Safety and compliance dominates Forum agenda

Safety and compliance in the freight industry needs to be the same across the north and south of Ireland.

This was the overwhelming consensus among participants of the All Island Freight Forum (AIFF) held this week and led by the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

The stark difference in compliance enforcement between the north and south was pointed out by Tom Wilson, FTA's Head of Policy for Northern Ireland who expressed the Forum's wish for a more level playing field.

"By expediting operator licensing in the north, we would really help improve the odds of seeing a similar degree of compliance in the south," he said. "This would effectively help drive out the rogue vehicle operators that are a menace on the island's roads."

Through the All Island Freight Forum, the logistics industry is posed to work with government agencies across the island of Ireland to investigate how to maximise resources to obtain the most efficient use of all freight transport modes.

Wilson concluded: "Having a joined-up approach to vehicle operator compliance between neighbours is vital if we are to see meaningful improvements on our roads.

"The Forum plans to develop a robust accreditation scheme for operators - something already warmly-received by the Road Safety Authority in the ROI - but we still have a mountain to climb to improve the reputation of our transport operators which currently languishes at the bottom of the EU league table on safety and compliance."