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Proilibit! News that the Vehicle Inspectorate allotting its examiners 23 minutes to examine c truck at a roadside check comes as no surpris( to Commercial Motor. Ever since it became or executive agency in 1988, the VI has had tc become increasingly accountable to its paymaster thE Department of Transport. And that's meant providins greater "efficiency improvements". But does efficienc) sit happily with enforcement? Is 23 minutes enough foi a roadside check? As long as a defect is discoverec within that time, presumably the answer is yes. Tick thE box, slap on the P09, punch the clock and away WE go again. It all sounds a bit like the Mad Hatter's tec party: "Let's all move one place on!" But would or examiner who had issued an immediate prohibition for a badly cut tyre bother to look for other defects—like c cracked chassis cross-member—if he was close to thE end of his allotted 23 minutes? Or would he, as is suggested by the IPM5, simply move on to the next truck And if the offending operator changed the defective tyre, had the prohibition lifted and then went on hi5 way, would anyone be any the wiser about other defects on his wagon? C'early you can't spend all day crawling over c truck on the off-chance of finding something wrong. But there's something unsettling about setting individual time limits for
roadside checks. We'd much lot rather the VI told its examiners to go over every vehicle with a fine tooth comb, and if there's a defect—find it. And while you're at it, here's the money to support night-time and weekend working and long-term silent checks too. In short, if the DOT and VI want to improve vehicle standards they both have to accept that the real obstacle to more effective enforcement isn't time, it's money.