--- In [email protected], Steve Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I've seen lots of this on the Four Counties in recent weeks. I'm still > waiting (after 6 weeks) for my licence to arrive so have spoken to the > patrol staff on 2 occasions and also had one notice left when I wasn't > there. Admittedly I make it difficult for them as the boat currently has > no name or number (or indeed anything else) painted on the sides yet ;-) > > I also spotted a team of 2 using a BW craft to check boats moored on the > off side on the Shroppie a fortnight ago. I say credit where it's due; > we've been hassling them for ages to get on top of the evasion issue so > it's good to see that they're taking it seriously at last. One patrol > officer I asked was new to BW so I assume they're not taking people off > other maintenance tasks to do this. Can anyone confirm this, Debbi..? > > Steve > NB Bream > Enforcement is a big issue in direct response to customer comments. South West, South East and West Midlands have recruited lots of new boat checkers, mooring wardens, enforcement officers, co-ordinators etc to tackle the problem to meet peoples expectations and also to be fair to all of us who boat in the canals. Every boater needs to contribute and there is no excuse for not having a licence and absolutely no excuse good enough for not having insurance or boat safety. I'm not going to get into the discussion regarding other non- boating users of the canal but I know all we boaters have a lot to say about it.
The new teams in SE, SW and WM are now really beginning to get going and are really beginning to produce some results. In my patch the existing team of four supported by length inspectors, mooring wardens and bank staff are really making some inroads to some long term problems. None of this can be solved overnight and some cases take a long time and a lot of money to solve. Sometimes I feel more like a social worker than a canal worker. Still, bear with us and what the vast majority of legitimate users want will slowly be achieved. Still, a lot of people out there could do a lot more to help us eh? Like making sure your boat is clearly identified at all times with at the very least its index number clearly displayed and name helps (Steve, don't you dare turn up on my patch with no id!). Displaying a valid licence if you have one helps too. You would not believe the amount of time we waste trying to identify craft showing no markings or index number or chasing people who are licensed who don't bother to display their licence discs. It's really beginning to bug me, if you've got a licence make sure everyone else knows you've got one and stop them phoning us to complain that you're not licenced as you're not showing a valid licence or permit (but please give the new licensing team in Leeds some slack to get the paperwork too you as they are still getting up to speed and I appreciate that many of you have suffered from delays which they are doing their best to address). BW is not perfect, we can do better, and we are working to do better and we know that in some areas we need to pull our socks up. Please assist us by allowing us to focus our limited resources to where they are really needed. Ok, rant mode off now. PM me if you really have got a big beef that's not going anywhere and I'll have a stir with my boater and customer hat on :-) D
