International Trade

Road To More Haulage Regulation

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...consignors and freight forwarders, to agree to impossible schedules that cause them to infringe the rules and this introduces a responsibility of consignors to ensure the regulations are adhered to,’ it said.

Until very recently, it appeared the UK government was set on making truck operators absolutely liable for all offences committed by their drivers under the new EU driving time/rest period rules and, therefore, automatically subject to prosecution.

However, the FTA reported that following strong transport industry complaints, UK Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman had recently confirmed that any such prosecution of a vehicle operator would be subject to an assessment by VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) of its chances of success.
‘This has removed the threat of automatic prosecution for generally compliant operators, who already have in place systems of control and briefing for drivers,’ claimed the FTA.

Expanding on that point, FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham said VOSA traffic examiners would now have to be certain that the company involved was unlikely to have good control systems in place and had no valid defence before a prosecution went ahead.

‘In other words, the burden of proof has shifted from the operator to the enforcer. That means reputable companies that invest in proper briefing and control system for drivers’ hours should be left alone. They will, of course, need to follow up and challenge drivers over the original infringements but the very act of doing so proves that they are on top of the problem.’

In a separate development, the FTA has also warned UK exporters who take advantage of cheap rates offered by foreign hauliers to transport their goods by road to Continental Europe and beyond to be aware of a potential downside to using such capacity.

‘Transport buyers in the UK are undoubtedly benefiting from the cheap rates offered... continued on page three >

 

 

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