Should foreign operators be named and shamed if they abuse laws in the UK or should there be tougher penalties in place? The RHA and the FTA have their say. Last week's Killer Lorries: Tonight programme gave us very little new information about foreign trucks running in the UK. However, the reaction from the industry's two trade associations was rather different and, therefore, worth a closer look.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) called for a list of foreign offenders, so companies can know if the foreign operator they employ is on the right side of the law. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) wants European Union countries to have the power to ban foreign operators if they are serious offenders. Both approaches merit a closer study. After all, why should foreign operators be named and shamed in the UK and not British hauliers? And is banning operators from abroad really 
a viable option?
First, let's take a look at the FTA's stance. Geoff Dossetter, director of external affairs at the FTA, says the association sticks by its statement. He says that in light of the fact that the government said in the Budget that it will not introduce a vignette to charge foreign lorries to use UK roads and the delay in the implementation of roadside fines, something needs to be done in the interim. "As far as UK operators are concerned, the process of O-licensing and the engagement UK companies have with the Traffic Commissioners means that enforcement is taken care of.
"But we do not have that process for foreign operators running in the UK." Dossetter is aware that buyers always want the cheapest deal, adding: "Some buyers are prepared to put up with a shoddy product to get the cheapest deal." But, he says, there is a balance between paying the right rate and keeping a supplier in business and cutting the rate and forcing the supplier to cut corners. "If a list of foreign 
operators who consistently abuse the laws in the UK would help businesses ensure they are not getting a deal, that is too good to be true." Now to the RHA's approach. Chief executive Roger King says: "I am dismayed and angry that our colleagues in Europe do not pay any attention to the professional standards of the industry." He says: "How is it possible for someone to get right across Europe from Poland on bald tyres while flouting the drivers' hours legislation? I just do not understand.
"There seems to be no desire among other EU countries to engage in the kind of roadside checks that we have here in the UK. And it's totally unacceptable." King plans to take up the issue with the International Road Transport Union (IRU), where he is vice-president of the Goods Transport Council. "[The IRU] has to revisit this whole area of professionalism within the industry and accelerate that within the eastern European countries." In Western Europe it is illegal to pay a driver per mile or per hour of driving, because it encourages abuse of the drivers' hours rules. However, many eastern European drivers are still paid this way - as was highlighted in the ITV programme. This, King says, has to change.
King plans to take copies of the Killer Lorries programme to his international colleagues to try to encourage them to bring in changes. "Trade associations in other EU countries should be asking their governments to ensure that safety measures are complied with. Those that flout the law are not helping the industry as a whole, they are making it less competitive." King adds the RHA will do what it can to make sure non-compliant foreign hauliers are unable to operate in the UK, and that includes pushing for the graduated and fixed penalty legislation to be brought in earlier than April 2009, when it is currently scheduled for implementation. Both the RHA and the FTA have valid arguments. Whether either will get their way remains unlikely, but we can live in hope.