The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) supports the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Transport Safety.  Its vision is “A transport system free from death and life-changing injury, in which all users feel safe.”.

The aim of PACTS is to advise and inform members of the House of Commons and of the House of Lords on air, rail and road safety issues.  It brings together safety professionals and legislators to identify research-based solutions to transport safety problems having regard to cost, effectiveness, achievability and acceptability.

HTA Chairman, Marcus Gough said "The HTA is the only dedicated UK Trade Association for the heavy/abnormal load industry.  It is worth noting that every single UK infrastructure project will require the specialist skills of our members.  HTA members are consequently a highly specialist group of operators with very different needs over other sectors of the transportation industry.

I welcome PACTS decision to accept the Heavy Transport Association (HTA) as members and we look forward to working with PACTS to influence strategic decision making that affects our sector and benefits our members and UK Plc”.

The HTA have received the following communication from CMPG (Central Motorway Police Group)

"Thank you for circulating to your members and contacts, we have received a number of enquires since which have all been positive in their nature and have shown a willingness to support us with our request for which we are very grateful.

I thought I’d share with you a copy of an eMail I have been sending in reply to those enquiries which you may find useful to share too, particularly as avoidance of those areas would likely be of benefit to drivers and companies in terms of congestion and journey times.

Best wishes

Dean"

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"Firstly, thank you for taking the time to read the letter from Superintendent Mason and thinking about alternative routes during the Commonwealth Games, it’s very much appreciated.

I have pasted in a link below which is an interactive map of the routes that will be used during the games and these are the roads that we are asking abnormal load hauliers to avoid during the period. You may also actually find it beneficial yourselves to avoid these routes as we expect them to be even more congested than they are normally and this may have a negative impact on your journey times.

Rather than me advise alternative routes for your company, I’m hoping that by providing you with this specific information, it will assist you with your alternative planning.

Interactive Google Map

If you need anything further, please come back to me.

Best wishes

Dean
T/Inspector 3182 Dean Caswell
Motorway Operations Inspector
Central Motorway Police Group | West Midlands Police

CMPG (Central Motorway Police Group) have requested abnormal load hauliers, escort companies and associates, not to move abnormal loads around the West Midlands road network during the period of the Commonwealth Games (which runs from Monday 25th July to Wednesday 10th August) in order to keep the infrastructure moving freely at all times and remove any risks of long and damaging delays should a breakdown or shed load occur or the disruption caused when moving a wide and/or slow abnormal load.

CMPG do not intend, at this time, to formally apply for additional restrictions on the movement of abnormal loads throughout the West Midlands area.

The RHA and HTA advice to members is that where possible to avoid abnormal load movements within the West Midlands area during the Commonwealth Games.  Where this is unavoidable it is important to ensure all movements are notified accurately and that all regulatory requirements are met to avoid any enforcement action.

Additionally; National Highways have notified that during the Commonwealth Games the Abloads bay on the M5 at Junction-2 will be occupied by the Games Duty manager to house 2 recovery vehicles, and therefore will not be available to operators to use for the lay-up of ab-loads during the period 19th July until the 10th of August.

Following engagement with CMPG (Central Motorway Police Group), the HTA have been advised of the following top offences when Abloads are stopped at the roadside on their patch:-

Movement orders

• No movement order in place
• Incorrect information on movement order (vehicle registration, operator’s licence missing, route, load being carried, weights of load).
• Not waiting 2 or 5 clear days after submitting movement order (eg submit on Thursday – then Friday is day 1, Saturday Sunday do not count, Monday is day 2, move on Tuesday)

Route

• Drivers not adhering to the route on the movement order or haven’t even seen the movement order.
• Driver unaware of prescribed route as no access to movement order, (we only require a digital version to be viewed roadside, as an email ).

Marker Boards

• No marker boards or dirty
• Incorrect distance from load
• Incorrect dimensions; shape

Load Security

• Poor condition straps or chains, not correctly stored on the trailer or within the cab.
• Weight of load not distributed correctly
• Incorrect trailer type for load, STGO or C&U

STGO Board

• No STGO board displayed
• Incorrect size STGO board; incorrect size of characters

Attendant

• No attendant when size of load requires one by Law

Of course, falling foul of these identified issues could render you liable for prosecution under C&U Regulations, and or parked up for a prescribed period.  We would always recommend adhering to all STGO schedules for the safe and suitable movements of Abloads.  Make the short notice phone calls and more importantly gain the permission to move from the authorities concerned.

The association is here to support its members with any areas on compliance in STGO or wide C&U moves that you may require.

• £20 million to improve roadside facilities for HGV drivers
• Adds to package of Government measures to tackle effects of the global driver shortage in UK
• Aims to improve working conditions and retain HGV drivers, backed by overall £52.5 million investment in driver facilities

HGV drivers will benefit from £20 million to improve roadside facilities, as part of continued Government action with industry to boost driver welfare and tackle the effects of the global driver shortage in the UK.   

The funding is part of National Highways’ existing £169m Users and Communities Fund, and will go specifically towards improving security, showers and eating facilities as well as exploring increasing parking spaces for lorry drivers. Roadside service operators are being encouraged to apply for the multi-million-pound fund immediately.  

It means the Government has now taken 33 actions to support the sector and address a shortage of HGV drivers affecting countries around the world.

The funding takes the total Government investment in driver facilities to £52.5 million since last year. £32.5 million was previously committed in the Chancellor’s budget to provide better facilities right across the country for HGV drivers, to drive up standards and further safeguard driver comfort and safety.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said: 

“HGV drivers play a key role in keeping our nation running and contributing to the economy, and it is vital they feel safe and comfortable wherever they stop.  That’s why we’re allocating a further £20 million to ramp up security and improve amenities for drivers – building on the raft of measures we’ve already taken to support the industry.  We’ll continue to work closely with the sector to boost professional driver numbers even further.” 

Nick Harris, National Highways Chief Executive, said:-

“We want all road users to reach their destination safely and encourage everyone, from those who drive as a profession through to people traveling on holiday or for leisure purposes, to plan ahead before setting off and to take regular breaks.  We are dedicated to improving the experience of everyone using our roads and remain committed to working closely with operators of roadside facilities to help improve the standard of parking and other amenities they provide on motorways and major A-roads. We are hopeful that the £20 million being announced today will go some way towards achieving this goal.”

The HTA are currently pushing for this funding to also pay for protected abnormal loads signage.

The HTA does not agree with the government’s decision to relax drivers’ hours rules in direct response to the dire vocational driver shortage situation the industry is currently experiencing. It solely puts more pressure on drivers who are already working incredibly hard, long hours and is open to abuse by unscrupulous operators.

Our Chairman Marcus Gough says, “its thoroughly disappointing to learn of this action by government, which neither addresses the shortage or takes in consideration for the safety of the driver and the public, especially given the short period of the relaxation, I urge government officials to engage with the association to find workable initiatives that will assist our members to work through the current challenges”.

The HTA have received the following communication from DVSA:-

Transport Office Portal (TOP) update: repair affecting OCRS customer reports.

OCRS customer reports are currently unavailable due to a technical issue with the Transport Office Portal.

We are committed to keeping you informed.  Unfortunately, the repairs will take longer than expected due to technical requirements and the reports may not be available until the end of June.

The delay will also allow us to improve the system so that any future developments are quicker to put in place.

You can still access the following TOP services:

• vehicle test history
• encounter report
• top up your Pre-Funded Account (PFA)
• book an annual test at a Goods Vehicle Test Station (GVTS)

Our enforcement work continues as our teams are able to use additional targeting information, such as encounter history.

We are sorry for any inconvenience and will continue to keep you informed.

HTA Secretary and MD of Dynes Solicitors Ltd, John Dyne provides an update on the situation concerning roaming permits for UK abnormal load operators operating in France:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3HPA3TocFM&feature=youtu.be
(text transcript below)

The situation as we now understand it is this.  Since 1st January 2021 abnormal load operators in France have been unable to take advantage of the roaming permit system.  This is a system that they had hitherto been using and had paid for; many of them having permits for up to 3 years and now suddenly finding that those permits are no longer valid.  We say this is discriminatory.

We understand that the DfT has asked to reconsider that position.  We understand that there is some room for optimism according to the DfT we should know later on this week.  The HTA has announced that it will be asking all its members to lobby their local MPs to bring pressure to bear on the UK Government.  It is imperative that this situation sorted out as soon as possible.  It has also emerged that Article 3 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom makes it quite clear that for abnormal load operations; permits that need to be issued should be issued without discrimination.  Clearly what's been going on is discrimination and it has repercussions for UK abnormal load operators.  Given the contents of Article 3 which seem clear on their face value.  There is some hope for optimism this matter will be resolved.  Obviously as soon as we hear more we will let you know.

When the Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union (EU) was finally agreed and passed into law on the 30th December 2020, it seems there were a number of major oversights which are seriously impacting UK abnormal load operators that are operating in France.

As of the 1st January 2021, the French Roaming Permit System was made unavailable for UK operators due to Brexit, but still remains available to EU and Swiss operators, despite Switzerland not being a part of the EU.

In the video below, John Dyne, the Managing Director of Dyne Solicitors Ltd. and Secretariat to the Heavy Transport Association, explains the possible alternative approach that these operators may have to take, and how this approach could cause serious delays for their customers and even result in a loss of custom.

UK Abnormal Load Operators no longer have access to the French Roaming Permit System

Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) periodic training is to be monitored by DVSA to ensure drivers are not unnecessarily repeating training as part of the 35-hour requirement.

This follows a review of Driver CPC training and recommendations made by the European Commission which the Government has adopted.

What this means for drivers

DVSA will monitor drivers records to identify periodic training that doesn’t support their professional driver development because of unnecessary repetition.

If DVSA identify unnecessary repetition we may take action which could include revoking a driver's Driver Qualification Card (DQC).

What drivers need to do

To make sure drivers continue to develop professionally and keep Great Britain’s roads safe they should take training which benefits them and their job.  This will ensure they increase their knowledge of what it takes to continue to drive safely instead of repeating the same training session.

DVSA will only allow repetition of training when it supports a driver’s development.  For example, if more than one day’s training is required to maintain a qualification such as driving dangerous goods.

Working with training bodies

DVSA will be working with training bodies to ensure they are not delivering a specific training session to the same driver more than once unless it is necessary for their professional development.