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 by their in-house analytical consultancy (IHAC) team and scrutinised and approved by the Department for Transport. It is the best information that we have on the compliance checks performed by DVSA to determine the roadworthiness and traffic compliance of lorries and trailers, and the traffic compliance of coaches. The overall results show a slight improvement in reported prohibitions and serious offences. However the common defects and offences will probably come as no surprise. The most common vehicle defects DVSA prohibit for are brake systems and components. It is worth reading the DVSA’s article Braking Point to see how you can remedy the problems most often seen. The traffic checks reveal that offences around tachographs and drivers hours remain the most common with serious offence rates from 7.3% to 11.3%.

• GB Traffic 9.5%
• Non-GB Traffic 11.3%
• PSV Traffic 7.3%

Managing tachograph data and drivers’ hours will be standard good practice for the vast majority of road transport operators using analysis software such as Smartanalysis. The DVSA will continue to target the serious and serially non-compliant road transport operators. If you are not managing your drivers’ hours you can save yourself time, money and a whole lot of headaches at a cost of just 25p per driver per day with Smartanalysis. You can read this year’s Fleet Compliance Check summary page and full reports on gov.uk.