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Check references — or pay the price
Page 18
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OPERATORS WHOSE trucks are impounded by Customs officers investigating smuggling are often to blame because they fail to check drivers' references, warns a leading transport lawyer. Solicitor Richard Atha. a partner with London-based practice Rowe Cohen, says that if goods are smuggled on a truck Customs officers are within their rights to seize the vehicle and any legitimate goods that are also on board, even if the driver has acted without the knowledge of his employer.
"Too many haulage companies employ drivers without properly checking their credentials and references," he adds. "They are leaving themselves wide open to rogue drivers... It's a crook's paradise in the UK and in Europe at the moment because of the shortage of drivers."
DS Mark Hooper, head of the Metropolitan Police's road freight crime tunt,Ti-uckPol, agrees it is vital that as well as checking driving licences, operators must look at references and use reputable driving agencies: "Too often they (drivers) are just given the keys and sent out on the job.We have also had a number of incidents recently of trucks being stolen by bogus drivers."