03-02-06 Success for VOSA in targeting illegally parked HGVS in Croydon, Merton and Sutton
Operation Area Clean, which took place in the Croydon, Merton and Sutton areas between April and December 2005, has been hailed a success after two operators were convicted, and several more advisory letters were issued. The initiative was an intelligent lead investigation on Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) operators, which aimed to tackle the problem of HGVs parking away from their authorised operating centres for long periods of time.
The operation was led by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency’s (VOSA) local traffic examiner for the area, Martin Dowling. He said: “VOSA is disappointed that we’ve had to take this action as operators give a declaration that they will park their vehicles at the operating centre to the traffic commissioner when their license is granted. We tried to take an educational approach, but unfortunately we have had to prosecute in some cases.”
Operators were notified of the offences and asked to reply, stating the action they proposed to take to rectify the discrepancies that were found. This ultimately resulted in seven advisory letters being issued to operators, and two prosecutions were made at Wimbledon Crown Court.
The larger of the two was that of Killoughery Construction Limited, who were fined £2,600 for 13 offences of parking away from their authorised operating centre. Also, Paul John Clarke was fined £250 for two offences of using an unauthorised operating centre.
Martin Dowling added: “Overall we’re pleased with the outcome of the operation and this has been reflected by the positive feedback that we have been receiving from local councils.”
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NOTES TO EDITOR:
VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) is responsible for:
• Processing applications for licences to operate lorries and buses and registering bus services
• Operating and administering testing schemes for all vehicles, including the supervision of the MOT testing scheme
• Enforcing the law on vehicles to ensure that they comply with legal standards and regulations
• Enforcing drivers' hours and licensing requirements
• Supporting Traffic Commissioners to help them make informed decisions on operator licensing, vocational drivers and bus registration requirements
• Providing training and advice for commercial operators
• Investigating vehicle accidents, defects and recalls.
For media enquiries about VOSA, please contact: Zita Galambosi on 0117 954 2561 / Zita.Galambosi@vosa.gov.uk , or Henry Norman on 0117 954 3438 / henry.norman@vosa.gov.uk
Page last updated: 03/10/2006