Call to probe 0 licensing
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THE BASIC principles behind the 0 licensing system are good and should remain as they are. What should be scrutinised are the details of the system.
This is the general reaction of the road haulage industry to Government proposals in the White Paper that the 0 licensing system should be reviewed.
The Freight Transport Association told CM this week it believed 0 licensing was "soundly based and working well", and that there was no need for "any major policy change".
But, there were details that should be tidied up. Among them, the Association calls for a special 0 licence to be held by rental companies.
Such a licence, claims the Association, could give more protection to the hirer of a vehicle when it came to penalties being imposed for a faulty rented vehicle.
At the moment, it is the hirer who gets hit if faults are found on such a vehicle.
If the FTA's theory of a special 0 licence being held by a rental company was put into practice, it would be that licence that was penalised.
Coupled with a possible review of 0 licensing comes the question of access to 'the occupation of the road haulage industry.
Both the Road Haulage Association and the National Freight Corporation say they are pleased with the concern shown by the Government over this point.
"Access is too easy," claims the RHA, and it adds, "certainly this should be tightened up."
The RHA says further emphasis should be placed on the importance of the sound financial standing of a potential haulier.
It argues that stricter controls over a haulier's repairs and maintenance facilities should be imposed.
And the NFC says it would like to see the Licensing Authorities satisfying themselves that an individual haulier's business was being properly managed at the outset.
All three transport bodies openly welcome higher standards for entry into the industry, but there are fears that British standards may not be as high as those in the EEC, which, said one spokesman, "would be a shame".