Edward Leigh MP, Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts has welcomed news that the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA has in recent years increased by over a quarter the number of dangerous vehicles and drivers it annually removes from the roads.
“But more can be done to modernize the Agency’s working practices and technology, to enable it to tackle more effectively the vehicles, drivers and operators who pose the greatest risk to road safety,” he said
“We are concerned, in particular, that the Department for Transport and the Agency have not done enough to address the risks posed by foreign HGVs. These constitute only 3 per cent of lorries on our roads but cause 10 per cent of the accidents involving lorries. The worst of these accidents are down to the poor mechanical condition of the foreign lorry or driver fatigue brought on by driving for too long without a break.”
“The Department and Agency have not done enough to give the Agency access to critical data held by HMRC on vehicles carried onboard vessels which would aid the identification of known high risk lorries and drivers as they enter Britain. It is also quite unacceptable that there are British port authorities which bar Agency inspectors from coming in to inspect high risk vehicles. And there is no mechanism currently in place requiring EU Member States to share information about their own dodgy operators whose lorries may be travelling outside their country of origin.”
“We look forward to the Department’s forthcoming new HGV compliance strategy which it should share with the National Audit Office as early as possible.”
Mr Leigh was speaking as the Committee published its 18th Report of this Session which examined the extent to which the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (the Agency) is effective in targeting high risk vehicles and whether its approach to enforcement is appropriate for today’s world.
