News

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is urging hauliers who downsize to 3.5 tonnes to run their van fleets responsibly, or attract unwanted attention from the authorities. RHA technical services manager Steve Biddle explains that a growing number of truck operators are buying 3.5-tonne vans in order to avoid the plethora of legislation that affects heavier vehicles. There are now 2.5 million vans on the road, and 35% of the miles they cover are on freight-carrying journeys.

Because these  vans fall outside of O-licence requirements, they can be driven by anyone with a car driving licence, are not affected by speed limiters, not required to use tachographs and need only to be inspected by the Department for Transport annually. Biddle fears that some operators are taking advantage of this, and could fall foul of the law. One of his concerns is that some drivers are being forced to work exceptionally long hours, which has obvious safety concerns. He says this will become an even bigger issue after April, with the introduction of the new corporate manslaughter legislation.

Maintenance is another area of concern for the RHA. Biddle says that while professional hauliers integrate vans into their truck fleets, and maintain them just as rigorously, less responsible ones use the van manufacturers' ever-extending service intervals. And because the driver walk-around is not mandatory on vans, it often does not take place. There are also worries over the quality of some  van drivers. While most reputable firms have high recruitment standards, and provide safe and fuel-efficient training, others do not.

Transport for London is known to be concerned about the growing number of vans on the roads. This fear was compounded after a recent roadside check, in which 70% of vans inspected were found to have problems, with overloading the most common. "If an operator is found to be running overloaded, it won't be long until VOSA checks other vehicles in the fleet to see if it adopts the same slapdash principles to its truck fleet," says Biddle. The RHA is convinced that vans are going to attract growing attention from the government and law enforcers in the future, and warns operators to apply high standards to running their van fleets. "Hauliers need to take better care in order to avoid the introduction of legislation and to protect their O-licences," Biddle says.