BRITISH MPs called for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (Vosa) that carries out safety checks on lorries on Britain’s roads to be given more powers after a high proportion of unsafe vehicles were found to be foreign-owned.
A report by the House of Commons transport committee found that almost half of vehicles examined in Britain and registered overseas were unroadworthy or deficient in some way, compared with 38 per cent of UK-registered vehicles.
Foreign-registered vehicles account for more than 80 per cent of heavy goods traffic in Britain.
“Britain has some of the safest roads in Europe, but more must be done to ensure compliance with our safety standards for lorries, buses and coaches,” said the committee’s chairman Louise Ellman.
The worst offenders were Czech-registered drivers of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), 60 per cent of whose trucks failed roadworthiness tests in 2007 and 2008, the report said.
AA president Edmund King said: “Car drivers will also welcome the transport committee’s proposed clampdown on unsafe foreign trucks as motorists are often the victims of the carnage caused when unroadworthy trucks crash.
“If a truck is overloaded, it is less likely to stop efficiently and therefore more likely to plough into a queue of cars.
“Greater scrutiny of these vehicles will enhance road safety for all,” he said.