Up-and-coming Law with the Freight Transport Association
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Mirror retrofit: This European legislation requires the retrofitting of wide-angled and close-proximity mirrors to the passenger side of goods vehicles more than 3.5 tonnes GVW and first registered from 1 January 2000. The Department for Transport (OfT) is expected to
issue specific guidelines before the implementation date of 31 March 2009.
Northern Ireland operator licensing reform: The Department of the Environment intends to amend the Northern Ireland operator licensing system to mirror that which is operating in Great Britain. Changes include a system for restricted operator licensing to apply to own-account carriage for the first time, but without the introduction of Traffic Commissioners. Primary legislation is expected in 2008,
but implementation is likely to take several years.
European DriverTraining Directive: Introduces initial and periodic training for professional goods and passenger vehicle drivers. The operational level 2 training is referred to as a Certificate of Professional Competence. For new goods vehicle drivers, the initial qualification is required from 9 September 2009, and existing drivers must complete 35 hours of training by 2014. The key dates for passenger vehicle drivers are 2008 and 2013.
0-licensing changes: Individual vehicle specification fees are expected to
be dropped from the 0-licensing system and added to vehicle test fees after October 2008, Also, proposals to remove the 28-day period of grace for vehicles used on the margin and the abolition of paper discs are expected to be reviewed
Graduated fixed penalties: The DfT has issued a consultation on the details of introducing a graduated fixed-penalty system for road traffic offences, such as drivers hours and overloading, to be issued
by Vosa examiners. A deposit scheme is proposed to cover offences by visiting drivers unable to provide a GB address.
Vehicle recovery: Arrangements will be changed to allow the Highways Agency (HA) to take over vehicle recovery/removal on the English motorway and trunk road network. Changes include appointing a national recovery manager, giving HA traffic officers the power to remove vehicles, and new statutory charges for the removal and storage of vehicles.