What skips need to be compliant
Did you know that it’s been a legal requirement for skips to be properly lighted during the hours of darkness since 1980? However, last year the law about skip lighting was changed.
The London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2013 gave councils the right to fine companies whose skips aren’t properly illuminated during the hours of darkness. It also states that councils can immobilise skips without regulation lighting.
The change means that you can open up a new income stream by fining companies whose skips don’t comply. Even more importantly, you’re now able to ensure that skips are properly lit, reducing the risk of injury to pedestrians and damage to vehicles on your streets.
Do you know how many skips on your streets don’t have regulation lighting?
According to recent research carried out by one London borough, on one day alone a huge 80% of skips – 200 out of 250 surveyed – didn’t have lights. Perhaps more surprisingly, only 30% (75 skips) of those surveyed had a valid permit to be on a public highway at all.
Research that we’ve carried out suggests that this London borough is typical, rather than an exception. But what do these figures show?
First and foremost, they suggest that both pedestrians and vehicles are being put at risk unnecessarily by skips that aren’t properly visible when it’s dark.
They also demonstrate that your council is losing out on valuable income – in both fines and permit fees – if it doesn’t have measures in place to enforce the law.
Despite these figures, our research indicates that the majority of London boroughs aren’t monitoring skips, either for regulation lighting or to see whether the skip owners have paid the permit fee.
One reason for the lack of action includes already stretched resources. Another is the fact that it’s an area of responsibility that bridges numerous departments – environmental waste, public highways, licensing and permitting – so the issue doesn’t get directly addressed.
That’s where we come in.
Use our services to monitor skips and collect fines
We’ve been set up to act on your behalf to enforce the law. Now you can use our services to monitor skips and collect fines. We simply take a percentage as payment, leaving you with additional revenue.
By using our services you’ll open up a new income stream without any effort on your part. In fact, we’ll free up your resources so you’ll be able to focus on other issues.
Our monitors – who will patrol your streets daily – will issue a charge notice to non-compliant skips. However, unlike charge notices issued to cars, owners must pay before appealing, so you won’t need to wait long before you see revenue building.
Make your roads safer for pedestrians and vehicles
Our service doesn’t stop at collecting fines on your behalf. We also remove the risk of injury and vehicle damage by installing our high quality lights to skips without regulation lighting.
We’ve developed the Skip Light System, the only skip light on the market that doubles as an anti-theft device. It’s made from a high-grade pressure injected alloy, and is extremely strong and designed to withstand all conditions.
We install the Skip Light System to skips that aren’t properly illuminated, removing the risk of pedestrian injury or damage to vehicles on your streets.
You’ll also avoid expensive street repairs. Our monitors will let you know when streets are in need of repair so you can take steps to avoid further damage
We immobilise skips that don’t have regulation lighting…
The Skip Light System includes SkipGuard, an immobilising device that covers the lugs used to lift the skip. It’s secured with a custom lock that has more than 5 million potential combinations. So the owner of the non-compliant skip won’t be able to remove it without paying the charge.
You don’t need to take any action. We’ll contact the offending company to collect the fine before the skip is released.
You also don’t need to worry about any ongoing responsibility or liability. We retain ownership over the lights we install, but give the skip owner the option to purchase the Skip Light System once they’ve paid the fine.
Whether or not they choose to buy our light, they’ll have to ensure that their skip is properly lit in accordance with the law, which means that your streets will be safer as a result.
…and can even help you collect further income in permit fees
As an additional service, we can also help you collect further revenue in permit fees and related fines. Specifically, we issue charge notices to those skips without permits.
All you need to do is to send us a daily email with the relevant permit information. We distribute this to our monitors, who can then identify those skips that don’t have the appropriate permit in place.
Improve your road safety whilst earning revenue
Now that winter is on us and the hours of darkness are extending, it’s particularly important to ensure that skips are properly lit. And remember that we’re also able to let you know about damage to pavements and roads, to keep you up to date with any essential repairs.
We’re a London-based SME, and all our products are manufactured in the UK, meaning we have a low carbon footprint. So you’ll even be complementing your procurement strategy if you select us to act on your behalf.
Ultimately, using our services will help you improve your road safety whilst simultaneously generating revenue, all without using any of your valuable resources.
Do you want to make your roads safer and open up a new income stream? Contact us to find out more about how we can monitor skips and collect fines on your behalf.
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