Logistics UK calls for roads policing to be consistent nationwide

Logistics UK is calling for roads policing to be governed and administered at a nationwide level, to ensure consistency across the road network.

The group, formerly known as the FTA, made the call in response to the joint Home Office-Department for Transport’s Review of Roads Policing.

James Firth, head of Road Freight Regulation Policy at Logistics UK, said: “Logistics UK is calling for the government to establish common, unified road safety objectives which all enforcement bodies are committed to achieving and that are governed and administered at a national level.

“Road transport is a national industry which does not recognise regional boundaries; the expectation of road users is that roads policing will be exercised in a uniform way across the country, including devolved administrations.

Logistics UK is also calling for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to take the lead on the enforcement of commercial vehicle road safety with respect to driver fatigue and vehicle maintenance to ensure enforcement bodies are not operating in silos, duplicating efforts, or using their resources otherwise inefficiently.

Firth said: “This approach would help to focus enforcement resources on where it is needed most: on the seriously and serially non-compliant. Expensive roadside resources should be focussed on those who pose the greatest risk to road safety, and operators and businesses identified as compliant and posing a low risk by DVSA should not be operationally and economically inconvenienced by invasive interventions, such as roadside stops.”

In its response to the Roads Policing Review, Logistics UK is also calling for support for businesses in managing drink and drug risks and police forces being given performance indicators for re-opening of roads when closed after incidents.