Last week the Freight Transport Association's Freight Transport Council called for the Government to keep up and reinforce its current enforcement efforts on our major trade routes. It was anxious that the pilot work carried out last year in the south east, which only scratched the surface, should quickly be extended to all trade routes. The poor quality of international traffic revealed by this pilot work has no place on a modern road network, and in the interests of everybody's safety it must be eliminated.
FTA Chief Executive Richard Turner explained, 'There is continuing concern throughout our membership about the growing number of foreign vehicles on our roads and the impact they are having on road safety. My members are very proud, but not complacent, about their world-beating road safety record. As well as being vital in itself it is also important from a corporate governance and public acceptance point of view. They are, therefore, intensely keen that the pilot enforcement work done in the south east should be rapidly extended to cover all our trade routes.
'I have written to the Treasury again expressing the firm expectation of my members that the commitment on enforcement will be delivered with increasing intensity this year and beyond, and that appropriate monies should be made available for the purpose.
'The fuel increases the Chancellor announced on 6 December will take an extra £170 million per annum from lorry fuel duty. A very small proportion of that, devoted to this enforcement task over the next two or three years, would bring about a transformation in compliance.'