John Martin, RHA Policy Manager for Northern Ireland

John Martin

RHA Policy Manager for Northern Ireland.

GOODS VEHICLE OPERATING CENTRES - RHA SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGES A DEPARTMENTAL DECISION

In support of a longstanding established road haulage business within NI the RHA has successfully challenged the Department of Infrastructure’s refusal to grant a goods vehicle operator’s variation application and to remove a threat to require the operator to use a new operating centre.

The operator had an operator’s licence with an authorisation for 7 units and 2 trailers and applied to increase their trailer authorisation to 7. The operator had no history of non-compliance and the business had been established at the same operating centre for well over 30 years with no issues. The variation application was considered straight forward with no anticipated issues or concerns. The Department received no valid objections or representations in regard to the application, however they decided to undertake an operating centre site assessment to determine if it was suitable for the proposed increase in the number of trailers. After the site assessment the Department wrote to the operator as set out below: “I refer to your application to vary the company’s operator’s licence and to concerns regarding the suitability of the operating centre. An assessment of the operating centre at *********** ******** by the DVA found the site to be unsuitable. A number of reasons were given including: safety concerns regarding vehicles entering/exiting the site at the junction with the public highway, concerns regarding manoeuvrability between the upper and lower parking areas, and safety concerns regarding the use of the shared right of way through the site and its lack of passing places. The Department has therefore refused the application under the provisions of Section 12(5) of the 2010 Act as applied by Section 16(6)(c) given that the requirements of Section 12C (5) have not been met (the operating centre must be suitable for use). You have a statutory right of appeal against this decision, which must be lodged with the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber), Tribunal Hearing Centre, 2nd Floor, Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast, BT1 3JF within one month from the date of this letter. An explanatory guidance note on lodging appeals can be obtained from the Upper Tribunal and you may wish to seek legal advice. You are advised that the licence holder can lawfully only operate within the existing terms and conditions of the licence until you either submit a fresh variation application which is granted by the Department, or you lodge an appeal to the Upper Tribunal which succeeds in overturning the decision to refuse this application. The Department can review an operator’s operating centre at five-yearly intervals. The next opportunity for the Department to review your operating centre will be 25 January 2023. Given the

concerns over the suitability of the operating centre you should expect that a review will be held. You may therefore wish to give consideration to nominating an alternative more suitable operating

centre.” (I have bolded some of the Department’s text) To put this into context an “operating centre” is the base or centre at which a goods vehicle is normally kept. The operating centre in question has been in use for over 30 years with the operator’s vehicles being normally kept there when not in use with no material change to the operating centre layout, no additional houses have been erected on the laneway or no changes have been made to the access/egress point onto the public road or changes in speed limits on the road.

Shock & Disappointment

The operator in question was disappointed not to be granted the additional authorisation given the premises had more than sufficient capacity, however the shock at being informed the premises were not suitable for their current fleet with the Department advising them they were going to review the operating centre and the operator may therefore wish to give consideration to nominating an alternative more suitable operating centre was devastating. Given the content of the letter from the Department the operator requested assistance from the RHA to consider what options were open to them. As a consequence, a request was submitted to the Department to review the decision which was refused. We also appealed the decision to the Upper Tribunal for determination. In the interim and in advance of this appeal being heard, the DVA facilitated a site meeting with the operator, political representatives, staff from Roads Service, the PSNI and DVA with the RHA to discuss the Department’s concerns. After protracted discussions the DVA officials agreed to review their operating centre assessment report and resubmit to the Department for further consideration. Based on the discussions the Department overturned their initial decision and granted the variation application and removed the threat to review the operating centre.

Advice & Support

The operator concerned commented: “The Department’s initial decision to refuse our variation application was a surprise given there were no issues with the premises, it was large enough and we have been based here for over 30 years. However, it was a greater surprise to learn they were considering closing us down and requesting we move to other premises. This would have been the death knell for our business, and thankfully we had John Martin, the RHA’s Policy Manager in Northern Ireland on hand to provide expert advice and support, to challenge the Department’s decision and without his assistance we probably would have closed the business if we needed to move.” Whilst it’s appreciated the Department have a difficult job to do and we don’t want to detract from that, they must work more collaboratively with businesses and not always seek to prosecute or take disproportionate or inconsistent regulatory action which can result in businesses becoming unviable.

MAN OptiView wins European Transport Award for Sustainability 2022

With its OptiView digital mirror replacement system, MAN & Truck Bus has won the coveted award in the Assistance Systems category at this year’s edition of the European Transport Prize for Sustainability.

The award is intended to encourage companies from the commercial vehicle sector to act sustainably by recognising forward-looking products and strategies in this area. “This award shows that we have created an absolute benchmark in the field of mirror replacement systems with our MAN OptiView mirror replacement system, making our already excellent workplace in the new MAN Truck Generation even better,” said Christoph Huber, Chairman of the Executive Board at MAN Truck & Bus Deutschland GmbH at the award ceremony. Turning off or changing lanes are among the situations in which, despite good mirror technology, the driver could previously find himself in potentially critical situations if other road users were difficult to see, especially in the blind spot area. The OptiView digital mirror replacement system, which can be ordered as an option, uses cameras to show the traffic situation around the truck on two large highresolution displays on the A-pillars and also on the screen of the media system. In addition to the standard view, drivers also have a zoom and wide-angle view at their disposal, providing them with an optimum view of the surrounding traffic. OptiView thus significantly reduces the risk of overlooking other road users. The system’s field of vision also makes blind spots on the driver’s and passenger’s side visible, thus contributing to the safety of cyclists and pedestrians in particular in the city. In addition to the various screen views, MAN OptiView offers further supportive additional functions. For example, width and length auxiliary lines can be superimposed on the views of the side displays so that distances and dimensions can be estimated even better when overtaking or maneuvering. In addition, MAN OptiView also integrates the warning displays of the turn-off aid, the lane change aid and the lane change collision avoidance assistant in the two side displays. All important information on the surrounding traffic situation is thus always directly bundled and in view. Another helpful and safetyenhancing additional function of MAN OptiView during breaks is the monitoring mode. This allows the driver to view the vehicle surroundings of his parking space via the wide-angle view in the side displays and the front camera image in the media system display, especially at night when the curtains are closed, and to detect suspicious movements around the truck at an early stage. The monitoring mode can be activated directly via the control module on the lower bed - from a sleeping position, so to speak - at any time. If the vehicle is equipped with a rear-view camera in addition to OptiView, its image is shown as a splitscreen view in the media display. Critical driving manoeuvers can occur not only in long-distance traffic on highways and freeways when changing lanes or at entrances and exits. An optimum overview of the traffic situation is essential, especially for the typically frequent turning and maneuvering in construction and distribution traffic. MAN has therefore offered OptiView for all four truck series TGL, TGM, TGS and TGX from the very beginning. Customers have been able to order the digital mirror replacement system since the beginning of October 2021.

Leyland Trucks hits half million vehicle production milestone

Leyland Trucks has celebrated the production of its 500,000th vehicle. The half million milestone truck – a 16-tonne GVW DAF LF 210 – was handed over to customer, Minoli, at a special production line ceremony.

The DAF LF 210 is the first of four new vehicles for Minoli – a leading importer and distributor of Italian porcelain tiles – two of which are spec’d with a 210bhp PACCAR PX-5 engine, ZF AS-Tronic six-speed gearbox, rear air suspension, adjustable roof spoiler and cab collars. Minoli, with its headquarters and distribution centre in Oxford and offices and showrooms in Marylebone,London, has remained an exclusive and loyal DAF operator for almost 40 years. The DAF LF remains one of the UK’s most popular lightweight fleet trucks, offering benchmark levels of payload potential and driver comfort, alongside outstanding vehicle handling and manoeuvrability. The Leyland Assembly Plant was constructed in 1979 with full production starting in 1980. Today, Leyland Trucks occupies an 86-acre site with 93,000 square metres of covered production space. A workforce of 1,000 includes several fourth and fifth generation employees. The current vehicle ranges include LF, CF, XF models and now also the New Generation DAF range of XF, XG and XG+ vehicles – International Truck of the Year 2022. In a relationship that spans several decades, Minoli has chosen HTC Group and DAF to meet its requirements for reliable, robust vehicles that have been purpose-built in harmony with the company’s exacting and often changing needs. Increased demand for Minoli’s products, a drive for greater efficiency and a concerted effort to reduce emissions has required an ongoing cycle of investment in expanding the Minoli fleet and upgrading their trucks. With the latest additions, Minoli will be running 14 DAF trucks and a further eight supporting vehicles, giving a daily delivery capacity of over 100,000KGs. The lightweight LF range was entirely designed, developed and engineered at Leyland Trucks, while the factory is also home to a unique in-house body-building programme. With Leyland Trucks delivering the highest quality products in the truck industry, the Lancashire-based manufacturer has contributed significantly towards DAF Trucks’ 26-year position as UK truck market leader above 6-tonnes GVW – last year standing at 32%.