Report uncovers forged licences

Press, 27 September 1983, Page 8

Report uncovers forged licences

PA Wellington Widespread evasion of road-user charges, including a black market in forged licences, has been uncovered by a Government ' working party. The party was set up to - review road-user charges. It released an interim report yesterday. Some evasion was unwitting, the report said, “but there is also deliberate and systematic evasion at a level which, in the working party’s opinion, is of serious concern.” Government legislation to change the system of road transport licensing from a quantitative system to a qualitative one might make the problem worse, the report said. “Removal of quantitative licensing of the road transport industry will increase competitive pressures and increase the incentive to evade. This will be exacerbated by any further increase in road-user charges. “An increased level of enforcement is essential if confidence in the system is to be improved,” the report Mid. . The working party was to quantify evasion, s

but was convinced that the potential for evasion was widespread, albeit easier for some operators and in some circumstances than others. It was also clear that evasion was more prevalent in some regions than others.. “Even if the net result of evasion affects an acceptably small proportion of over-all revenue, it is known to confer, unfair competitive advantage on the transgressors and the extent to which they do not pay adds to the charges that must be paid by the rest” The main methods of evasion were:— • Exceeding the licensed weight or distance. • Removing, tampering with, or failing to replace the hubodometer (a device to measure distance travelled). • Underpaying the correct fee when buying a licence. • Forging or altering a licence. • Failing to buy a licence (i.e. ignoring the road-user charge system entirely). • Buying a licence but failing to display it if it Jjecomes invalid.

• Mismatching tyres to affect hubodometer readings. • Overstating claims for off-road travel refunds.

“Forging or altering licences may be deterred by enforcement activities,” the report said, “but skilful efforts can be very difficult to

recognise. “The working party saw evidence of very convincing forged licences purchased from ‘black market’ sources.”

Regarding the road-user charges, the working party was unanimous that the existing formula for distributing costs should continue in the foreseeable future but only for the costs that varied with the use made of the roading network. That formula was based on a relationship between axle weight and road damage. It meant that charges sharply increased as axle weight increased. Other costs in the roading network, the fixed costs, should not be collected by the variable distance-weight related charges as for heavy vehicles at present, but should be collected instead by an annual fee, the report said.