What's New

The Department for Transport (DfT) has published The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009: Authorisation 992.

At a recent public inquiry, it was found that a named transport manager had never performed any of the required duties and responsibilities necessary to fulfil the role. He had therefore failed to download tachograph data, had not ensured vehicles were given safety inspections at stated six-week intervals, had failed to ensure brake tests were carried out and had not ensured that safety inspection records were completed correctly.

Tradition dictates that it is the Queen’s Speech although, of course, it is written by the Government, setting out the legislative programme for the parliamentary session ahead, and this year it was read to MPs by the Prince of Wales because of the Queen’s mobility problems.

In total, 51 projects have been awarded a share of £1.95 million in funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) as part of the Government’s Transport Research and Innovation Grant (TRIG) programme, the largest number of projects backed in the programme’s history.

Operators moving goods between the UK and the EU will be aware the Government has delayed introducing checks on food products coming into the country a few times, although the EU put its equivalent checks in place promptly after Brexit was finalised.

Responding to the decision by Parliament’s International Trade Committee to carry out an inquiry into the UK-EU trading relationship, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has released details of its latest survey of business leaders.

A revoked operator, who used another company to hide the fact they were continuing to operate illegally, has been told by Nick Denton, Traffic Commissioner for the West Midlands, that this was a clear case of fronting.

An employee of J R Adams (Newcastle) Ltd, Keith Robson, died while unloading goods from a transport shipping container that was on the back of a large goods road vehicle trailer at the company premises in Gateshead.

We reported in April that the introduction of the remaining import controls on EU goods, already postponed on several occasions, would not be introduced on 1 July as previously announced but would now be delayed until the end of 2023 (see Government drops July deadline for introducing import controls on EU goods).

Revised guidance on how the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) categorises vehicle defects in roadside checks is now available  here.