Truck Watch scheme's Text message system is unsafe says Department for Transport

Hauliers have been plunged into confusion over the use of police-sanctioned crime alert text messages after the Department for Transport (DfT) branded them unsafe.

The response by the government department in a letter to the founder of Truckersworld , Barrie Tozer, appears to contradict the policy of the Midlands Truck Watch scheme, which relies on text messages to inform lorry drivers about stolen vehicles and is supported by the Midlands police.

Tozer has been trying to secure permanent backing for his own text alert initiative, but the DfT says it cannot support it. It says it took advice from the police to reach this decision. DfT policy advisor Steve Oliver says: "We have contacted ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS) about the viability of this. Their view is that any mobile phone-based system, which might lead to drivers attempting to use a mobile device on the move or to stop on a hard shoulder unnecessarily, would cause a hazard.

"Having considered this carefully, and in conjunction with our road safety people, we would take the same view. Therefore, we could not justify supporting this on road safety grounds."

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