As Vosa gets tough with international drivers in the South-East, Sally Nash finds out why the organisation is taking such a hard line. The figures are in for the first night of Vosa's latest International Vehicle and Driver Safety Check in the South-East and the news is not looking good: vehicle examiners checked 30 vehicles and handed out 11 immediate and six delayed prohibitions. Traffic examiners checked 19 vehicles and discovered that eight prohibitions were necessary. On top of the official figures there are the anecdotal tales - the Hungarian driver who did not have the right Community authorisation document and the Greek vehicle with a catalogue of serious defects and hours' offences.
The lorry check was part of Vosa's latest campaign targeting vehicles on international journeys entering the UK and follows on from the South East International pilot that took place between April last year and March this year. The total number of international journeys checked was 17,941, of which 7,907 vehicles were issued with a prohibition - in other words a terrifying 44.1% prohibition rate. At another Vosa check several weeks ago, 11 prohibitions were handed out. This does not seem a high figure until you learn that this was out of 12 vehicles inspected. However, Vosa officers are at pains to point out that effective targeting means officers are homing in on the vehicles most likely to be committing offences. Vosa says it is now trebling its enforcement effort on these checks.
To help drivers Vosa has launched a multi-lingual leafleting campaign, explaining the reason for the checks and the consequences for drivers if they are found to be non-compliant. Vosa will also be carrying out an educational campaign in the autumn, warning drivers about a worrying and increasing trend of obstructing vehicle windscreens with banners, flags, portable televisions and laptops. At the same time drivers are being advised to check whether the ISO 7638 braking system connection between the tractor and trailer is connected. This is a fairly common defect that can affect the trailer's braking system on certain types - it has been a factor in fatal collisions.
To learn more about targeting CM went out with a Vosa stopper vehicle, which is responsible for identifying the lorries for checking. A white, unliveried truck was earmarked for checking because the stopper said it was "scruffy and old" and hence more likely to have mechanical defects. His targeting turned out to be accurate as a vehicle examiner discovered a defective brake problem which, in an emergency situation, could have led to a jack-knife. Not only that, but a traffic examiner spotted some clues on the driver's analogue tachographs that suggested the vehicle had been driven without a chart.
Data derived from checks like these is logged and recorded - for example on the hand-held mobile compliance devices (MCD). Then, if the vehicle is stopped again, examiners can find out if prohibitions have previously been issued. In this way Vosa is gradually building up a database of information on foreign vehicles, which will further improve targeting. In the future it is hoped that examiners will be able to tap into a Europe-wide database using the MCD. At the moment there is a great deal of criticism about the number of vehicles being checked - Vosa's current target is 50,000 and it says it is "on target and trying to increase the target".
Campaigner Jackie Warby, for example, whose husband was killed in a crash involving a Dutch driver, wants every truck coming into the UK checked. She is also calling for trucks to be barred from entering the country if they are flouting vehicle and drivers' hours rules. One enforcement tool against law breaking will be the introduction of the Graduated Fixed Penalties and Deposit Scheme, currently going through its second reading in Parliament. This will allow Vosa examiners to offer fixed penalties, take deposits and immobilise prohibited vehicles when necessary. However, Vosa's director for intelligence, Janice James, has expressed some reservations about the proposed level of fines - £30-£200. She does not believe they are high enough to alter the behaviour of foreign operators.
But Vosa's chief executive Stephen Tetlow says: "It gives us another weapon in our armoury and at least puts us on a level footing with other countries." Tetlow says that efficiencies achieved last year have enabled Vosa to invest in technology and staff. For example, 90 new enforcement officers are being recruited over 2007/2008 and will work mainly in the areas where there is the "greatest offending" such as the South-East. On the technology front, Vosa has successfully completed a trial to target overloading. This combined Weigh in Motion Sensors (WIMS) with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. Recent targeted checks produced an effectiveness of 80-90% in the detection and prohibition of overloaded vehicles, says Tetlow. As a result, Vosa is rolling out a network of additional ANPR/WIMS sites at strategic locations across the UK at an investment figure of around £5m.
"This has lifted our targeted enforcement rate by several magnitudes," says Tetlow. He is keen to improve the flexibility of annual test for operators in terms of where and when the test is carried out. Tetlow also wants to see improvements in the consistency of the level of service in stations across the country. Test booking times are also improving, says Tetlow. Whereas three years ago the average time from request to test was 19 days, 70% of HGV customer requests are being met within one working day.
Some 19,300 tests of the 80,300 tests completed in April were requested at one day's notice - Vosa satisfied only 44% of these requests. "We have specific challenges in the South-East in terms of recruitment but we are making inroads," admits Tetlow. Other initiatives include online services such as obtaining maintenance reports - which is being trialled - and an electronic system to book tests online. Vosa has experienced some teething problems with this e-test booking system but hopes to conduct a pilot phase in December and roll out the scheme in March 2008.
