Blog articles about DVSA

New to digital tachographs? – Who is responsible for what?

What are the driver’s and operators basic responsibilities? Some transport operators use vehicles fitted with digital tachographs, but have no idea on how to use them.…

Have your say on drivers’ hours rules

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.…

What are the top 5 prosecuted offences for HGV operators?

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…

Earned Recognition – What, why and how from the DVSA

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…

Updated vehicle safety check leaflets from DVSA

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…

Earned Recognition “the gold standard”

Earned Recognition was launched by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) as business as usual at the CV Show in April. Since then over 50…

DVSA’s Annual Review and 5-year strategy

The latest Annual Review from the DVSA sets out some of the work the agency will be doing in 2018-19 and reports on highlights from 2017-18.…

On-the-spot fines for historic drivers’ hours offences start on 5th March 2018.

As of Monday 5 March 2018 the DVSA will start issuing on-the-spot fines for historic drivers’ hours offences committed in the previous 28 days. In a single…

Everything you wanted to know about the DVSA’s Earned Recognition Pilot

The DVSA’s Earned Recognition Pilot inviting road transport operators to share maintenance and tachograph data will help the authorities focus their efforts on non-compliant operators. The…

DVSA Annual Review 2016/17

The DVSA published their first Annual Review to promote what it is most proud of from 2016/17 and highlight some of work they will be doing in…

DVSA’s 5-year strategy

The DVSA recently published it’s 5-year strategy and business plan to improve road safety, user experience and value for money. The DVSA’s purpose is to help…

Suspended for drivers’ hours breaches

The owner of a skip hire firm was suspended from driving HGVs for breaching drivers’ hours regulations after driving for more than four-and-a-half hours without a…

HGV Operators Licence revoked by TC

A livestock haulier in Meiford will have their HGV operator’s licence revoked from May 1 2017 following a public inquiry where the Traffic Commissioner for Wales Nick…

Operators Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) explained

The Operators Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) is used by the DVSA to decide which vehicles should be stopped and inspected. OCRS is used to calculate the risk…

The cost of running un-roadworthy vehicles

West Midlands Traffic Commissioner Nick Denton, banned a plant and tool hire firm from operating HGVs for 12 months after describing its vehicle maintenance procedures as…

Drivers’ hours and tachograph offences are still No 1 for HGV Operators

Statistics published by the DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency) for FY 2015-16 shows that drivers’ hours and tachograph records offences are still the most common…

Failure to stop leads to driving licence suspension

The DVSA works to protect road users from unsafe vehicles and drivers. Every day you will probably see DVSA officers and examiners carrying out checks on…

Tachograph and drivers’ hours offences are still No1

Tachograph and drivers’ hours offences remain the two most common offences reported by the DVSA and over 85% of the offences reported by DVSA result in…

Is technology the enabler for “Earned Recognition”?

The DVSA has announced its plans to launch its earned recognition scheme in early 2017, rewarding operators with fewer compliance checks in return for access to their compliance data, which will help…

Be ready for Earned Recognition

The authorities want to focus on the seriously and serially non-compliant operators, however they have to do that within their resourcing limits. Following a trial in…

DVSA continue to focus on non-compliant operators

The DVSA has recently published its plan for 2016. The agency wants to continue discussions on how to improve the service it provides to meet the…

Is enforcement of driver’s hours working?

Figures reported in February this year reveal that prosecutions for drivers’ hours and tachograph offences fell by almost 30% in 2015. Figures disclosed in recent parliamentary…

DVSA extends period for VU digital tachograph downloads

The maximum limit for downloading digital tachograph VU data has been extended from 56 to 90 days to bring the UK in line with the rest…

Off the rails and off the road

The boss of a Newhouse haulage firm has been given a two-year industry ban after an investigation and public inquiry into drivers’ practices. Scotland’s Traffic Commissioner,…

Compliance vs. Optimising Efficiency

Compliance management practices can transform the customer experience. Techniques for optimising road transport operations have become critical in meeting the increasing demands of customs and reducing…

New DVSA Guide to Load Security

Load security should be of primary concern for all commercial road transport operators. Effective load securing prevents goods from falling onto roads and ensures that the…

HGV drivers offences

What are the most common offences for HGV drivers? How might they be avoided? See below HGV drivers offences from 2013 vs 2014 in numbers. Download…

Ramping up drivers’ hours enforcement in EU

EU laws regarding tachographs and drivers’ hours are ineffective if there is inadequate enforcement of them. In the UK the DVSA and Police are responsible for…

What does the latest Fleet Compliance Checks report tell us?

The latest Fleet Compliance Checks report (2013 to 2014) was published at the end of October. The Department for Transport commissions this report. It is produced…

Remote Enforcement – freeing up time to focus on the serious and serially non-compliant?

The DVSA’s Remote Enforcement trial based in the Western Traffic Area is now coming to an end. Remote Enforcement frees up resource to focus on serious…

Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) overview for HGV, bus and coach drivers

The deadline for HGV drivers with acquired rights to finish their first 35 hours of Driver CPC periodic training expired on 10 Sept 2014. Driver CPC…

Driver CPC on target – panic over?

It appears that the vast majority of drivers will have completed their 35 hours’ Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) training by the September 10 deadline.…