Commercial vehicle hire scheme managers 'should be wary of thieves'
Posted by Ben Brown
Managers of commercial vehicle hire contracts should beware of a nationwide crime wave in which an increasing number of HGV batteries are being stolen.
Thieves are cutting through the fences at depots and taking the batteries from vehicles belonging to commercial vehicle hire fleets, which have a retail value of approximately £350 a tonne, according to the Road Haulage Association (RHA).
"Everyone working in the transport industry should be extra vigilant," said Chrys Rampley, the RHA's security manager.
He continued: "We are working with the police – both individual forces and the national co-ordinating body, Truckpol - to combat the problem."
Fleet solutions managers may wish to react to the problem by deploying extra security guards or making it difficult for batteries to be removed from vehicles.
The Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service recently revealed that the Ford Transit is Britain's most popular commercial vehicle with thieves, after more of the vans were stolen than any other model in 2009.
