‘Milestone reached’ on abnormal loads policing
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has reported that a ‘significant milestone’ has been reached in its campaign to tackle the issues faced by hauliers moving abnormal loads, following a meeting between the Abnormal Loads Group and police leaders from across the UK.
The Abnormal Loads Group is supported by several trade associations including the RHA, the Heavy Transport Association, the National Caravan Council and the British Holiday & Home Parks Association.
The group met with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and other leaders on 6 November to discuss the policing of abnormal loads, which the RHA says has become increasingly inconsistent in recent years, creating significant challenges for operators in this sector and those it supports.
“The group and officers discussed solutions to improve consistency in the policing of abnormal load movements, and the industry has been working with the police to produce updated national guidance,” said the RHA.
“The NPCC is encouraging greater consistency and best practice amongst forces and is committed to publishing the updated guidance before the end of the year to assist officers.”
Areas discussed included the procedures police forces should adopt for notifications; the proportionate use of embargoes; the provision of police escorts; and the need for adequate training for abnormal loads officers.
“Members had told us that there’s increasing inconsistency with how police were managing notification processes, with some forces imposing short-notice embargoes on movements so something needed to be done,” said Richard Smith, managing director at the RHA.
“One of the regular complaints we’ve heard is that neighbouring forces can apply rules very differently which makes cross-force movements particularly problematic.
“All of this adds cost – we commissioned an impact assessment which concluded that the total costs in terms of economic output, measured as Gross Added Value (GVA), stands at up to £584 million per year.”
He added: “The NPCC’s operational lead for roads, chief superintendent Marc Clothier has been very receptive to the ALG and brought us in to contribute.
“They will promote the published version to police forces and said they will drive the message to senior leaders that they must ensure their officers and police staff supporting hauliers with abnormal loads are sufficiently upskilled…
“We look forward to reviewing updated guidance which we’re hopeful will be issued to forces shortly.”
Mr Smith concluded: “We’re sympathetic that the police have an incredibly difficult job to do. Keeping people safe is their number one priority. It’s the same for us too. We all have a duty to ensure that we do everything we can to make our roads as safe as possible. But we need to ensure that police efforts to do so aren’t hallmarked by practices which adds cost and delays to projects, and do nothing to make people safer.”
