‘Reporting shoddy hauliers requires huge culture shift,’ DVSA tells RHA members

DVSA chief executive Loveday Ryder (pictured) told delegates at the RHA’s Fourm for the Future that the organisation was working to build stronger ties with hauliers and asked them to report their peers if they suspected them of breaking the rules: “One of the things I’d like to see more of, and for us to change in our relationship with operators, would be more people coming forward and telling us about non-compliance,” she said. “That would be a huge culture shift from where we are today.  Why isn’t non-compliance as socially unacceptable as drink driving?”

Richard Turfitt, senior traffic commissioner and traffic commissioner for the east of England, agreed: “The important thing to remember is RHA members are bound by the law and so are we. We can only take action if we have evidence. That action often relies on information being passed to the agency, allowing an investigation to happen.

“Your information can directly assist getting shoddy, undercutting operators out of the system through a public enquiry. I rely on you and I expect that of you. As responsible operators, please help me to do my job on your behalf.”