1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184 
TRANSPORT MINISTER Dr Stephen Ladyman has revealed more details on
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
how the forthcoming Road Safety Bill will hit illegal foreign drivers running in the UK in their wallets.
He was speaking to journalists at the launch this week of the joint Vosa/Highways Agency South East International Pilot enforcement project, which will run during 2006/7 and specifically target foreign operators and drivers within the important M2/M20 freight corridor.
"At the moment foreign drivers can be issued with a prohibition either that the vehicle is so unsafe that it can't be moved, or it can be a temporary prohibition so they have to take rest depending on how much of an infringement of their driving hours there has been," he said.
But the Road Safety Bill has in it measures where we can issue people with a notice of prosecution, but take a deposit from them equivalent to the fine they'd have to pay if they were found guilty and if they don't have the deposit with them then we can immobilise their vehicle until they find that deposit; that way we can guarantee they pay their f ines."
Vosa also released figures, as revealed by CM last week, showing that Romanian and Irish trucks are the most likely offenders on the UK roads.
Speaking at the multi-agency enforcement check, Ladyman insisted that foreign driver enforcement initiatives such as the SE International Pilot "will allow British lorry drivers to compete fairly with drivers from abroad this type of initiative means that everyone is on a level playing field". "But," he added, "it's important that we stop and investigate our own drivers who are breaking the rules too."
Richard Turner, chief executive of the Freight Transport Association, is writing to Ladyman to persuade him to channel any revenue from fines back to funding Vosa.