The Freight Transport Association has called for mobile workers to be removed from the Working Time Directive as part of government plans to cut bureaucracy.
It has also targeted the London Lorry Control Scheme and the age limit for vocational drivers as areas where red tape should be c ut.
The FTA was asked by the government to represent the logistics sector as part of its drive to reduce bureaucracy.
Chief executive Theo de Pencier said: “The often cumbersome regulations and rules that exist in the freight sector are a burden that the companies within it could do without. As ‘sector champion’ for logistics, we saw the Red Tape Challenge as a golden opportunity to put forward our considered views on how to cut red tape, and save the industry time and money.”
The association’s suggestions include:
* Urgent review of the London Lorry Control Scheme to incentivise uptake of quieter vehicles and mitigate the restrictions faced by operators during Olympics 2012
* The removal of mobile workers from the Working Time Directive
* Removal of requirement to carry the CPC Drivers’ Card
* Reduce the age limit for vocational drivers to 17 years
* Revisit the need for paper VED and O-licence discs
* Increase the weight threshold for vehicles affected by the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations from 2,500 to 3,500kgs
“It’s not less regulation we want, but better regulation,” said de Pencier. “For example, it is clearly barmy to insist vans leave their lights on while they are parked up overnight, but for larger vehicles, where the drain on the battery is not as significant, it is sensible.
“While many of these less-than-helpful regulations stem from Europe, it is still within the gift of government agencies to find imaginative ways to mitigate some of their worst effects and we welcome the efforts made to get an accurate picture of what those of us at the sharp end feel about them.”