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Foreign freight trucks 'should face same checks as UK vehicles'

Foreign freight trucks should be subject to the same checks that UK vehicles have.

That's according to Roger King, the head of the Road Haulage Association (RHA), who asked Commercial Motor: "How is it possible for someone to get right across Europe from Poland on bald tyres while flouting the drivers' hours legislation? I just do not understand."

He added: "There seems to be no desire among other EU countries to engage in the kind of roadside checks that we have here in the UK. And it's totally unacceptable."

A recent programme shown on ITV, Killer Lorries, showed that many eastern European freight drivers are paid per mile or per hour of driving - a practice that is illegal in Western Europe.

Mr King urged that this had to change.

Separately, the Freight Transport Association claimed that the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency should publish a list of foreign haulage drivers who had frequently broken regulations on issues like roadworthiness and drivers' hours.

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