Freight Emergency

Last June the law surrounding Cabotage changed and Uk companies were allowed to use drivers returning to European companies to deliver their goods. A lot of industry people thought that was a good thing, myself included until I started examining the laws regarding corporate manslaughter act.

Looking at in in more detail and reading and referring to an article on the Road Transport website, has left me in doubt that it’s not a good thing.

Do you really save money? What happens in the event of an accident? Who is liable if a foreign driver subcontracting for you has breached the law?

Subbing out work under cabotage rules can save on your costs, but who pays up if the foreign vehicle is not roadworthy or an accident occurs? Operators using cabotage rules to offload work on to foreign hauliers and save money are being warned they are setting themselves up for “astronomical” liability costs, unless they do their homework first. The rise in online freight exchanges for companies wanting to reduce empty running and subcontract work to minimise costs, coupled with escalating fuel prices, means using continental hauliers is seen as making good business sense.

But transport lawyers say it is so difficult to bring foreign-based haulage companies before a UK court if they are involved in an accident while working on your behalf and it is very likely your customer will pursue you instead. And alarmingly, due to a legislative loophole, foreign companies remain outside of the scope of the Corporate Manslaughter Act. This means that if they are involved in a death on UK roads, you could find yourself facing manslaughter charges. Hauliers carrying out cabotage journeys in this country operate under the conditions of carriage used by the UK operator, which often are the Road Haulage Association’s own guidelines. This limits liability of the haulier to any claim made against it and prevents it having to pay out excessive amounts of money to the customer in the event of an accident.

Obviously due diligence needs to be proved, and before subbing out work to a returning driving you should vet the company in question.  The Haulier who agrees the job with the customer is liable and not a haulier in another country who is a third party sub contractor.

It may be cheap in the short term, but the long term costs of not completing your vetting etc will put you out of business. You cannot claim limited liability if you do not have a system for checking those liabilities.

What can you do to limit you liabilities?

• Vet your subcontractors

• Check their references

• What’s their reputation in the industry like?

• Do they have a high turnover of drivers? -  a sure sign that the staff are not happy and the remainder of the team are making up the shortfall.

• Keep accurate records that you have done this.

It may take a bit of time, but it could save your business one day.

Sarah

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I was looking up some info on You Tube earlier today and I came across this video.

The commentary isn’t in English and it only lasts a few seconds, but it shows what could happen if you transport live fish.

Couriers are generally not allowed to transport livestock, although it is possible to transport live fish such as Koi, if they are contained correctly.

That must have been dreadful to clean up and the fish probably couldn’t be saved - they were being covered with some sort of sand towards the end of the clip.

The correct packaging can prevent a lot of damage if your vehicle goes over, so can the correct training of your driver. Saving money on packing is a false economy, if your vehicle goes over and your goods are damaged your customer is let down and your supply chain is broken.

Don’t let that happen!

Sarah

Freight Emergency doesn’t just work for Lorry spills that need trans-shipping. It is also a service that can be utilised by couriers and freight forwarders, in fact any business that is moving goods across the UK may find it beneficial to have our number.

0844 884 3331

You never know when you may get in trouble and we are here to help. If you are involved in an acident and cannot move your freight to it’s destination then give us a call. If the acident is not your fault it may even be possible to recover what we cost via the other persons insurance - speak to you insurers to find out if you can do this.

Sarah

For when your delivery must take place

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Driving a lorry is tough work compared to some jobs and many drivers are professional and work well within the boundaries of the UK law.

With the change of the Cabotage rules back in June, we are now seeing more and more foreign trucks on our roads, and potentially endangering lives.

LORRY drivers are endangering the public as a result of tiredness and faulty vehicles, police chief Richard Brunstrom warned yesterday.

The Chief Constable of North Wales listed disturbing examples of drivers who had been at the wheel for 19 days as he addressed a cross-party group of AMs on the problem.

However, while calling for a national debate on the threat, he said a clampdown on the problem would harm the Welsh economy.

Mr Brunstrom, who said that “people are literally dying” because of poor driving and maintenance standards, believes there is a particular problem with foreign-owned vehicles, particularly from new EU member states.

He said: “Something like 1% of lorries on our roads here in the UK are registered in other European countries but 8% of the fatalities involving commercial vehicles are caused by foreign-registered vehicles.”

Mr Brunstrom told the AMs there was “evidence to support the contention that foreign lorries are not as well managed [and] regulated as UK ones”.

He continued: “We have targeting regimes to identify rogue hauliers and rogue operators and rogue drivers on a European-wide basis now, but I would have to say there is nothing like enough reporting taking place here and elsewhere.”

The scale of the threat was demonstrated last month when the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) staged its biggest ever clampdown on unsafe lorries.

Officers inspected 3,628 “dangerous” vehicles – of which 2,273 were foreign-registered – and 1,889 were taken off the road.

Of the 1,355 UK-registered vehicles stopped by VOSA, 683 were breaking the law.

A driver stopped and arrested near Holyhead was carrying a false licence and two digital driver cards which he could use to falsify the hours he had worked. Another driver was found to have worked for 19 consecutive days without the required rest period. He was ordered to immediately take a 45-hour rest period.

The Chief Constable said: “There is an industry to defeat and undermine the European legislation.” The situation was “absolutely frightening”, he said.

However, he added that if Wales acts to stop dangerous lorry drivers the nation could pay an economic penalty.

He said: “If we start enforcing the law rigorously on the A55, we run a risk of severe economic damage to the port of Holyhead because the traffic will simply transfer to Liverpool if there was a lighter touch there.”

Describing new powers which will come into force next year, he said: “The police for the first time in the UK will be able to take effectively a fine – technically it’s a deposit in lieu of a fine – there and then. So all of a sudden foreign-registered vehicles are going to be subject to effective UK law.

“Previously, of course, you could just drive off and get back to your country and escape the jurisdiction.”

He added: “We do need to work in partnership with VOSA and we are getting next to nothing in terms of leadership, direction and support from Government – in London in particular – to address a bigger proportion of resources to this.”

Mike Farmer, a director of the Road Haulage Association, said: “We have no problem with proper, targeted enforcement. As in all industries, there is a very small proportion of cowboy operators.

“We want rid of them, along with everybody else. Let’s have standard, properly targeted enforcement.”

The full article can be found here

If their is sufficient evidence that foreign lorries are not as safe as ours on the road, then these need to be checked at the port, and the drivers made to tran-ship their loads if they have been driving too long or if their vehicles are unsafe.

The amount of vehicles that have been impounded after checks is significant, and it’s best in my opinion to keep these off the road from the start before another tragic accident happens

Kevin

Load Rescue and Freight Recovery

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Yes, that’s right. Some things we really cannot recover, with all the will and resources in the world, we cannot help Jules Verne!

Europe’s “Jules Verne” space freighter has destroyed itself in a controlled burn-up over the southern Pacific.

The 13.5-tonne cargo ship had completed a six-month mission to the space station and was packed with the orbiting platform’s rubbish.

Two engine firings were required to slow the freighter sufficiently to pull it into the atmosphere.

The European and US space agencies had chase planes in the air to try to capture the fireball on video.

Astronauts on the space station reported seeing the light from the falling freighter.

On a serious note, Freight Recovery and Load Rescue services only apply in the Mainland UK. We can make introductions for services in Ireland, but are not responsible for anything that may happen when using our recommendations.

Give us a call on 0844 884 3331

Kevin

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Freight recovery and load rescue plays a vital part in the supply chain when delivering goods. Think of it being like the AA for your goods…

How does it work?

• Your vehicle is involved in accident
• The driver cannot take the vehicle to it’s destination
• Place a call to us
• Within 60 minutes, you will have professional freight recovery specialists trans-shipping your items and couriering them on to their end destination
• If the accident isn’t your drivers fault, then this is a recoverable cost from the other parties insurers

With Road Traffic Accidents up year on year, this kind of service is vital to keeping your goods on the road and helping you meet your deadlines.

In 2006 39 LGV drivers were killed and 429 were seriously injured.  Also 13 passengers in those vehicles were killed and 135 were seriously injured.  Source : Your Road Risk

What does it cost?

You will be charged a loading and unloading, plus mileage fee for the delivery plus the call out charge of £50+VAT. If you are a member of Rubs, then as a membership benefit, the call out fee is waived.

If the accident is not your or your drivers fault, then all costs may be recovered from your insurers.

How do we book?

Just give us a call 24/7 on 07816 528421 or during office hours on 0844 884 3331

Your supply chain is that bit safer and as a RUBS member you get a free call out saving you £50+VAT, and it costs nothing to join!

Kevin

Freight Recovery for when your cargo, freight and goods must get there today.

I have been thinking about what a nutter Jeremy Clarkson is:

After crashing into a brick wall Jeremy Clarkson ‘At the moment, teenagers see Bruce Willis driving his car into a helicopter and imagine that you can get out afterwards and still be well enough to punch a baddie in the face. ‘This isn’t accurate. I emerged from my high speed head-on impact in what can only be described as screaming agony. ‘I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t think. ‘Everyone should experience this before they are given a licence.’Birmingham Same Day Couriers, Nov 2008

Should every lorry driver experience a crash? To see how it really feels and would it make them safer on the roads?

What do you think?

Kevin

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A lorry driver who was unanimously convicted of causing death by dangerous driving at an eight-day trial last month, has been given a two-and-a-half year prison sentence. Michael Coombes, 62, from Stowmarket in Suffolk, was driving a 22-tonne HGV eastbound along the A14 dual carriageway, at Bottisham, in May 2007. At the trial, the jury heard that Coombes failed to notice the stationary traffic ahead, which was queuing as a result of a broken-down lorry blocking the nearside lane.

Coombes was unable to explain why he failed to react in the 30 seconds before swerving at the last moment and smashing into the caravan at the back of the queue at an impact speed of 55mph. A eight-year-old boy was killed as a result of the accident. At the sentencing hearing, Christopher Paxton, defence barrister, said in mitigation : “Mr. Coombes had an impeccable driving record for 40 years, having driven many millions of miles conviction and accident free.”

Source Road Transport.com

Our thoughts are with both families, a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened. Transport companies need to take extra care with their drivers - this one had an impeccable driving record over 40 years. I hope they are supporting the driver through this, as well as the family involved if they can, or perhaps better expressed as if they are allowed.

Kevin

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Rubs Transport professional & solicitor Chris Lodge has shared this article with us. Although aimed primarily at motorists, it could apply to couriers and van drivers as well.

Driving Whilst uninsured.

In my business, we are often dealing with uninsured drivers and I am not talking about a claim against an uninsured person but where my client turns out to be uninsured and didn’t realise it.

First, if you are uninsured and the accident is not your fault, you can still bring the claim against the driver at fault (but if he too is uninsured you can’t claim against the Motor Insurers Bureau).

However, if you are to blame or partially to blame, your actual insurers will have to pay the claims of others including injury but will then try to recoup all their costs including your opponent’s legal fees from you!.

Don’t forget, even if your vehicle is owned by your employer, it’s up to you to make sure you are insured to drive it!

So how come you are uninsured?

Someone may have modified the vehicle without telling the insurers, not renewed the MOT in time.

It may have tyres which make the car unroadworthy or you may have forgotten to tell your insurers about a motoring offence.

Even if you share a vehicle to drive to work with a colleague, it is worth ensuring that this would not fall into the category of “hire and reward”

These are just a few of the examples of where an insurer can “refuse to indemnify you” - in other words, they won’t pay up.

If you use insurance brokers, ask them to check if you are not sure about anything. That’s their job!

This can prove very expensive, so don’t take the risk!

You can read more of Chris’s excellent articles here

Kevin

Load rescue and freight recovery

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I have found this piece of interesting reading, and we all know lorry drivers are vulnerable to falling asleep at the wheel.

Around 300 people a year, in the UK, are losing their lives as a result of fatigued drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

Being tired adversely affects driver performance as much as being drunk. Several studies, conducted by road safety experts, have confirmed that inadequate rest, driving for too long and driving at times when you would normally be asleep can all result in a degradation of driver performance which is similar to that caused by alcohol in the blood stream.

Those who drive for a living, including truck drivers and delivery drivers, are at the highest risk of being involved in fatigue related accidents. Around 4 in 10 tiredness related accidents involve a commercial vehicle. But people involved in other demanding roles, such as doctors who work long shifts and business people returning from overseas meetings, are also high on the tiredness risk list.

It is recommended that, if you are feeling even slightly fatigued, you should stop for a 15 minute break. Drink an energy drink or a couple of cups of coffee and then take a cat knap for no more than 15 minutes. When you wake the caffeine will have begun to take effect. Don’t snooze for any longer as you will enter a different sleep phase.

Source: http://www.gosimply.com/blog/2008/09/26/tired-drivers-as-dangerous-as-drunks/

Safer driving is essential for the driver, and other people using the roads, and the author of the quote has some excellent advice.  If you really do feel that tired, you are better off not driving at all.

Kevin

Safer Driving, less loads to recover

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