FTA: Traffic commissioners should decide on test station closures

Traffic commissioners should have the final say about closures of Vehicle Test Station, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

The Association has been strongly critical of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's (VOSA) plans to close test centres without viable alternatives in place. It said that in the past few months, three centres in Cornwall, Cheshire and Wales have been closed, leaving commercial vehicle operators needing to travel some distance to fulfil their legal duty.

A fourth is due to close in West Yorkshire early next year.

Peter Staines, vice chairman of FTA's Road Freight Council, said: "If I change my maintenance arrangements for my fleet, I need to get the traffic commissioner's nod that they are ok. By closing test stations, VOSA is changing the arrangements for annual testing on hundreds of operators so why not get the traffic commissioners to check that the alternative arrangements offered by VOSA will not jeopardise road safety and operating practices?"