Safety during transportation.

I was just wondering whether there were any ideas or a possiblity of making the Transportation of rescues safer, meaning the people actually doing the transporting and not how they are transported.

I wondered if there could be more safety measures, or checks of some sort to ensure that the transporters used were trustworthy, how on earth this can be done i don't know but i do feel (and this is just my opinion and not meant to offend anyone or any rescue or any forum) that something needs to be put in place to ensure the welfare and safe arrival of the animal being transported. I can't think how to carry out these checks though.

This is a very valid point but i agree, its hard to police.

I would suggest to rescues/reps that ALL members who are helping with a transport run MUST give car details, reg numbers etc before the run commences. Even full addresses, off the forum of all members helping also. Also both mobile numbers and home phone numbers, where applicable.



Any other ideas welcome

I think that is a good idea.

If the rescue concerned had the full name, address, vehicle details and contact details of transporters it would certainly be a step towards safer runs.

perhaps we could have further details added to a database viewed by moderators with all relevant details on.

We'd need to bare in mind the Data Protection Act 1998 if we wanted to do that.

If we wanted to store personal information we'd have to apply to register with the Information Commissioner before we'd be allowed to do anything. (Basically we'd have to tell them what information we want, how we intend to use it and how we intend to keep it safe).

There are rules about how the data must be stored, and you have to stick to the Eight Principles of Data Protection. (Although I've got a good idea what they are I can't remember precisely without looking them up. ) I very much doubt, though, that we'd be able to store the information somewhere on the forum because it's not secure enough.

But would it be ok for rescue's to store people details? if it wasn't possible to have them on RHU?

TBH without doing CRB checks, which cost money and can take quite a while to do there is little else a volunteer forum can do.

The majority of us here are genuine animal loving people who give their time and incur costs willingly to help these lovely animals. There will always be the odd one or two people who try to ruin a good thing. It is for us to rise above it and prove it can, and on the majority of times, does work...

It is a sad fact of life today that trust is eroded mindlessly and without due consideration of the consequences.

The number of cases in the timespan this forum has operated speaks for itself and long may it continue

well considering really no driving licence & insurance details are asked for, sometimes home adresses arent asked for then this is quite a serious lack of professionalism and of common sense.

People could be transporting animals who arent actually legal to drive a vehicle - this may not be the case and there may never of been anyone offer help who isnt legal but it is possible which then in turn would invalidate any kind of insurance that maybe in place with rescues covering the transportation of animals and if the person is an illegal driver then the further implications of this if an accident was to happen could be quite serious.

Sal wrote: But would it be ok for rescue's to store people details? if it wasn't possible to have them on RHU?

Absolutely. The same rules apply though for any organisation that stores personal information. (There are a few exceptions but none of those would apply to rescues ).

As it currently works though (people passing on contact details to each other prior to transport runs for instance) these rules don't apply, so it might well be worth just PMing transporters for this information, including a landline telephone number, before each run. Someone could then call the landline number to confirm it belongs to the transporter so at least if anything goes wrong the rescues have confirmed contact details.

I think in the past I've sent off a photocopy of my motor insurance to a rescue, though I can't remember for the life of me which one now as it was so long ago (obviously that confirmed my name, address, car details and show I am legally entitled to drive that vehicle) and then the rescue has immediately destroyed the photocopy (and given me a big tick to say I'm allowed to transport for them ).

Nicola, you're absolutely right, and that is a genuine worry.

In the past I've always been asked to give full contact details before any run on here. If this practice, at the very least, is not being adhered to by rescues when confirming runs then obviously it needs to be looked into and we need to do everything we can to work with them to make sure this takes place.

for all the suggestions guys. Please keep them coming. Any sensible proposals we can put forward will only help to protect RHU members, animals and rescues.

I wouldnt like the idea of having all members details for several reasons, even if permitted.

Someone has come up with the idea of having a 'homecheck' for transport volunteers. For example, a member would visit the home where the member resides, a utility bill shown to prove this is where the member lives.

We could then place this transport 'pass' in members avatars stating this.

Also rescues could contact staff to verify members also.

Doing so would be very time consuming but will reassure rescues just that little bit

Julie, would posting a utility bill be easier? As the forum grows, it wouldn't really be practical for members to drive out to other members and check them out..and who would be able to reimburse their petrol if it was asked for?

I still feel that the Transporter/Homechecker ID badges are needed. I don't think that proving your name and address is good enough to prove you're ok to transport..but it would certainly be a start. Perhaps ID badges could be recieved, having completed 2 successful transport runs, or something along those lines - but with an undisclosed number of times needed to 'prove yourself', otherwise you could get people doing their 2 good transports and stealing a dog on the next!

I hope ive made some sense..

Something else just while I remember.. on the transporting template, I choose not to fill in the bit about whether or not the dog is neutered, but I know some people do. IF someone came to RHU looking for a dog to breed from, they could quite easily volunteer for a transport run and steal it, knowing the dog is not neutered.

Not sure what other people think about it but I just wanted to put the thought out there incase others hadn't thought of it.

WARAS wrote:Julie, would posting a utility bill be easier? As the forum grows, it wouldn't really be practical for members to drive out to other members and check them out..and who would be able to reimburse their petrol if it was asked for?

I do see where you are coming from. Would those members need their utility bill returned?

Say in the case of new member, they requires a homecheck, a transport check could take place at the same time, killing 2 birds with one stone, so to speak, thats if they wish to help with transporting.

WARAS wrote: I still feel that the Transporter/Homechecker ID badges are needed. I don't think that proving your name and address is good enough to prove you're ok to transport..but it would certainly be a start.

I agree, especially for members gaining access to the general publics homes, i.d. badges are a must.

WARAS wrote:Something else just while I remember.. on the transporting template, I choose not to fill in the bit about whether or not the dog is neutered, but I know some people do. IF someone came to RHU looking for a dog to breed from, they could quite easily volunteer for a transport run and steal it, knowing the dog is not neutered.

Not sure what other people think about it but I just wanted to put the thought out there incase others hadn't thought of it.

Good thinking, this being the case, the said bit could be removed from the transporting templates

Ahh yes, hadn't thought of that.. would a photo copy of a utility bill and drivers license be acceptable, if they are not going to foster so don't require a homecheck?

Do you know if Kathryn is still going to do the ID badges? I know there were plans to when RHU was first launched. I know she's not able to come on here often, but maybe someone else would be able to make them?

I don't know if other rescues would want to keep it in or not, or if volunteers feel it's a 'good to know' thing, but people may feel that it needs to be filled in because it's in the template?

There's nothing stopping members just asking the rescue instead if they feel they need to know.

the id badges are a great idea and perhaps the id of the transporter could be incorperated with that??
(its also good for when transporters meet on services to hand over, my 1st transport for RHU was at 6am on motorway services collecting a SBT, and i got some very strange looks from some really nosey ppl)

perhaps a small donation from members to cover costs of id badges?

I certainly wouldn't mind paying at least for the cost of the badge and postage.

WARAS wrote:I certainly wouldn't mind paying at least for the cost of the badge and postage.

i second that!
pehaps a poll to see what members think julie?

This was being put into place when RHU first started Nikki but unfortunately Kathryn isn't around much these days, so someone else would need to be able to do the badges etc

dont mind paying for a badge, do mind having to have a photo done if they are going to have pictures on.
Also, couldnt possibly provide bills and such for verification. I'm on paperless billing and statements

They do really need to have pics on though otherwise anyone could use them should they got lost or stolen.

If a homecheck has already been done, or a rescue can vouch for the contact details of a particular member, that should be fine.

If no suitable ID is available, then perhaps a letter could be sent to the members address with a verification code inside which they can then confirm to us so we know they've received it? The cost of this would obviously be high if we had to do it for every member, but if we could add it to the cost of the ID card so members could cover it themselves then maybe that could work.

I do like the idea of seeing a certificate of motor insurance though for transporters to confirm they are legally entitled to drive.

We need to think very carefully about how we go about getting confirmation of personal details and exactly what details we ask for though because of concerns people may have about identity theft.

This is an excellent idea in theory and yes I'd be happy to cover the cost of ID badges.

My only question would be whether by going down this line would the forum be taking on a legal responsibility for confirming the identity of individuals and ensuring they were properly insured for the vehicles they were driving? If so, a utility bill and photocopy of a driving licence probably wouldn't be enough for legal purposes. Financial institutions and the like do other searches to confirm legal identity.

If someone was prepared to steal a dog, false documents are relatively easy to get hold of especially if photocopies are submitted rather than originals. What about the vehicles themselves being used for transporting ? Shouldn't there also be question raised as to whether they were also fit for purpose. Also, insurance documents only cover 12 months, would they need to be resubmitted every year ? This could be a whole can of worms !!!

As a point of interest, I had to supply the names of two professional references for my ID card for the Cinnamon Trust which were both taken up.

How do Rochdale Dog Rescue and the Oldies club manage this as they use quite a few transporters ?