• "Some operators appear to disregard the law completely, presumably
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by choice. They probably expend more energy avoiding the law than they would if they just followed it. On these I intend to be tough."
Fighting talk, from Keith Waterworth, the Yorkshireman now occupying the Scottish LA's chair vacated by Hugh McNamara in October. Waterworth describes himself as "a dyed-in-the-wool old civil servant". He arrived in Edinburgh with valuable experience from the planning office and 11 years in the Manchester traffic office, where he was given considerable legislative experience by the then commissioner Roy Hutchinson.
"My job is to make it clear by my decisions that the rules that apply to operators are the absolute minimum thought necessary for safety. They can't be avoided because they're too exacting." Waterworth is determined to reduce the number of offences caused by ignorance or misunderstanding. "Sometimes hauliers, typically the smaller operator, are unsure what the law requires and don't want to be burdened with inessentials."
Waterworth is throwing himself into the business social whirl with a resolution to accept every invitation for at least six months. He sees his "immersing myself in the Scottish transport scene" as his first priority.
Effective enforcement
Devising a strategy for effective enforcement action is another task high on Waterworth's list. "We have to concentrate on the major connurbations, which are chiefly in the central belt. But we may conduct a review to see if we're providing sufficient presence in the 'outer parts of the empire'." Enforcement resources are always insufficient and could only be satisfied "from a bottomless pit", he adds.
Waterworth is impressed with the quality of the Scottish traffic office's relationship with the local police, fostered largely, he says, by McNamara and supervising traffic examiner Bob Watt. "The police are willing to devote resources to traffic police here in Scotland. I don't think that relationship is bettered • anywhere."
He finds the workload at the Edinburgh office "quite hefty" and was surprised by the number of public inquiries coming in. He describes his office's operating system as "detailed and well-oiled" but very resource-intensive, and changes may be on the cards if Waterworth finds there is room for improvement.
When asked about his opinion of the Palmer report on Traffic Area Offices, Waterworth is not convinced that appointing a national Licensing Authority would have the desired effect of reaching fairer decisions, believing instead in local semiautonomous offices. "One approach would be to appoint a senior commissioner who can arbitrate difficult cases while keeping his own LA job," he suggests. But if a decision is queried, "the proper place is the transport tribunal."
He is concerned that Palmer's suggestion of merging the traffic examiners and vehicle inspectorate offices, "while administratively convenient, no doubt", would leave both functions less efficient. "At the moment, commissioners feel they can call on traffic examiners for quick action, which I think would be lost if they were absorbed into a larger organisation. The two services are different and ought to be delivered in a different way."
Although Waterworth agrees that small savings could be made in the TAOs — "perhaps two commissioners could be supported by one office" — he feels that scrapping the deputycommissioner post (another Palmer proposal) would have disastrous consequences: "Commissioners cannot take on much more and keep the same quality of decision."
If the Scottish TAO is retained, Waterworth intends to retire in 2005, at the age of 60. He hopes the transport industry will be allowed a "period of retrenchment" for at least some of those years. "The Government's aim is to reduce the burdens on industry, but we need to make sure of what really is a burden. The industry needs a period of stability where we know what the rules are."
by Gill Harvey