Blog articles about vehicle-safety-checks

Are your loads secure?

Are your loads secure?

Posted by AndrewT on 6th Jul 2021

As road users we usually focus on spotting potential hazards that are in front of us. However, for HGVs it can be the heavy load behind the driver that presents the biggest hazard.  A HGV with a 40 to … Read more
Vehicle safety checks - what are your duties?

Vehicle safety checks - what are your duties?

Posted by AndrewT on 29th Jun 2021

Whether you drive a HGV or a bus or coach, it's vital that you know what checks you need to carry out inside and outside of the vehicle before setting off. Failing to do thorough checks could result i … Read more
Revised guidance on defect categories

Revised guidance on defect categories

Posted by AndrewT on 26th Mar 2021

The DVSA have updated their guidance on how defects in roadside checks are categorised. The amended rules came into effect from 1 February 2021. So, if you are not sure of the changes now is the time … Read more
DVSA target vans for mechanical defects

DVSA target vans for mechanical defects

Posted by AndrewT on 19th Mar 2021

As reported in Commercial Motor a recent road safety operation in the Midlands found 24 vans with mechanical defects and the DVSA have said it will continue to target LCV drivers.  The recent operatio … Read more
Removing roadworthiness prohibitions

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 … Read more
HGV Horror show

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 … Read more
Top prohibition defects ... and how to avoid them

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 … Read more
Updated vehicle safety check leaflets from DVSA

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 … Read more
DVSA's Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness updated

DVSA's Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness updated

Posted by AndrewT on 11th Dec 2018

The DVSA's  guide to maintaining a roadworthy fleet has been updated and published on Gov.UK. The guide provides a useful reference on how to keep heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and public service vehic … Read more
Paying the price for ineffective maintenance

Paying the price for ineffective maintenance

Posted by AndrewT on 21st Aug 2018

A skip operator’s application to increase the fleet from two to six vehicles was refused and the licence revoked for poor maintenance. When the DVSA visited the operator, the examiner found no recorde … Read more
Managing basic vehicle safety checks

Managing basic vehicle safety checks

Posted by AndrewT on 13th Jul 2018

A recent study reported in CommercialFleet revealed that almost 20% of fleets surveyed did not carry out walkaround vehicle safety checks. 63% said they did conduct a walkaround check and the results … Read more