Disturbing fall in lorry inspections, Unite finds 


Huge cuts in the number of roadside lorry inspections could be putting all road users in danger, says the Unite union. 


Using a series of freedom of information requests, the union found the number of checks by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency fell by more than a third (37%) from 234,296 in 2010-11 to 147,533 in 2017-18. 


“By cutting inspectors and inspections the government is risking the safety of all road users,” said Unite national officer Adrian Jones. 


“If unscrupulous employers realise there is little possibility of their vehicles and drivers being inspected, they are more likely to be tempted to cut corners on safety.” 


The chance of a lorry being stopped for an on-the-spot inspection on its journey is now just 0.03%.


https://unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2019/january/road-users-at-risk-as-lorry-inspections-fall-by-37-per-cent-warns-unite