Impounding looms as bill goes to Lords
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Proposed legislation allowing the confiscation of trucks operated by unlicensed hauliers took a step nearer to the statute book this week with the first reading of a private members' bill in the House of Lords.
The bill, put forward by Earl Attlee, will now go through a second reading in the Lords and then to committee, where the the fine detail will be thrashed out. Finally it must go before the House of Commons, where it is already assured Government Support but may face problems.
In the Government's recent "daughter document" on the freight industry (CM 11-17 March) which was issued fol
lowing the publication of its Transport White Paper, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott declared that he would support the introduction of a vehicle detention scheme for illegally operated vehicles.
However, Attlee's bill has first to resolve many issues including how to treat rental vehicles and customers' loads, as well as vehicle storage and disposal.
A major requirement for impounding will also be the full implementation of the Vehicle Inspectorate's Joint Enforcement Database Initiative (JEW), which will allow easy identification of illegal trucks at the roadside (CM3-9 June).