Aims of the HFA Part 2

Persuade the government to charge foreign vehicles for use of UK roads and limit the amount of cheap fuel being brought into the country.

The enormous difference in tax between the UK and the rest of the EU make it a necessity to charge foreigners for using British roads. The extremely high road tax levied by the chancellor on 40 tonne 5 axle artics make it a costly option for UK hauliers but a cheap one for foreign competitors, they therefore do considerably more damage to our roads because of the higher axle weights and pay absolutely nothing towards their upkeep. The French charge road tolls, why not the Brits? It is also true that French hauliers fuel is rebated because of the cheaper cost of other countries fuel. We have all seen the other nations hauliers with their massive 1500 litre fuel tanks coming into this country, using our roads for free not buying a litre of diesel and working all week before returning home after depriving a British haulier of a weeks work.

Stop European operators from employing non EU drivers to make deliveries within Europe.

Large hauliers around Europe are often accused of using illegal non EU labour to drive their vehicles, many state that they only use these drivers when their vehicles leave EU boundaries and are therefore operating legally, we feel that because of the lack of policing and also the political will that the authorities don't seem to care that this is going on, the operators know this and abuse the system. How many times have you witnessed a foreign vehicle with two man operation driving around your neighbourhood for a British haulier this would not be possible on wages costs alone.

Address the problems within the operators licensing system and V.I.

The HFA feels that it is far too easy for anyone to set up a haulage business, all they need to do is to pass a relatively simple examination, have a small amount of money, and meet a few other minor requirements. We know everyone has a right to earn a living and these people are, in the main, honest, upright citizens but because of lack of knowledge and experience can do a great deal of harm to others and themselves. An operators licence should be regarded as a very precious thing, open only to certain people who maintain a high level of expertise and professionalism in the industry, people who abuse the system should be dealt with accordingly. We also feel that there is a market shift towards the major operators in this country, before long there are only going to be a few "big boys" to whom we will all have to be contracted to or go under. We would like to see the limitation of vehicles on company licences which could not be exceeded--the only way they could expand these limits would be by purchasing another companies licence thereby making it a sought after asset. The V.I. Has suffered from under funding for many years, money has to be made available to strengthen the organization enabling it to carry out its remit effectively. The cowboys have to be eradicated in order to enable the honest operator to survive.