Road Transport

OF ALL the loads transport companies have to bear, none is a greater burden than regulation.

And bus operators, rail companies and hauliers can be forgiven for finding the rules bewildering.

"The regulations are extremely complex," says Miles Dorrington, transport law expert and dual qualified Barrister and Solicitor at Bond Pearce.

"A lot of people who've been in the industry for a long time think they know the law. But infact they're in ignorant bliss.

"I've been involved in cases that have come down to three different interpretations of the same European regulation."

The greatest problems are often encountered by medium-sized transport businesses, especially those that have recently expanded.

Management structures that may have served the company well for years become stretched to breaking point. And the first link in the business chain to break is often maintenance of the fleet.

"I've seen it happen many times," Miles says. "Management that prides itself on being hands-on can no longer juggle all the balls and the control kept on maintenance is no longer tight enough."

"The same is often true of effectively managing driver's hours and this will get harder with new laws coming in to force."

The result leaves the company prey to prosecution by the regulatory patrols of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and a call to Public Inquiry by the Traffic Commissioners.

But specialist legal advice can keep transport operators out of the clutches of regulators, Miles says, whether they run coaches, buses or lorries. Miles should know - no operator his transport law team has represented has had its operating licence revoked.

"We can undertake regular audits to ensure compliance and advise on how management can be re-structured to prevent pressures increasing.

"Prevention is better than cure, but if it does go wrong then the team has experience in over 3,500 road transport cases before the Courts and Traffic Commissioners".