By John Simpson 14 February 2012
Proposals to charge foreign lorry drivers to use British roads won’t even cover half of what their accidents cost the UK economy, says one prevalent accident management company.
The Government is currently toying with the idea of charging foreign lorry drivers a £10 daily tariff or £1,000 annual pass to drive in Britain, a measure set to reap £23m by 2016.
However, accidents caused by foreign lorry drivers currently hit British taxpayers to the tune of around £57m, so say Accident Exchange, and that sum is expected to rise.
From the accidents handled by Accident Exchange, foreign lorry drivers were deemed the cause of one in 31 motorway crashes in 2011, a jump of 30% on the 12 months previous.
Side-swiping (when motorists drive in a left-hand drive HGV’s blind-spot) was considered the most common cause of incidents involving foreign lorries.
Steve Evans, Chief Executive of Accident Exchange, said that costs were recovered from foreign-registered HGVs in just 72% of cases.
He explained: “We’re disappointed to see incidents involving foreign lorries on the rise again, despite an excellent DfT-backed Fresnel lens programme to reduce the threat of side-swiping.
“The proposed charge of £10 daily, or £1000 annually, might redress some of the financial impact caused from foreign lorry collisions, but we’re not sure it will solve the root problem of left-hand HGV drivers just not being aware of vehicles around them.”
“Foreign-registered HGVs remain one of the most difficult ‘at-fault’ parties to recover costs from. Issues motorists face include invalid insurance policies; untraceable owners; drivers leaving false details or just failing to pull over at all.”
Plans to introduce the charges are currently in the consultation process. Visit dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2012-03 to register your view.
The consultation closes on 18 April.
Categories:Fleet news , Accident Exchange
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