London Freight Enforcement Partnership launched
New enforcement partnership ‘the right way to go’, says Freight Transport Association
THE launch of a new London Freight Enforcement Partnership is ‘the right way to go and will enable a more intelligent approach to enforcement in the capital’, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA).
Launched earlier this week by London’s Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown, the Partnership is aimed at tackling unsafe HGVs and taking any non-compliant and unsafe commercial vehicles, drivers and operators off London’s streets.
Speaking at the launch event, Christopher Snelling, the FTA’s head of national and regional policy, said: ‘The vast majority of road haulage operators take safety very seriously. The number of HGVs involved in fatal incidents has almost halved in the last 10 years. This is partly due to the investment by the logistics industry in improved vehicles, drivers and operating practices.’
The FTA believes that the Partnership is a correct priority given the number of HGVs and cyclist incidents in London, and the involvement of seriously non-compliant vehicles in them.
Mr Snelling added: ‘Increased enforcement using the intelligent, targeted approach taken in London is the right way to go as it allows us to prevent the small minority of operators who do not seek to follow the rules from using the roads.
‘To have maximum effect this work needs to be part of a wide-ranging safety programme which encourages safe and legal behaviour by all road users.’
The London Freight Enforcement Partnership will include more than 90 police and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) officers, and a team of analysts, sharing intelligence and carrying out joint enforcement operations.
The Partnership between Transport for London, the DVSA, the Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police, is said to enhance the agencies’ enforcement work through better co-ordination of intelligence at both a strategic and tactical level.
