05-06-09 VOSA hosts foreign exchange visitors to share best practice
Traffic Examiners from France, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg have arrived in North Wales as part of a week long exchange event to improve road safety and share best practice.
VOSA has been a part of the Euro Exchange Programme since the first ever exchange between Britain and France seventeen years. Since then, more countries have signed up with 20 countries now taking part.
The UK programme will feature classroom based presentations and workshops, a visit to an operator premises, the Wrexham Goods Vehicle Test Station, Ewloe roadcheck site and for the first time the students will take part in a night check at Holyhead.
VOSA’s traffic examiners will make a return trip to Metz in France between the 21st and 26th June and then again to Luxembourg at the end of October.
Alex Fiddes, Chief Operating Officer said: “VOSA pioneered this event many years ago with our French colleagues and the fact that the event has now reached out across Europe is great as all the topics covered have an impact on road safety.
“Everyone benefits from this type of exchange, the foreign visitors and the hosting examiners. Our Traffic Examiners always feel better prepared, more knowledgeable and more confident carrying out their enforcement activities when they have participated in an exchange. This year will be particularly important as we now have the powers to issue graduated fixed penalties to foreign drivers and any insight into foreign culture will help with communication and education.”
VOSA has recently taken part in a number of Euro Controle Route events; a shadowing exercise with Poland (which took place in April) and before that a bilateral exchange with Ireland. Both parties visited Bristol and Gloucester where they learnt about VOSA’s roadside equipment, saw vehicle roadworthiness testing at Avonmouth goods vehicle testing station and observed vehicle maintenance investigations at an Operator’s premises.
For media inquiries about VOSA, please contact: Zita Easton on 0117 954 2561 or Rachel Hicks on 0117 954 3208 or email press@vosa.gov.uk.
Page last updated: 08/06/2009