Fairer enforcement call by BAR
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IN ITS reply to the DoE on the consultative paper dealing with heavy lorry routes, the British Association of Removers has taken the opportunity to criticize the lack of enforcement of laws which have already been implemented. The Association says there are already many aspects of transport law which are not properly enforced because of the shortage of suitable staff, and comments: "What happens is that the reputable, law-abiding firms are penalized because they have to suffer competition from the lawless or ignorant".
The BAR reply then takes a particular case relating to drivers' hours and points out that although drivers of vehicles below 3.5 tons gvw are required to adhere to drivers' hours, many do not. It is considered because light vehicle operators are not being charged with breaches of drivers' hours, many are unaware that the regulations exist. "This leads to considerable bitterness amongst those who are compelled to keep to the rules and it acts as a standing temptation to them to risk breaking the regulations".
On lorry routes, BAR feels that removal vehicles, as a class, ought to be exempted from any route restrictions that might be envisaged. The Association says that removal vehicles are easily identified and run so spasmodically that they could not possibly cause any harm to the environment. In any event, according to BAR if the regulations were to apply only to vehicles over 16 tons gvw, then removals would not be affected to any great extent because very few removal vans exceed that limit. The reply goes on to say that because furniture removal vans do not engage on. regular runs, their drivers are much less likely to establish "rat-run" routes through residential areas and would only be in such areas in the course of their normal business.