Are you ready for objections?
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You can't run a road haulage operation without an authorised operating centre and the Traffic Commissioners have sweeping powers over these bases. They are required to listen to objections from your neighbours, so it helps to know the rules...
Every operator of heavy goods vehicles must have an operating centre. Without somewhere to park your vehicles you will not be granted an Operator's Licence or be allowed to continue to operate them.
Although the operating centre is defined as the place where vehicles are normally kept when not in use, there are other considerations which will affect the ooerator's decision whether to purchase or ta ce a long-term lease on his operating centre. The Traffic Commissioner may not find the operating centre suitable and the financial commitment will have been made for nothing. However, choosing an operating centre does not merely mean deciding if your vehicles can be parked on a piece of land. The question is whether the parking of those vehicles or their movement to and from the site will interfere with the rights of local residents to enjoy their own property without disturbance or visual intrusion, Objections Objections can be made to an application for an operating centre by a number of bod
ies including t'e the police, the local authority (but not a parish council) or planning authority, • trade associations such as the RHA, FTA • and some trade unions.
Objections to operating centres are usually made by the local authority or planning authority, but the police will certainly object if there are road safety implications.
Representations, on the other hand, are generally made by the owners or occupiers of land or buildings in the vicinity of an operating centre. The usual basis of such representations is that the proposed operating centre will prejudicially affect their use or enjoyment of their land. Those representations will only be made on environmental grounds and the Traffic Commissioner will have to decides the geographical limit of "the vicinity of the operating centre"—no two cases are the same. The TC will make an ii
tial decision on whether the representations he receives are valid as far as "the vicinity" is concerned, and whether the representations made relate to environmental issues. If he decides they are, the operator will have to request the matter goes to a public inquiry where the TC will assess the evidence.
The TC could simply grant the application; he could grant the application with conditions; he could take into account undertakings given by the operator; or he could refuse the application.
Strict limits There are strict time limits for objections and representations and they must be made in writing, setting out the grounds on which they are made. The operator must receive a copy of those objections or representations. If the time limits are not complied with then the objection or representation may not be valid and could be ignored by the TC. Winning permission For an operating centre is not the end of the matter because every five years the TC will review the site's environmental suitability end any road safety implications. He will take into account: • Any letters of complaint or representa tions made since the granting of the licence; Any review of the site by the Traffic Examiner who might be instructed by the Licence Review Board to visit it; Any breaches of conditions or undertakings given by the operator. During that five-year review period the operator may not be aware of complaints about the site because there is no obligation to send him a copy of letters and representations made during the review period. It will not be easy for the operator to challenge representations about incidents during the five-year period because he may not recall the incidents which caused the complaints. With this in mind, during the five-year period a wise operator will: • Make regular contact with the Traffic Area to check if any complaints have been received; Keep a log of incidents which might give rise to complaints. If the TC is considering imposing or modifying conditions for road safety or environmental reasons—or if he is threatening to remove the site altogether—the case will usually be heard at a public inquiry. The operator will be invited to attend, as will any
objectors and representors. The TC must the possible effect on the operator's business before taking any action or review. Operators and objectors alike have the right of appeal to the Transport Tribunal, but there is no right of appeal for representors.
Suitability When deciding a site's environmental suitability the TC must consider: • The nature and use of other land in the vicinity; • The environmental effects of the granting the application; • The existence of planning permission for the land, or for land in the vicinity; • The number, type and size of the authorised vehicles which will use the site; • The parking arrangements for the authorised vehicles which will use the site; • The nature and times of use of the site; • The nature and times of the use of the equipment at the site; • The number of vehicles leaving and entering the site and their frequency. Environmental conditions may be imposed to prevent or minimise the site's adverse environmental effects. The TC has power over: • The number, type and size of authorised vehicles; • The parking arrangements at the site or in its vicinity; • The times when the operating centre is used for the maintenance or movement of authorised vehicles; • How those vehicles enter and leave the site. When considering road safety around the site, the TC will consider: • Access to and from the site; • Any dangers to other road users including pedestrians; • If authorised vehicles can leave and enter the site without reversing. Although the site might be suitable for parking, if there are road safety implications
theTC con impose conditions to minimise the dangers of using the site; typically by restricting the size of vehicles and their times of operation.
The Traffic Commissioner cannot control vehicles which are not authorised, such as vehicles which are simply visiting.
Fl by Gary Hodgson
IMPROVING THE HIGHWAY CODE
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is consulting on proposed changes to the Highway Code--that much neglected rulebook for all road users. Among the proposals are:
• A requirement for drivers to drive in the left hand lane, regardless of speed, and to move to the left if holding traffic up behind; • The introduction of an alternate lane merging at roadworks; • Warning drivers not to presume that other road users flashing their headlights are giving an indication to proceed; • The statement that using a mobile phone (even hands-free) can be dangerous. • And a new section highlighting the duty of drivers to be aware of more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. These proposals would seem to have little direct impact on HGV drivers. But actually they strike at the very heart of daily heavy truck operations. The first two points may finally address the problem HGV drivers face when they are baulked by a slow moving car in the second or middle overtaking one of a three-lane motorway. However, it begs the question will the police take direct action against such drivers who regularly cause bunching and frustration? As for flashing headlights "as an indication to proceed", it's long been accepted practice for one HGV driver to flash his lights to indicate to another in an overtaking truck that he is clear to move back over. But it would be unwise to always assume it was safe to do so. And the proposals on mobile phones clearly affect many operators • L , For a copy of the consultation paper contact the DSA on 0115 901 2500.