Unsafe overseas-registered lorries driven by over-tired drivers are giving the logistics industry a bad name even though the UK fleet is the best in Europe, the Freight Transport Association said yesterday.

The Association was speaking after wide-ranging concerns about the country’s vehicle licensing system were exposed in a House of Commons Select Committee report on the work of the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA).

The report calls for the Agency to be given more power to put dangerous vehicles and drivers off the roads.

“Seeing obviously unsafe overseas trucks being driven erratically by over-tired drivers is enough to give the logistics sector a bad name, despite the fact that the UK fleet is recognised as the safest in Europe,” Freight Transport Association (FTA) spokesman Jo Tanner said.

“This does the 2.3 million people who work in the logistics sector a great disservice. While UK operators, by and large, operate what is considered to be the gold standard in terms of compliance with safety regulators, operators coming across from the continent, particularly those from eastern Europe, often fall well short.”

Accident Exchange, the accident management specialist based at Coleshill in the West Midlands, reported earlier this year that crashes involving foreign lorries had risen by ten per cent over 12 months.

The MPs’ report also found that loopholes in the bus operator licensing system were endangering the safety of passengers.

They mean some bus companies can operate unfit vehicles by transferring public service vehicle (PSV) licences between vehicles, making it hard to prove who was using a given vehicle at a particular time or if a specific vehicle had passed the required annual test.

The report concluded that the VOSA agency must be given additional powers and resources to put dangerous vehicles and drivers off UK roads.

“Of particular concern were the unacceptably high levels of non-compliance with vehicle safety standards among foreign-registered vehicles, the lack of access to ports to carry out inspections and the sharing of information with other agencies both at UK and EU levels,” the report said.

The MPs said that current data protection legislation was a hindrance to successful targeting of foreign-registered vehicles.

Committee chairman Louise Ellman MP said: “Britain has some of the safest roads in Europe but more must be done to ensure compliance with our safety standards for lorries, buses and coaches. VOSA is recognised as a model of best practice and a leader within Europe but it lacks sufficient access to our ports to inspect vehicles and drivers effectively.

“The work of VOSA is also hampered by some of the data-sharing regulations. It is clear that, with many unsafe foreign-registered lorries and drivers entering the UK, it is crucial that VOSA can share information with colleagues in other European countries to bring cowboy operators to book. Better arrangements are needed so that the tracking methods used so effectively to nail non-compliant British vehicles can be employed to target foreign-registered lorries and coaches also.”

The FTA’s Jo Tanner added: “VOSA’s detection rates are good but how are these vehicles able to make it so far from their home nation unchallenged? The committee is absolutely right in encouraging greater collaboration and information-sharing between agencies, not only on this side of the Channel but on the continent too.”