Skip Navigation | About Us | Contact Us | Accessibility | Site Map

 
| Do it Online | General Info | News & Events |
 

Introduction to roadside checks

Why VOSA do Roadside Checks?

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) provides enforcement services (including roadside checks) with the aim of improving the roadworthiness standards of vehicles, ensuring the compliance of operators and drivers, and supporting the independent Traffic Commissioners (TCs). VOSA also takes part in multi-agency checks which include checks by other enforcement agencies, including Customs and Excise, the Department of Social Services, Immigration and others.

VOSA has the power to stop and examine Foreign registered vehicle inspections in the same way as with any other vehicle.

Conducting spot checks on HGVs and PSVs has a number of objectives:

  • To prevent the use of dangerous and potentially dangerous lorries and buses on the roads.
  • To deter drivers / operators from using defective vehicles on the road by preventing them from further using the vehicle until it is repaired, informing them about minor defects and making them aware that enforcement action is being taken against defective vehicles.
  • To educate drivers and operators and to provide them with information on the condition of lorries and buses in use, for operator licensing and other purposes. This information is essential if the TCs are to have control of a quality licensing system.
  • To promote public awareness of the need to maintain vehicles in a roadworthy condition in the interests of road safety and environmental protection.
  • To ensure that drivers are complying with drivers’ hours, loading, speed and licensing regulations
  • To be a visible deterrent to those who would potentially break the rules on lorry and bus driving and operating.

Where and when Roadside Checks take place?

These checks are held all over the country, at the roadside and at specialist, dedicated sites which are permanently equipped with weighbridges and other testing equipment. If a test is conducted at the roadside, the examiner will also bring portable specialist equipment to aid in the testing of vehicles.

Roadside checks can take place at any time but are usually during normal working hours (Monday-to-Friday, 9a.m.-to - 5p.m). They can also be organised when VOSA think that there is evidence to suggest that there are potentially dangerous / non-compliant vehicles on the roads in any particular area.

What happens at a Roadside Check?

Vehicles are selected for examination and are directed to the check site by a police officer or VOSA Enforcement Support Officers (VESO), who like the police are able to stop vehicles for checking. Once at the check site your vehicle will be examined by VOSA Examiners to ensure its compliance with Construction and Use standards and to ensure that the driver is compliant with their governing rules.

There are 2 types of VOSA Examiner, Vehicle and Traffic, and either or both of these may be present at a roadside check. Vehicle Examiners are mainly concerned with ensuring that Construction and Use regulations are being adhered to, and Traffic Examiners are mainly concerned with ensuring that the driver is compliant with regulations governing tachograph use, drivers’ hours, driver licensing, and poorly loaded or overloaded vehicles.

Some roadside checks are limited to particular areas of concern (e.g. exhaust emissions, tyres or lighting). If the vehicle exhaust emissions exceed the legal limits then a prohibition may be issued. Further information is detailed in Maintaining MOT Emissions Standards.

The other checks carried out by VOSA Examiners can cover:

  • Inspection of vehicles mechanically, to check for roadworthiness
  • Inspection and analysis of tachograph records (both charts and digital)
  • Inspection of Driver’s License to ensure that it is valid for the type of vehicle being driven
  • Checking that the vehicle is not badly loaded / overloaded

If any non-compliance is found when a vehicle is checked, there are a range of options available to Examiners on how they will deal with the offence, and these are covered in the Roadside Prohibitions Issued section of this site.

Note: VOSA also have access to information help by other agencies in order to help us in our duties at a Roadside Check. When determining compliance with driver licensing, Examiners will check the details given by the driver at the side of the road against those held on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) database to ensure that the driver has the correct licence entitlement.

The information taken during a roadside check will be stored by the Examiner using an Mobile compliance device. This information will then be used to compile an Operator compliance risk score.

Special equipment used

VOSA’s examiners will use a range of equipment according to the nature of the checks being carried out, including:

  • Roller Brake Testers and Heat Sensors - for checking brake performance
  • Smoke Meters and Exhaust Gas Analysers - for exhaust emissions
  • Opacity Meters - for checking the level of tint in window glass
  • Limiter Tester - for checking the set speed of Speed Limiters
  • Endoscopes - for checking hard-to-reach components
  • Tachograph record analysis equipment

Defects found either through a visual inspection or through the use of test equipment may result in further use of the vehicle being prohibited. Vehicles prohibited in these circumstances need to be re-examined to ensure the defects observed have been repaired.

Vehicles are weighed by Traffic Examiners using either Weighbridges or Weighpads.

There are various types in use within VOSA, these are:

  • Single Plate Weighbridges - these consist of a single weighing plate which is connected to an indicating mechanism. With this facility, the vehicle is weighed whilst stationary.
  • Multi-Plate Weighbridges - these comprise of two or more independent static weighing plates connected to a single indicating console. Again, vehicles are weighed whilst stationary.
  • Dynamic Axle Weighers - this system utilises a single axle weigher linked to a console. Vehicles are usually weighed whilst in motion but there is also a facility where they can be weighed whilst stationary.
  • Portable Weighpads - this equipment gives the opportunity to weigh vehicles at locations not normally subjected to weight checks, due to the absence of fixed weighing facilities. They are easily transported and can be operated at any suitable site.

Drivers will be given specific information and instructions about what is being done during the inspection.

What happens if a vehicle is found to be non-compliant:

A prohibition notice can be issued if non-compliance is discovered in terms of roadworthiness, Driver’s Hours or loading. This notice will prohibit the use of the vehicle on the road, until the reason for non-compliance has been rectified. A list of prohibitions is detailed in Roadside Prohibitions Issued. Prohibitions may take effect immediately or may be delayed for up to ten days, depending on whether the vehicle poses an immediate danger to public safety. Exemptions may be issued, for example to allow a vehicle to be towed away for repair or to rectify overloading. The Prohibition notice will remain in force until the relevant roadworthiness and weight standards are achieved; it will usually be removed by a full or partial test at a VOSA Test Station unless the Vehicle Examiner states otherwise. Removal of Weighing Prohibitions is done once the vehicle is within its permitted weights and this will usually happen at the roadside.

The Examiner may consider that the offence is serious enough to warrant prosecution; in this case the driver will be interviewed under caution in accordance with the Police And Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act. The driver will be asked specific questions relevant to the offence(s) and documentation may be retained as evidence. Further investigation will take place which could lead to prosecution.

What happens if a vehicle is driven other than in accordance with a driver’s or an operator’s licence?

Driver’s Licence - The driver will be informed by the VOSA examiner that their license does not allow them to drive the type of vehicle that they are driving at the time of being stopped and they will be reported for prosecution.

Operator’s Licence - If the vehicle is found to be being used with no operator’s license (if one is required for its use), then the case will be referred for further investigation and the driver and/or operator will be liable for prosecution. If an Operator’s licence is in force but an aspect of it is not being complied with then the Traffic Commissioner will be informed and the operator will be liable for prosecution.

What happens if a vehicle is found to be overloaded?

If the weight recorded is above the permitted limit the Examiner will issue the driver with an Overloaded Prohibition Notice (which may contain particular conditions). A copy of a prohibition notice will be sent to the owner of the vehicle. In the case of 'O' Licensed vehicles the Traffic Commissioner will also be notified.

Examiners have the discretion to direct the vehicle to a nearby facility where a proportion of the goods carried can be off-loaded or the load re-distributed.

Any overloading of greater than 5% or 1 tonne will be prohibited and is liable to result in prosecution. However, VOSA will usually not prosecute for overloading of less than 30% or 5 tonnes, where it is a first offence.

What happens if a driver is found to be in breach of Drivers’ Hours regulations?

During the roadside check, a VOSA Traffic Examiner will examine tachograph records in line with current regulations. If a driver has contravened the regulations, the vehicle may be prohibited. This may result in further investigation of the operator’s systems of record keeping etc which may lead to prosecution.

Paperwork drivers should receive after an examination (if any)

This will depend on what checks have been carried out and what you need to be informed about.

Under the Hazchem Directive, for every Inspection of a vehicle carrying dangerous goods by a Traffic Examiner an EEC directive form will be completed as required by The Department for Transport. The driver will be issued with a duplicate copy for information.

Drivers may also be given a guidance sheet pointing out the dangers of overloading and how to take preventative measures against it.

If no documents are taken and no prohibitions are issued then you will not receive any paperwork; however, if an Examiner has checked a paper Tachograph chart then he will sign and date it.

Page last updated: 23/01/2007