Bridge-bashers and bad debtors catch the TC’s eye

diversion he said, and happen because the driver has not stopped somewhere in order to figure out whether the route he is now on is suitable for the rig he is driving. “Half to three-quarters of these incidents involve agency drivers, in my experience,” Rooney remarked.

Another cause is a last-minute change of trailer, with drivers being told to take out a double-deck rather than a single-deck, for example. Mix-ups between feet and inches and metric measurements represent a further factor.

Rooney is also concerned about operators who do a lot of repair and maintenance work on a truck just prior to its MoT test. That should not be necessary, he believes, if the vehicle has been regularly maintained to ensure its roadworthiness.

That said, he wonders whether the six-weekly statutory inspection interval needs revisiting.

“If you’ve got a brand-new tractor unit that has only been used on motorway work than you have to ask yourself if it is necessary,” he said.

It could be the case, for example, that some vital items need inspecting, say, every 13 weeks depending on the nature of the vehicle and the work it is on. “I think we’ve got to get a bit more intelligent about it,” he observed.

Rooney and his colleagues are also working with trade associations to develop a scheme that will make the competence of maintenance providers more transparent to their customers.

“What we could be looking at is something rather like a food hygiene safety rating,” he added.