One casualty of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Cabinet reshuffle was Shropshire company’s long awaited meeting with a Government transport minister in London today (Wednesday) to discuss a campaign to improve safety in Volkswagen campervan conversions.
Managing director Darren Bebb and business development manager David Park, from Bebb Limited, a sister company to Shrewsbury-based Salop Vans, was due to meet Mike Penning, but he has been moved from Department of Transport to the Northern Ireland Office.
The meeting, arranged by Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski, was cancelled late yesterday afternoon and is now being rescheduled with the new minister.
“We are really disappointed because we had been waiting for a long time for the meeting, which was called off literally at the 11th hour,” said Mr Park. “It was a big opportunity for the company. We shall definitely be working with Mr Kawczynski to rearrange the meeting with the new minister as soon as possible.
“We feel that we are beginning to make headway after months of trying to get politicians, the National Caravan Council and RoSPA to wake up to the serious safety issues involved in campervan conversions.”
Bebb Limited has welcomed new laws brought in by the Government on April 1 to improve safety in motorhomes but says they do not go far enough. A loophole allows converters to avoid the new laws if vehicles are pre-registered – even if for one day.
Mr Bebb has evidence that some campervan converters are gambling with lives by fitting potentially lethal seat bed systems. Many still do not have seat belts fitted and some convertors give away “free issue” seat belts for customers to fit themselves.
He is so concerned about the safety of campervan passengers that he has invested £100,000 over 18 months to become the first company in the UK to design, test and manufacture a seat bed that exceeds the requirements of the new regulations.
Mr Bebb is supporting new proposals by the European Union to introduce tougher rules for motorhomes, aimed at improving road safety by reducing road traffic accidents caused by defective vehicles.
The new legislation relates to the compliance of vehicle components with their characteristics at the time of first registration. The implication is that modification will not be allowed without further approval of the vehicle.
This could have major consequences for motorhome converters of previously registered vehicles who currently apply to DVLA to have the vehicle registration classification changed on completion of conversion rather than applying for further type approval.
Bebb Limited is working closely with the National Caravan Council on its response to the EU. “We are fully committed at Bebb Beds to drive this change and really focus on the quality and safety of VW conversions,” said Mr Park.
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