VOSA to Target Foreign Trucks

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is to wage a year-long campaign, targeting foreign lorries on the roads of Britain. This follows news that Government inspectors have found that foreign trucks are more than three times more likely than British trucks to be flouting safety rules. One quarter of foreign truck drivers checked in the year up to the end of March had exceeded the maximum number of driving hours allowed between breaks; this compares to only eight per cent of British drivers. Romanian, Turkish and Irish drivers proved to be the worst offenders, while it was found that Romanian trucks were twice as likely as British lorries to have major safety defects, such as faulty brakes and bald tyres. VOSA plans to check 22,500 foreign trucks over the next 12 months.