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Foreign checks fall as prohibitions rise
Page 20
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One in six foreign trucks stopped by VOSA last year was unroadworthy, but the number of checks continues to decline. Jennifer Ball investigates.
Latest atest statistics from Vehicle and Operators Services Agency (VOSA) reveal that the number of foreign vehicles stopped at roadside checks fell 6.1% last year—but immediate prohibitions for these rose nearly 15%.
Just over 3,000 foreign vehicles were checked; of these 485 were issued with immediate prohibitions for poor vehicle maintenance. In fact the prohibition rate for foreign trucks, which in 2001/02 grew from 9.9% to 13.1%, jumped even further to 16.1% in 2002/03.
Of the total vehicles checked last year, 6,189 (93.2%) were UK registered and only 452 (6.8%) came from overseas.
But while the overall prohibition rate for overloading is 7.5%. the rate for UK trucks is 6.9% compared with 12.7% for foreigners.The drivers' hours prohibition rate for foreign vehicles carrying dangerous goods is also higher than the UK at 8.6°/cecompared with just 2.3% for UK trucks.
So why has VOSA cut the number of check. on foreign trucks, despite the figures showing they have a poorer record than UK vehicles?
A VOSA spokeswoman says that it is giving out more prohibitions as a result of targeting persistent offenders. while leaving law-abiding operators alone.
"We are now more effective in targeting known offenders with the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition [ANPR]. our intelligence unit and local knowledge,she says. "so we are likely to check fewer vehicles but achieve a higher prohibition rate. This is likely to increase this year because of the introduction of being able to issue delayed prohibitions to foreign registered vehicles.
"Around four times a year we also run national operations with police co-operation to target foreign-registered vehicles. This normally increases our productivity with regard to detecting offences such as roadworthiness and traffic enforcement."
Under the new reporting arrangements in the European Directive 2000/30/EC, implemented in June 2002, all foreign vehicles checked by VOSA and found to have serious roadworthiness defects are now being reported to the licensing authorities in the country in which they are 0-licensed. The first reports were sent out in February 2003, and this will be repeated every quarter.
However. VOSA says it will be at least a year before it will be able to assess whether these reports are effective and if local licensing authorities are taking action against local operators who earn prohibitions in the UK.• Kent-based Adam Scott of A ScottTransport "The authorities don't stop enough foreign vehicles. This is probably due to the language barrier and the problems involved in contacting the operator's transport office in Italy or France. It is a long-drawn out paper chasing exercise so the authorities try to avoid it."
Leeds-based Brian Yeard ley of Brian Yeardley Continental "A lot of oreign vehicles look very smart. However, logic suggests that if checks are falling yet prohibitions are rising then there need to be more checks on foreign vehicles. We are regularly stopped on the Continent but these checks are usually on tachos; rarely for maintenance.'
Ron Hart of Malden-based RC HartTransport -I have a 100% pass rate at annual test for my vehicles. However, when one truck was stopped by VOSA at Eurotunnel in Calais and the ABS bulb blew on the dashboard, we were given an immediate prohibition and had to have another full annual test. The number of foreign vehicles coming into the UK is rising so there should be far more checks on them and fewer silly prohibitions on UK vehicles."