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We welcome all professional Lorry Drivers and Owner Operators to our Truckstop CommunityIt does not matter if you are driving the Uk, Europe or local Truck deliveries, TrustopUK is your Home Online. Truckstopuk's Forum provides a place where Truck Drivers can come in for information or discuss Trucking News, Truck Photos, Trucker Classifieds, Trucker Jokes, Trucking related questions or have a Trucker Live Chat with other Truck Driver Members. We would be honored to welcome you as a Member in our professional Trucker Forum. Enjoy and have fun in TruckstopUK |
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Last week's column on over driving low beam headlights resulted in some
interesting comments. Chief among them was the thought that this wasn't
a problem because the driver had installed high wattage bulbs and now
had more light to see with. Do you suppose that these drivers don't
know this is a bad practice or just don't care about themselves and
others who use the highway?
In general, low beam headlight bulbs use in the neighborhood of 50
watts of electrical power. The lens assemblies, switches and wiring are
designed with this in mind. If you purchase and install "off highway"
higher wattage bulbs you are not doing yourself or others a favor.
Glare is the main worry when this has been done. The lenses will tend
to scatter some of the extra light which bothers oncoming drivers. If
it is foggy, snowing or raining, the light will back scatter from these
conditions and interfere with the driver's ability to see as well.
The extra current demanded by these lamps will result in heat
generation within the electrical components and the headlight lens
assemblies. Premature wear, melting of plastic parts and the possibly
an electrical fire could be the result. Do you still think that this is
an acceptable solution to the possibility of over-driving your low beam
headlights?
Reference Links
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Europol busts people smuggling network in Belgium
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European police agency Europol said on Tuesday it had dismantled an
Iraqi-run people smuggling ring that had transported hundreds of
illegal immigrants from Belgium to Britain.
Belgian police arrested nine people on Tuesday, most of them from
Iraq, in the smuggling crackdown which also turned up four illegal
immigrants, Europol said.
The agency said immigrants had paid the criminal network 1,500 euros
each to be concealed in the back of lorries with no guarantee of safe
arrival in the UK.
They originated from countries such as
Afghanistan, China, Iraq and Vietnam and travelled from Turkey to
Belgium on a smuggling route that took them through Greece, Italy, and
central Europe, Europol said.
The agency said they were brought at night to lorry parks in Belgium
by an Indian smuggling network which then passed them on to the Iraqi
network. The immigrants were then hidden on lorries without the drivers
being aware.
Europol said the smugglers used aggressive tactics with the people
they were transporting and did not hesitate to use 'extreme violence'
when competing networks intruded on their turf. Source: asiaoneNEWS
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Lorry boss facing jail in France after being caught with concealed cargo of drug
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A HAULAGE firm boss is behind bars in France after drugs worth £4million were allegedly found in his lorry.
Robert
Clark could face at least 10 years in jail if he is found guilty of
having 206kg of cocaine and 43kg of amphetamine concealed in his cargo
of frozen chips.
He was arrested at Calais as he drove from the Netherlands to Britain.
Two
days after his arrest, cops raided 38-year-old Clark's home in Maybole,
Ayrshire. He could have his assets seized if he is convicted.
Clark,
who is known as Jason, runs his haulage business, R J Clark and Sons,
from the smallholding he shares with his wife and three children.
His wife Susan also runs a horse livery business.
Clark's arrest just before Christmas is the "talk of the steamie" in the village, according to one local.
The
villager said: "The house is in the process of being renovated and last
year Jason's wife dismantled her top of-the-range stables to build
bigger and better ones.
"Jason and his family are well known and liked in the village. Nobody can believe it.
"He
has about three or four lorries up at the smallholding and employs
several people. As well as that, he owns a few properties in Dalrymple.
"He has never been in trouble with the police in his life. He seems like a nice guy."
The Clarks have three children, including a daughter who has cystic fibrosis.
Over the years, Clark has been an active fund-raiser for research into the disease.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm that a British national was arrested on drugs charges on December 21.
"He has been visited by consular staff and he and his family will continue to be provided with consular advice and assistance." Source: Daily Record
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Accidents: Preventable or Not
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As many of you know, I work with new and prospective drivers through my
yahoo group. Recently, one of the members told this story during a discussion on
the dangers of deer; I will call this driver ‘Joe’.
Joe is an experienced driver who works for a middle-sized company. One day,
a deer ran out in front of his truck. Joe hit the deer which did about $2,000.00
worth of damage to his truck. His company brought him and his truck to the yard
and repaired the damage. Joe was not charged with a preventable accident.
Another driver with the same company also had a deer run out in front of
his truck the same week as Joe did. This driver tried to avoid the deer instead
of hitting it, hit a guard rail and went in the ditch. The repairs to the truck
alone were $12,000.00 not to mention the guard rail and tow bill. The driver was
charged with a preventable accident on his record and did not understand
why.
What was the difference between the two accidents? Was it the cost of the
repairs? No, it was not the cost of the repairs. It was how the driver reacted
to the deer running out in front of the truck. Joe retained control of the
situation and mitigated damages. The other driver lost control of his truck and
put himself in the situation of damaging the equipment and possibly killing
someone else along with himself. He did nothing to retain control of the
situation.
Another of my group’s members told a story about how he was in a dock and
he did not realize that he was crooked between the lines. Another truck backing
into the dock next to him hit his truck’s fender. His company, after looking at
the photos, charged him with a preventable accident on his record even though he
was sitting still and another truck hit him. Why? He was docked crooked in the
lines, his mistake.
Most accidents are caused because of mistakes, of course not all, but most
are. The driver who rear ends another vehicle was either following too close or
was not paying attention. There are rare cases of someone cutting off another
vehicle and getting rear ended, but honestly, if the driver of the vehicle that
is being cut off is paying attention, shouldn’t they have time to hit the brakes
or at least slow down? This is how a safety department and most law enforcement
officials, looks at things.
Almost all accidents are preventable in most cases. Of course, one has no
control over wildlife or other drivers who might come across the median or
center line and hit you. In those cases, one can only try to mitigate damages
and retain as much control over the equipment and situation as possible.
During the course of our careers as truck drivers and with as many miles we
all drive a year, accidents of some sort or another are bound to occur. This
does not mean that we can become complacent or blasé about any sort of accident,
even just a scratch on the fender from a tight backing situation is preventable.
It does mean that we have to be even more diligent than ever to avoid having a
preventable accident on our records. The safe operation of our equipment is the
most important part of our jobs. By being safe and avoiding accidents we not
only protect our careers, but also the motoring public and our company’s
bottom-line.
By Sandy Long
TruckstopUK
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Heroic scott is a driving force
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UK
Forces fighting in Afghanistan need to keep moving in a range of
vehicles. But each needs fuel to stay operational. In the fourth of his
Echo reports from Afghanistan, BEN GLAZE speaks to a tanker driver from
South Wales transporting diesel in a war zone
A BULLET magnet.
That is how Private Scott Burrows-Jones describes his 20,000-litre
diesel tanker as it rumbles across Helmand’s dusty desert tracks
littered with roadside-bombs.
His dad Jason, 44, is a
long-distance lorry driver – but the traffic jams of the M4 can’t
compare with the incoming fire from a Taliban insurgent’s AK47 assault
rifle.
Pte Burrows-Jones is one of nearly 10,000 British
troops in the southern Afghanistan province, where UK forces were
deployed in 2006.
When needed, he clambers aboard the dark green tanker and thrusts the vehicle into gear.
Then
begins a dangerous, four-day, life-threatening journey, during which up
to 100 vehicles in a two-mile convoy face attacks from Taliban
insurgents and risk being blown up by the improvised explosive devices
peppered through the brown and grey stony wastelands.
A
rocket-propelled grenade or bullet strong enough to pierce the heavy
metal tanker could cause an explosion – blasting Pte Burrows-Jones, his
load and surrounding vehicles into the sky.
The target
presented to the Taliban is huge but the fuel must be delivered to
troops at the forward operating and patrol bases scattered throughout
Helmand.
Pte Burrows-Jones, known as “BJ” to comrades within
the Royal Logistics Corps (RLC), said: “You’ve just got to get on with
it. There’s no point whatsoever in worrying about it.
“I can honestly say I’m not scared at all; the drills prepare us for what we face and we know what to do when something happens.
“I try not to think too much about whether we’re making a difference; I just want to get on with it.
“We help our guys in the field – and our guys help the locals.”
The
20-year-old ex-Barry Comprehensive schoolboy, on his first tour in a
war zone, puts his faith in the machine gunner popping his head through
the tanker’s cab.
If the gunner, armed with a general purpose
machine gun, known as a Gimpy, spots a Taliban fighter it is his
responsibility to protect the tanker and its cargo.
“My mate
will be poking his head through the roof and keeps scouting the
terrain,” said Pte Burrows-Jones, who is on attachment from the RLC to
the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment.
“He will have the Gimpy and if he sees anything suspicious he will report it down the line.”
The
diesel’s flashpoint, the temperature at which it would ignite, is 56°C
– high enough to minimise the risk of an explosion even if an
insurgent’s round or mortar struck and pierced the tanker’s side.
“I
actually don’t get nervous. I know that even if we did get hit I should
be OK,” said Pte Burrows-Jones, who is from Rhoose in the Vale of
Glamorgan but now lives in Barry.
“The fuel inside is extremely well-protected and I’m confident driving this through the desert – but it is a bullet magnet.”
It
was four years ago Pte Burrows-Jones walked into the Army careers
office in Cardiff city centre and signed up to serve for the next 22
years.
“Because my dad’s a lorry driver there’s a kind of
haulage history in the family, so I knew I wanted to be a driver,” said
Pte Burrows-Jones, who has two brothers – call centre worker Jamie, 24,
and Jac, 16, who goes to Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School in Barry –
and one sister, Brooke, 13, who also attends Bryn Hafren.
He added: “My mum worries like mad but I know she and my dad are both really proud of me and the job we’re all doing out here.”
Private
Scott Burrows-Jones, 20, from Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, is in the
Royal Logistics Corps, attached to Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment
PICTURES: Ben Glaze ©
1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, return to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province after Operation Bambirak Source: WalesOnline
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10-year-old crushed to death by lorry as she walks to London school
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A ten-year-old girl died under a lorry at a busy junction in south-east London as she walked to school. Witnesses
said Latoya Smith was crushed at the junction of East Dulwich Road and
Peckham Rye, just after 8am yesterday. Traffic signals there have been
out of operation for weeks as roadworks are carried out. Latoya had been walking with two friends aged eight and 12. She died of her injuries in hospital soon after. Matthew
Page, 42, an estate agent opposite the scene, said: “It was awful. The
way the roadworks are, it was an accident waiting to happen. I heard a
bang. She'd been under the wheels of a 60-tonne truck and had no
chance. She was lying in the road bleeding, moving but not conscious.” The lorry driver, 44, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and is in custody. Anyone with information should call police on 020 8285 1574. Source: This is London
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Trucker's plea for tax on Euro rivals
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A LOCAL man is lobbying the Government for a change
in the laws surrounding European lorry drivers entering the UK –
claiming unless action is taken the British haulage industry could
"collapse".
Grimsby HGV driver Alan Overton, 44,
said that some UK firms were missing out on contracts, as foreign
drivers do not have to pay to drive in Britain, and as a result can
often undercut local businesses.
He said the
situation was compounded by the fact that British drivers have to pay
to drive on the continent – forcing up prices and making it
increasingly hard for UK firms to compete.
He has
already been given the backing of local politicians and today we are
calling on you to let us know your thoughts on the issue.
Mr Overton has proposed a system that he says could generate the Government around £525,000 per week and support UK firms. He said: "My system is a simple one – we charge £15 per day for a European lorry to transit the country."
He
claims that without introducing some form of transit tax, British
motorists will end up footing the bill for roads damaged by the
increased traffic.
He said: "By paying road tax, British motorists are subsidising European haulage companies to use our roads.
"The
Europeans do not have to pay road tax to use our roads and the volume
from traffic from the Europe on our roads is unbelievable.
"Our
companies just cannot compete with them because the Europeans can
afford to do it cheaper – they do not have to pay what our companies do.
"This is Europe's food town – if we lose the haulage industry the impact on Grimsby would be huge.
"The
EU companies would take on the work from the collapsed UK companies and
we would be bombarded by European trucks causing wear and tear to our
roads and not paying for it.
"Members of the public would have to foot the bill in terms of paying higher road tax."
Source: Grimsby Telegraph
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Failing to remain at the scene of an accident, or hit and run as it is
more commonly known is without a doubt a daily occurrence. We all know that we are doing something seriously wrong when
we hit a cyclist, pedestrian or other vehicle on the highway and leave
the scene to escape civil and criminal liability. However, we're not
quite so worried when the collision is a scrape or a dent in a parking
lot or something else that we can convince ourselves is of a minor
nature.
Ask anyone who has had to deal with their insurance company after they
have suffered a hit and run collision and they will tell you how much
it has cost them in time and money to make a claim and have their
vehicle repaired. In some cases the frustration is so high that maybe
it is a good thing the offending driver was never found! However, the
victim's lot is always easier if the offending driver remains and takes
responsibility for their actions.
Any collision that causes damage, injury or death to others resulting
from the operation of your vehicle requires you to provide assistance
and information. In the case of a collision with an unattended vehicle
or other property, the driver must take reasonable steps to locate the
owner, driver or person in charge and notify them in writing of their
identity, the identity of the owner of the offending vehicle and the
license plate number of that vehicle.
There is a special case where the property struck is an unattended
vehicle. It is sufficient to leave the required information in writing
in or on the vehicle in a conspicuous place. Having done this, the next
step is to notify your insurance company. It may not be necessary to
make a claim, but the notification will avoid problems if that changes
later on.
Reference Links
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UK truck driver suffers violent stowaway attack in France
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A Stoke-on-Trent-based HGV driver was left hospitalised with a head wound after stowaways brutally attacked him in Dunkirk.
IRF (International Road Freight)
employee 55-year-old Brian Glover, was parked near a supermarket on
Wednesday 20 January when he was struck from behind by illegal
immigrants he had seen earlier in the day trying to tamper with his
trailer.
"I was hit on the back of my head with a metal pole, which knocked me to the floor," Glover tells Commercial Motor. "There was blood streaming down my face." As a result, he needed five stitches.
Glover was told by French police that arrests were unlikely because the offenders had run off.
While this is the first time an IRF employee has been attacked, the
firm's transport manager, Alan Dale, reveals the business has
previously been fined by the UK Border Agency
for harbouring clandestines. "Our drivers are all trained to do checks,
but stowaways always manage to find a way to enter a truck. It seems to
be happening more often now. I honestly don't know what the solution
is," Dale says.
Several readers of Roadtransport.com's Lorry Crime Blog have commented on the story, including Mark Jones, operations manager at Powys-based Speed Distribution: "These immigrants have
travelled through many Western European countries, so maybe the UK
should ask these countries why they are able to pass through so easily." Source : ROADTRANSPORT
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Spin doctor Campbell backs road safety campaign
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Alastair
Campbell
Ben McPartland
GOSPEL OAK'S Alastair Campbell has given his
backing to a road safety campaign led by the family of Eilidh Cairns,
the Kentish Town cyclist who was crushed to death under the wheels of a
lorry.
Calls for tougher safety standards for HGVs led by Ms
Cairns' sister Kate has seen an early day motion tabled in parliament
to try and raise awareness of the dangers posed to cyclists on London's
roads by trucks.
According to figures produced by the campaign
group, lorries account for 45 per cent of all London cyclist deaths,
yet represent only five per cent of road traffic.
And Mr Campbell wants MPs to take heed of their concerns.
He
said: "Politicians of all parties are rightly encouraging people to use
bikes more. There are good environmental and health reasons for that.
But as more people take up cycling, so there has to be greater focus on
the safety of cyclists.
"I have followed this campaign with some interest and know something of the tragedies that have led to its creation.
"The
Early Day Motion is the latest stage of their campaign and I hope MPs
of all parties will support it as a way of signalling their support for
making the roads safer for cyclists, and cutting the number of deaths
involving collisions with HGV lorries."
Tomorrow will mark the
one year anniversary of Eilidh's death. The experienced cyclist was
crushed under the wheels of a truck at a junction in Notting Hill Gate
as she cycled her usual route to work.
Last week the
Ham&High reported coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe's ruling that Eilidh
died as the result of an accident, much to the anger of her family.
They
had hoped that the coroner would use her powers to recommend changes to
the law to protect similar accidents happening again.
In 2009 13 cyclists were killed on London roads. Nine died as the result of collisions with lorries, of which eight were female.
Campaigners
are lobbying for additional lorry safety equipment including, side
sensors, in-cab supervision systems, class VI safety mirrors and
audible warnings. They are also recommending additional cycle training
and restricted HGV city access.
Kate Cairns told the
Ham&High this week: "We need to address the source of the danger.
Policies of protection are not enough. I think we should be considering
future lorry design, how compatible they are with our streets and the
way the fleets are managed.
"By supporting this EDM MPs are
working towards finding a real solution. It makes sense when all
benefits are taken into account.
Source : Ham&High24
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Isuzu Truck appoints new dealer in Midlands
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Complimenting
their existing Midlands dealer network, leading truck manufacturer Isuzu Truck
UK has made a further dealer appointment in this region, with the addition of
M6 Commercials as a full sales, service and parts dealer, with immediate
effect.
In January 2010, M6
Commercials, based in Nechells, Birmingham, joined Isuzu Truck’s 60-strong
network of dealers nationwide and as Keith Child, Marketing Director at Isuzu
Truck UK says, “The Midlands is a key area for us, at the heart of the UK
motorway network. The location of M6 Commercials couldn’t be better as it’s
just a mile from Spaghetti Junction. The addition of a further experienced
dealer will enhance the current success achieved by the network here in recent
times.”
Established 10 years
ago, as a general service provider for commercial vehicles, M6 Commercials is
based at:
M6 Commercials,
Premier Street, Nechells, Birmingham B7 5TQ
Tel: 0121 326 6363,
Fax: 0121 328 9090
Contacts:
Dealer Principal –
Andy Savery – andy@m6commercials.co.uk
Sales – John Sheridan
– john@m6commercials.co.uk
Service/Parts – Dave
Robinson – dave@m6commercials.co.uk
Commenting on his
company’s appointment, Andy Savery from M6 Commercials said, “We have been
monitoring the success achieved by Isuzu for some time and when the chance came
to join their dealer network, we had no hesitation. This is a superb
opportunity for my business as the full Isuzu truck range from 3.5t up to 18t
is extremely popular in the Midlands.”
The complete list of Isuzu Truck UK dealers for sales,
service and parts across the UK can be viewed and downloaded from the company’s
website www.isuzutruck.co.uk TruckstopUK
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Freight Truck Drivers Call For Communications Ban On Private Motorists
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Car Drivers “Kill People Too” say Truckers Groups
US – Trucking companies across the country have united in their
criticism of Tuesday’s ruling to ban texting whilst driving in trucks –
because it doesn’t go far enough. Overall support for the ruling was
overwhelming with many of the nation’s haulage and drayage groups
having already introduced a ban on their own staff using the technology
whilst in motion. But what of private motorists? It is exactly six months since Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute released their formal study
of light and heavy truck driver distraction and cell phone use under
real world driving conditions. The report clearly indicated that
texting into a device whilst driving was more likely to result in an
accident – more than 23 times as likely. Now it seems that it could be
a step too far to make the connection between driving a truck and
driving a car as yesterday saw the Transportation Secretary introduce a regulation which prevents truckers’ texting whilst behind the wheel. Now,
in the home of the free, it remains to be seen if the US authorities
have the spine to go the whole way and sanction ordinary motorists who
communicate with the outside world whilst driving. The VTTI report,
conducted in a real driving environment, not a simulator, revealed some
uncomfortable, and some surprising, truths for drivers who believe
their reactions are not impaired whilst “multi tasking”. Results
showed that any activity which draws the driver’s eyes from the road
will adversely affect their ability to control the vehicle. Headsets do
not measurably improve the safety factor whilst talking on a mobile
phone over hand held devices but even these present no extra risk
whilst simply listening. Cognitively intense tasks (e.g., emotional
conversations, “books‐on‐tape”, etc.) whilst having a dramatic effect
on driving whilst under simulated conditions, do not have any thing
like the risk in actual driving conditions. One thing was made
clear however and that is that driving under the influence of drugs or
alcohol was vastly more dangerous than an otherwise alert driver using
any form of communication. Reaction to the ban from the world
of road haulage and drayage was virtually unanimous. Most truck
companies have already taken steps to ensure their drivers never text
whilst in motion and adhere to standards such as the ATA’s safety policy, but, with the threat of a fine up to $2750, all truckers will now have to take notice. A spokesman from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
said he did not think a reduction in accident levels was likely as the
ruling might prove unenforceable. UK readers will bear witness that in
the aftermath of a serious crash, text and cell phone records are a
damning indictment of wayward drivers and this has a measurable
deterrent effect on driving habits. President Obama led the way
last year when he banned all communications using federal owned
equipment in all vehicles and a total ban whilst in control of any
federal vehicle. There will certainly be a strong lobby to support a
total ban within the next year backed by the aforementioned study and
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations own figures which support the conclusions on distracted driving.
Source: Handy Shipping Guide
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Lorry safety fear for rural Wales
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A DIRE shortage of vehicle inspectors puts the public in rural Wales
at risk from “highly illegal” lorry practices, according to the
official in charge of transport licensing.
And the problem
could be even worse where Welsh is widely spoken, thanks to a lack of
Welsh-medium safety education, said Nick Jones, Traffic Commissioner
for Wales and the West Midlands.
He said lorry safety was better in rural England than rural Wales, where there was a dearth of inspectors to enforce rules.
His
comments follow a public inquiry into Bala haulage firm RR Davies a’i
Feibion, where he found rules on drivers’ working hours had been broken
out of ignorance.
Brothers Geraint and Richard Davies had
taken over their father’s haulage business in 1993, but Mr Jones said
the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (Vosa) had not visited the
company until 2009.
“Here I am dealing with two brothers who
are honest, hardworking individuals who have been let down by the lack
of Vosa presence in rural Wales,” said Mr Jones, whose job is to
oversee licensing of lorry and bus operators.
“This is
exacerbated by my inability to hold operator seminars in the area as a
result of funding difficulties. I cannot justifiably criticise
operators from parts of Mid and North Wales for failing to attend
seminars in South Wales. The lack of operator seminars in this part of
North Wales has contributed to low levels of compliance.”
He
said he did not criticise Vosa for concentrating resources on the M4
and A55 corridors, but continued: “The number of Vosa enforcement staff
to cover a large geographical area with a difficult terrain is such
that there are operators who don’t see Vosa for a substantial period.
“There’s
evidence that there are pockets where the standard of safety is less
than one would find in equivalent parts of England.
“There are
occasions in parts of Wales when there are operators who may have been
doing something highly illegal for over a decade, say, where in fact
there’s been no contact with Vosa. If that happens there must be
concern for road safety and the public.
“The public should expect to have safety standards which are the same wherever you are in Great Britain.”
He
added: “The fact that, to my knowledge, there have never been any
operator seminars in the Welsh language has contributed to the two-tier
system that appears to exist whereby parts of Wales have lower
standards as a result of lower levels of intervention. The fact that
there has been little or no education for those who speak Welsh as a
first language has exacerbated the problems.”
Everyone at the
RR Davies inquiry, except Mr Jones, spoke Welsh as their first
language, but Vosa had conducted all interviews in English because all
documentation was in English. The brothers, and the drivers they
employed, “were at some disadvantage in having interviews conducted in
English”, said Mr Jones.
There was a “real training need” for
seminars for lorry operators but he had to cover two traffic areas,
Wales and the West Midlands, with the standard budget for one traffic
area.
Alex Fiddes, Vosa’s operations director, said: “A programme exists of enforcement activity in the rural areas of Wales.
“The matter of funding is a reality as operator licence fees have reduced in 2009-10 by 15.7% against 2008-09.”
He added that Vosa had a Welsh language scheme, meeting Welsh Language Board guidelines. Source: WalesOnline
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Ash Vale lorry driver jailed for kidnapping girl
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A LORRY driver who kidnapped a 13-year-old girl with the aim of sexually assaulting her has been jailed for five years.
Stephen Mackay, 48, of Avondale, Ash Vale, was caught after
colleagues recognised him from CCTV images shown on Crimewatch, in
which he could be seen dragging the girl along a street in south
London.
Croydon Crown Court heard that Mackay was carrying out deliveries in
the Bromley area when, after parking his vehicle, he chatted to his
young victim before taking her to a secluded spot and holding her there
by force.
Part of the incident was caught on CCTV, with the images giving an
indication of how frightening the experience must have been for the
girl, Judge Ruth Downing said.
“I think your purpose was to do some sexual harm to this young lady.
“I have no doubt there is a risk of danger to the public,” she told Mackay on Friday last week (January 22).
“I remain deeply concerned at the inexplicable inability to come out with a reason for this happening.”
Andrew Ramsubhag, prosecuting, said the girl, who had only just
turned 13, took her younger brother to school on July 24 and was
walking home along Freelands Road in Bromley.
Mackay approached her and said good morning, but it did not concern
her as she thought he may be a friend of someone she knew, the
prosecutor said.
“She proceeded along Plaistow Lane, crossing over, where she
encountered him again. He was standing at the junction and he said,
‘Don’t worry. I’m not following you. Are you alright?’,” Mr Ramsubhag
said.
“Believing he may have required directions, she returned to the junction.
“He grabbed her by the right wrist over her clothing and forcibly
led her down a lane and he said ‘You are the most beautiful girl I have
ever seen’ and he kissed her on the cheek, which she immediately wiped
off with her sleeve.”
Crying
Mackay asked the girl if she had a boyfriend and did she want one, the court heard.
She replied no and by now was extremely afraid and felt ill-equipped to deal with the situation, the prosecutor said.
When she tried to get away Mackay ran after her, grabbing her again
and giving her a bear hug around the waist, the court was told.
He man-handled her to a distance of 50m off the main road and
bundled her into an overgrown wooded area before telling the girl: “I’m
not going to hurt you, so don’t worry.”
“He blocked her path and she was apprehensive about what would happen," Mr Ramsubhag said.
"She heard him unzip his trousers and he put his hands down her
knickers. He stopped shortly afterwards and she returned home,” .
When the girl's mother arrived home, she found her daughter crying so hard that she could hardly speak, the court heard.
She told her mother she had been too frightened to stop Mackay as she was worried he might be carrying a knife.
The prosecutor said a CCTV camera had filmed the defendant pulling
the girl along the road and, when this was shown on Crimewatch and
other TV programmes, he was immediately recognised by a colleague.
Police were alerted and Mackay was arrested on July 30 last year in a business park.
When interviewed by police, he told officers the girl had been smiling at him and, further along the road, he waved at her.
He admitted grabbing her by the upper arm and asking her: “What are you doing going down a quiet lane with a strange man?”
Quizzed about the kidnapping, he had replied: “Only a monster could do such a thing.”
Defending, John Cammegh said Mackay took the view that he had been acting in a fatherly way towards the girl.
He could give no explanation for his one-off behaviour, apart from
suffering from some sort of a breakdown following the death of his
21-year-old son four years ago.
Mr Cammegh said that Mackay, who admitted kidnapping with intent to
commit a sexual assault, was a man of good character who had not done
anything like it before. Source:GET Surrey
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Change in law to tackle rogue bus operators
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- TOUGH STANCE: Joan Aitken, the Scottish Traffic Commissioner.
Bus
passengers and motorists have been put at greater risk from rogue
transport operators because of a legislative “oversight” that has left
Scots vehicle inspectors with fewer powers than counterparts south of
the border.
Officers
from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (Vosa) have been unable
to stop buses and trucks for road-side tests without the presence of a
police officer, despite legislation passed in 2002 that increased their
powers in England and Wales. The
loophole has limited the action that can be taken against bus companies
that flout regulations and lorry drivers who fail to observe safety
requirements on working hours, by making it harder to gather evidence. The
Department for Transport (DfT) is now preparing an amendment to the law
after complaints from the Scottish Government and Scottish Traffic
Commissioner, Joan Aitken. Ms Aitken,
who decides on licence applications and potential breaches of
conditions, said the six Vosa inspectors based in Scotland had to rely
on police to pull vehicles over. “If
Vosa officers see a vehicle that is not roadworthy, or the driver is
nodding off, they do not have the power to stop them,” she said. “They
would have to get in touch with the police and hope they could make
officers available. An exercise can be set up to do this, but these can
be called off due to emergencies.” The
DfT has introduced new laws that allow on-the-spot fines to be issued
to lorry drivers who are found to be breaching strict regulations on
the length of time they can spend behind the wheel and the state of
their vehicles, amid concern that trucks from mainland Europe were
flouting the law but not being penalised. Ms
Aitken is widely seen to have taken a tough stance against bus
operators who ignored regulations on running to agreed timetables and
the condition of fleets, notably in the west of Scotland where she says
mechanical test results have been “pretty dire”. Transport
Minister Stewart Stevenson blamed a blunder in the drafting of
legislation aimed at closing the loophole in the UK, which meant it did
not apply to Scotland. He said: “We’re
unfortunately in a position where we can’t do quite as many inspections
as we wish because the police have to be in attendance. We have asked
Westminster to do what has already been done in England. It is a
reserved matter. “It was an oversight in UK legislation – it wasn’t something that someone set out to do. We’d certainly like to see it fixed. “That would help drive up the quality and make sure action is taken against the very small number of cowboys in the industry.” The
Scottish Government had made representations to the DfT on the subject,
Mr Stevenson said, adding: “We are not falling out with Westminster on
this subject.” A spokeswoman for the
DfT said the loophole had occurred because the Police Reform Act of
2002 did not apply to Scotland. She added: “Introducing the new powers
is a key priority. We expect that the necessary powers enabling Vosa to
stop commercial vehicles for inspection in Scotland will be in place
towards the latter part of 2010.” The
move towards reforming the law was welcomed by the Confederation of
Passenger Transport UK, which represents bus and coach operators and
has pushed for more effective regulation of the industry. A
spokesman said: “We fully support the campaign to allow Vosa officials
to stop vehicles in Scotland without the need for police support. “This
change to legislation coupled with targeted enforcement will enable
Vosa to carry out checks on commercial and passenger-carrying vehicles efficiently and effectively.” Source: The Herald
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