DVSA roadside enforcement is increasingly intelligence-led. Operators with adverse compliance histories, previous prohibitions or other indicators of increased risk can therefore attract greater attention.
A roadside prohibition does not end when the vehicle is repaired. It becomes part of your compliance history, can affect your Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) and, where it points to wider compliance failures, can result in referral to the Traffic Commissioner and put your Operator’s Licence at risk.
How Does DVSA Decide Which HGVs to Stop?
In addition to any immediate visual concerns which cause a mobile Vehicle Examiner to flag down a vehicle for inspection, DVSA also uses an intelligence-led approach to target vehicles. This allows the Agency to concentrate enforcement resources where the perceived compliance risk is greatest.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) can help identify vehicles, while information from previous roadside encounters, annual test results and an operator’s wider compliance history can inform enforcement decisions.
An important part of this is the Operator Compliance Risk Score. OCRS uses compliance information to help DVSA identify operators presenting a greater risk. An operator with previous prohibitions, failed inspections or a poor compliance history may therefore attract greater scrutiny.
The important point is that roadside encounters do not exist in isolation. What happens during one inspection can influence how DVSA views your operation in the future.
What Is OCRS and Why Does It Matter?
OCRS helps DVSA assess the relative compliance risk presented by licensed operators, using information including roadside encounters and annual test results.
A poor OCRS should not simply be viewed as an inconvenient rating. It can indicate weaknesses in the systems used to manage vehicles or drivers and increase the likelihood of enforcement attention.
Where those weaknesses lead to repeated prohibitions or other enforcement action, the issue can move beyond DVSA and towards the Traffic Commissioner. Operators should therefore ask not only what their OCRS is, but what their compliance history tells DVSA about the way they operate.
If an Operator is not already signed up to the OCRS service, it can be managed via the VOL portal and further information on the system can be found here.
What Happens When DVSA Stops Your Vehicle?
If a vehicle is roadworthy and the driver’s documentation is compliant, a positive encounter is recorded and the vehicle will be permitted to leave.
Where a defect is identified, DVSA will usually issue a prohibition which, depending on its severity, may prevent the vehicle from continuing until the problem is rectified. If there is no immediate danger but there are advisory issues, a delayed prohibition can be issued given a fixed period of time to rectify the defect, have a full inspection and apply for the prohibition to be lifted.
The consequences can include a vehicle being taken off the road, a delayed load and a missed delivery. The regulatory consequences can be more significant.
Where DVSA identifies fundamental roadworthiness defects involving brakes, tyres or lighting, the operator may need to explain why its systems failed to identify them.
Should the driver have found the defect during a walkaround check? If so, the prohibition will be ‘S marked’, which indicates an increased level of seriousness and system failure.
Even an isolated S Marked prohibition, is likely to escalate to intervention. An Operator should expect a visit from DVSA or a request for a Desk Based Assessment. If this identifies flaws in the compliance systems, the Licence will usually be referred to a Traffic Commissioner for consideration of a Public Inquiry.
What Will the Traffic Commissioner Look At?
If roadside enforcement results in a Public Inquiry, the operator should expect scrutiny of the systems behind the vehicle, including:
- Financial standing;
- preventative maintenance inspections and records;
- driver defect reporting and walkaround checks;
- drivers’ hours and tachograph compliance;
- previous prohibitions and the action taken;
- the involvement of the Transport Manager; and
- senior management oversight.
Evidence is critical. It is not enough to say vehicles are inspected or drivers are trained. Operators need records showing that their systems are being followed and that problems are identified and corrected.
Compliance systems must not only exist on paper. They must work in practice.
What Is the Transport Manager’s Role?
For standard licence holders, the nominated Transport Manager is responsible for the continuous and effective management of the transport activities covered by the licence.
Following a prohibition, the Transport Manager should carry out a thorough investigation to establish why it happened and whether it identifies a wider weakness.
For example, if DVSA identifies a tyre defect that should have been obvious during a walkaround check, simply replacing the tyre is not enough. The operator should consider whether the driver completed an effective check, whether further training is required and whether similar defects could exist elsewhere in the fleet.
Corrective action should be documented. Repeated prohibitions can raise questions about whether the Transport Manager is exercising genuine oversight, potentially exposing both the operator and Transport Manager to regulatory action.
What Should You Do After Receiving a Prohibition?
The immediate priority is to rectify the defect and ensure the vehicle does not return to service until it is safe and lawful.
The operator should then investigate why the defect reached the roadside. Review the maintenance history and previous defect reports, consider whether the driver should have identified it, and establish whether similar problems could affect other vehicles.
Most importantly, document the investigation and corrective action.
If DVSA subsequently investigates or the operator is called to Public Inquiry, evidence that you identified the cause and took effective action is considerably stronger than simply producing an invoice for the repair.
How Can Operators Reduce the Risk?
The objective is not to avoid DVSA roadside checks. It is to ensure that when a vehicle is stopped, your compliance systems withstand scrutiny.
Preventative maintenance inspections should take place at appropriate intervals; defects should be properly rectified and records retained. Drivers must understand their walkaround and defect reporting responsibilities, while management must ensure reported defects are acted upon.
Transport Managers should also monitor trends. Recurring defects, deteriorating annual test performance or repeated drivers’ hours infringements can all indicate a wider problem.
Those warning signs should be investigated before DVSA identifies them for you.
What Does This Mean for Operators?
A roadside prohibition may start with one vehicle but lead to scrutiny of the entire transport operation.
Are your other vehicles roadworthy? Are drivers carrying out proper checks? Is maintenance effective? Is the Transport Manager exercising proper oversight? Does senior management understand the compliance position?
Ultimately, the Traffic Commissioner may have to decide whether the operator can still be trusted to comply with the undertakings given on its Operator’s Licence.
The operators in the strongest position are those with active, documented compliance systems that identify and correct problems before DVSA does.
Your Operator’s Licence allows your transport operation to function. Protecting it is therefore not simply a compliance exercise; it is a business-critical priority.
If you have received a prohibition notice, are concerned about your OCRS, have been contacted by DVSA or are facing a Public Inquiry, CE Transport Law can advise on the regulatory risk and the steps needed to protect your Operator’s Licence.
