A legal loophole is enabling the industry to ignore critical safety measures relating to construction vehicles
Construction vehicles are bypassing critical safety measures due to a legal loophole.
The Mineral Products Association (MPA) brought the issue to light during Road Safety Week.
The mineral products industry delivers some one million tonnes of products from over 2,000 sites across the UK. This includes aggregates and asphalt. As a result it is a major user of rail and water freight, as well as the road network.
Volumetric vehicles
The MPA is now calling on the Department for Transport to tackle a legal loophole that allows unregulated HGVs to operate. So-called “volumetric vehicles” deliver material that is regulated as “engineering plant” rather than as HGVs.
The MPA says volumetric vehicles such as HGVs that carry raw material to make concrete in hoppers should be subjected to the same full regulations as ready mix concrete mixers.
However, this loophole means these vehicles are able to bypass critical safety protocols. For example, there are no limits on working hours for drivers. Comparatively, HGV operators have strict limits imposed to ensure safety while on the road.
Furthermore, firms operating volumetric vehicles are not required to obtain HGV Operator licences and are not regulated by Traffic Commissioners.
Weight limits are also pushed beyond regulated HGV ones, with some vehicles carrying up to 40 tonnes. HGVs are only allowed to carry 32 tonnes.
The MPA called on the government to take action on the issue.
Road safety in relation to construction vehicles is something the MPA has continued to support. In 2011, the MPA developed an initiative aimed at promoting the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. This included retrofitting existing HGVs with cameras, more mirrors and other technology to ensure greater awareness for drivers.
CLOCS initiative
The association also threw its support behind the Construction Logistics & Community Safety (CLOCS) initiative. This aimed to increase road safety culture across the sector by bringing together the construction industry and supply change to actively support road safety.
The initiative was put into place to reduce collisions between construction vehicles and road users. It has improved road safety substantially. CLOCS is predominately a London-based initiative and has yet to be implemented across the wider UK. It is hoped doing this will enable greater safety nationwide.
