Changes coming to the HGV and PSV inspection manuals from 1st April 2023
27th Mar 2023
DVSA announces changes to the PSV and HGV inspections manuals following feedback and review from various stakeholders.
The main changes are updates on the following:
- Inappropriate modification
- Free Rolling Tyres (FRTs) on front steered axles
- Wheel flanges
- Seat belt webbing
- 1c Tachograph fitment
- Flashing stop lamps
- Trailer EBS conditioning process
- PSV brake testing
You may be asking what this means to you and how it’ll affect your business. The DVSA have published copies of the manuals on GOV.UK (linked below) so you can see if any of the updates require you to make any changes to your fleet or regular practices and maintenance.
The changes will come into effect from the 1st April 2023 so there is still time to familiarise yourself with the changes which can be found in the referred to ‘Revision Record’ section (contained in the front page of each manual after the title page), which lists all the updates for each section and their location.
In the DVSA’s announcement of these changes they were clear to note a few key changes listed below:
- the introduction of a failure for FRT marked tyres fitted on front steered axles
- the addition of a deficiency (failure) for loose wheels studs/bolts to hub to include wheel flanges in response to modern technology introduced on heavy vehicles
- a clarification on the standards to apply for cuts and damage to seat belt webbing
- an added deficiency (failure) for any flashing stop lamp (a prohibition will be issued if all are flashing)
- updated sections on PSV brake testing to clarify brake efficiency calculations for gross weight (vehicles before 1982) design weights (after 1982) if vehicles don’t get any lock up on the test
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Updated Published Resources from DVSA: