Abnormal Loads Group continues to voice industry concerns

The ALG: ‘Abnormal Loads Group’ made up of trade associations, stakeholders and operators continues to work closely to discuss concerns and find solutions as firms tell us that police actions and a lack of clarity on regulations are delaying projects and increasing costs. We continue to discuss our ongoing efforts to drive more consistency from police forces on abnormal loads movements.

Operators continue to inform us that some forces are applying rules inconsistently. In certain instances, police are still charging for their services to escort loads even when they’re not required. We've led a lot of work over the past year to address these concerns. Our economic impact assessment on these actions concluded that they're costing the economy up to an estimated £574m a year. 

We want to see a fair, consistent and common sense approach. We're in regular contact with individual forces to seek clarity and resolve issues. As part of this work, we also continue to collaborate with the National Police Chiefs Council

In the most recent ALG meeting, some specific points were raised by operators on:

• Embargos
• Insistence of requesting Police escorts
• Enforcement inconsistency
• Short notice
• Review of the ACPO Guidance

We'll continue to seek clarifications on behalf of operators and we will keep you updated on our progress.

Meanwhile, if you have some specific examples of inconsistencies, we welcome your feedback. We can then address your concerns directly with the NPCC, DfT, Home Office and police authorities. 

Please email examples to: [email protected]

Please include the following details:
Dates;

• Force area;
• Numbers of officers they asked you to pay for;
• Cost;
• Journey start and finish;
• Load carried;
• Notice time given to police;
• Impact this has had on the movement, business or customer(s);
• Any other relevant details.