to privatise its network of 91 test stations (CM24-30 March 1994). E David also told the FTA that he is taking steps to ensure that traffic and vehicle examiners take consistent action against faulty vehicles: "Historically traffic examiners have relied mostly on prosecution as their preferred disciplinary action while vehicle examiners have mainly used prohibitions," he said. "In future both types of examiner will take the same action."