The Road Haulage Association in Britain has welcomed a report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which makes the point that foreign trucks are more likely to be the cause of accidents involving heavy goods vehicles than UK operators.
The Association is particularly encouraged by the report’s acknowledgment that “they contribute little in the way of revenue and pose a particular challenge in terms of enforcing regulations”.
“We have been campaigning for stronger enforcement for many years”, said RHA Chief Executive Geoff Dunning. “Until May 2009 foreign operators had a free ride; no penalties were imposed, in practice, unless someone was actually killed. Today’s report highlights that while we have gone some way to closing the enforcement gap, there is still work to be done”.
“Furthermore, we welcome the proposal that VOSA officials be allowed to carry out inspections at all UK ports. Obviously this work would have to be done without hindering hauliers and other port users; VOSA assures us that this would be the case and we accept that assurance. In addition the enforcement, road safety and fair competition gains would be considerable. We are keen that information sharing on enforcement between government departments becomes a reality rather than just a point for discussion.
“We are also pleased that the PAC has taken the opportunity to highlight the massive tax difference between the UK the rest of the EU. Today, I was able to stress this particular point to the Chancellor of the Exchequer when we met at the GMTV studios in London. I sure am that with the prospect of another rise in fuel duty on the horizon I was probably the last person he wanted to see; but it was an opportunity to remind him that nothing has happened in this area since he announced the scrapping of the lorry road user charging scheme to the House of Commons five years ago when he was Secretary of State for Transport”.
