97% of UK hauliers are not ready for 1 January 2021
Posted by AndrewT on 22nd Dec 2020
A recent survey conducted early December with 6,000 hauliers revealed just 3% are totally prepared for new UK-EU trading arrangements. 84% require more clarity on border legislation changes and two th
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Have your say on mobile phone use
Posted by AndrewT on 29th Oct 2020
A consultation has been launched to strengthen the laws around the use of a mobile phone whilst in charge of a vehicle on the road. Laws exist to stop drivers using mobile phones already, however, t
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Is your HGV ready to cross the border?
Posted by AndrewT on 23rd Oct 2020
From 1 January 2021 Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) over 7.5 tonnes travelling from Great Britain to the EU must obtain an electronic Kent Access Permit before taking goods to the Port of Dover or Eurotunn
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Is this the worst case of breaching drivers’ hours rules?
Posted by AndrewT on 16th Oct 2020
A Glasgow operator has been disqualified and had his licence revoked after a traffic commissioner heard about “the worst case of breaching the drivers’ hours rules” he’d ever seen.
Scotland’s deputy
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Removing roadworthiness prohibitions
Posted by AndrewT on 2nd Oct 2020
During the COVID-19 lockdown, ATF annual test inspections were stopped and temporary measures for prohibition removals were put in place. However, this has now changed and from 28 September 2020, all
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HGV Levy to be suspended to help with COVID-19
Posted by AndrewT on 9th Jul 2020
The Government will suspend the HGV Levy for 12 months from August 1.
The 12 month suspension is to help reduce financial liabilities for UK and foreign hauliers struggling to cope with impact of Cov
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Tachograph Roadside checks on the rise - Act now
Posted by AndrewT on 15th Jun 2020
There have been reports recently that the DVSA is ramping up their roadside checks. With this increased enforcement activity operators should ensure that their management of drivers’ hours and tachogr
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Maintain a compliant and safe road transport operation with COVID-19 restrictions
Posted by AndrewT on 17th Apr 2020
As a road transport operator, the current situation with COVID-19 and restrictions with social distancing present significant challenges. Some operators will be experiencing a slowdown in business whi
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Have your say on Driver CPC
Posted by AndrewT on 19th Mar 2020
The DVSA have launched a consultation about improvements to the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence. The current requirement is based on time spent in a face-to-face training environment rat
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If you don't see us at the show ….
Posted by AndrewT on 6th Mar 2020
The Commercial Vehicle Show 28-30 April 2020 – NEC, Birmingham
At the time of posting the CV Show has been cancelled by the organisers. A postponement to later in the year was not possible.
Descarte
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Traffic Commissioners highlight the importance of managing your drivers
Posted by AndrewT on 14th Feb 2020
In their most recent Annual Report, the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain highlighted the importance of managing professional drivers. This includes regularly examining a driver’s licence, ensur
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Have your say on drivers' hours rules
Posted by AndrewT on 3rd Jan 2020
The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) work to keep our roads safe for all users with a particular focus on HGV, bus and coach drivers. Tachograph and drivers' hours infringements are usuall
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Licence revoked for failure to record drivers’ hours
Posted by AndrewT on 2nd Jan 2020
An operator with 10 heavy goods vehicles had its licence revoked due to “an almost wholesale abrogation” of its responsibilities to ensure drivers hours and tachograph rules were observed.
The operat
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1 in 5 drivers exceed drivers' hours limits
Posted by AndrewT on 6th Dec 2019
A recent article in Commercial Fleet reported that according to research carried out by a Fleet Management Software supplier that 22% of commercial drivers in the UK are failing to take appropriate re
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Is it time to regulate 3.5t vans with tachographs?
Posted by AndrewT on 6th Dec 2019
With over 4.3 million licensed 3.5t vans compared to around 600,000 licensed HGV’s on our roads is it time for van drivers to be regulated in the same way as Large Goods Vehicles and Passenger Carryin
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Traffic Commissioners Annual report 2018 to 2019
Posted by AndrewT on 13th Nov 2019
The annual report from the Traffic Commissioners office provides information on all the major aspects of their regulatory and judicial role. The 2018 to 2019 report has just been published. The TCs re
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The benefits of joining up data in road transport operations
Posted by AndrewT on 5th Nov 2019
For too long data in many road transport operations has been isolated and burdened by inefficient data-gathering methods. Valuable information is kept out of the hands of those who could use it best a
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DVSA issue new guidance on HGV walkaround checks
Posted by AndrewT on 25th Oct 2019
Driver vehicle safety checks are essential for road safety. It has been reported that around 80% of roadside prohibitions could have been avoided if an effective walkaround vehicle safety check had ta
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Be ready for Brexit
Posted by AndrewT on 27th Sep 2019
With 31st October approaching fast the potential implications for trade with the EU and transport operators moving goods between the UK and EU is becoming clearer. To help road transport operators the
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363,280 driving licences rescinded since 2014 due to medical conditions
Posted by AndrewT on 20th Sep 2019
Figures available through the DVLA show that in the last 6 years over a third-of-a-million UK drivers had their licences taken away on medical grounds. Almost 56,000 of these were bus and HGV drivers.
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The Driver CPC deadline is fast approaching – are you prepared?
Posted by AndrewT on 1st Aug 2019
In September 2009, the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) came into effect in the UK. CPC covers professional bus, coach and HGV drivers and was introduced with the objective o
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HGV Horror show
Posted by AndrewT on 10th Jul 2019
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is responsible for carrying annual tests on around one million heavy vehicles each year. The DVSA have 500 testers that work at a range of Authorised Tes
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What are the top 5 prosecuted offences for HGV operators?
Posted by AndrewT on 29th May 2019
Statistics published by the DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency) for FY 2017-18 shows that drivers’ hours and tachograph records offences are still the most common offences for prosecution of
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Top prohibition defects ... and how to avoid them
Posted by AndrewT on 22nd May 2019
The Office of the Traffic Commissioner recently updated the data they report from DVSA examiners on the checks conducted on vehicles and operators. The information the DVSA gather is used as evidence
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Banned drivers on the rise
Posted by AndrewT on 17th May 2019
The number of drivers that have had their driving licence revoked under the Road Traffic Act has increased by 33.5% according to new figures released by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
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Driving abroad? Are you prepared for Brexit?
Posted by AndrewT on 28th Feb 2019
Driving abroad post-Brexit will change and commercial drivers operating in the EU will need to ensure they have the right documents and plans in place regardless of the deal / no-deal outcome.
This i
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Are bus drivers working unsafe hours and putting the public at risk?
Posted by AndrewT on 21st Feb 2019
Matt Western, Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington writing in The House - Parliaments Magazine, presents his case to bring drivers’ hours for local routes in line with a long-distance bus and HGV driv
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A HGV driver's guide to potential post-Brexit disruption
Posted by AndrewT on 1st Feb 2019
Recently published by the FT - A trucker's guide to post-Brexit disruption. As fears grow of a returm to customs checks from a no-deal Brexit, this FT article follows a British driver on his tight
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Earned Recognition - What, why and how from the DVSA
Posted by AndrewT on 1st Feb 2019
Descartes had the pleasure of having Roger Dent from the DVSA present at our Partner Event in January. Roger's presentation on the DVSA's Earned Recognition scheme covered:
Why Earned Recognition
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Updated vehicle safety check leaflets from DVSA
Posted by AndrewT on 29th Jan 2019
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has updated its driver vehicle safety check leaflets. The updated leaflets provide guidance for carrying out daily safety checks on HGVs and PSVs.
The l
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