Roadside Checks on your vehicle
As a commercial driver, you might be asked to stop by the police or a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) officer. They can stop vans, Lorries, buses and coaches.
The police and DVSA have the power to carry out spot checks on your vehicle and issue prohibitions if necessary. A prohibition prevents you from driving until you get a problem with your vehicle fixed.
Police and DVSA officers can also issue fixed penalties if you commit an offence. Some of these are graduated depending on the circumstances and seriousness of the offence.
It is your responsibility to make sure your vehicle is roadworthy.
How to recognise a DVSA officer
DVSA officers wear yellow visibility jackets with the DVSA logo, and they will always carry a DVSA warrant card.
Their vehicles are marked with a black and yellow print on the side and a DVSA logo on the bonnet.
What happens when you are stopped?
The checks are carried out either at the roadside or at dedicated testing sites. The checks are used to keep unsafe vehicles off the road.
The officer checks that the vehicle is not breaking any rules and regulations. This includes:
Your vehicle could be impounded if you commit a series of serious offences.
Foreign-registered vehicles are subject to the same rules as vehicles registered in the UK.
If you are carrying a high-value load, you can keep your engine running, doors locked and windows closed until you are sure you have been stopped by a genuine police or DVSA officer.
If you do not stop
Not stopping when asked to by a uniformed officer is an offence. The incident will be officially recorded and you will be interviewed later on.
You may then face court action or be reported to the Traffic Commissioner, who may remove or suspend your operator’s licence.
Making sure your vehicle is roadworthy
You are responsible for maintaining the roadworthiness of your vehicle. This will help avoid problems with vehicle checks.
Driver responsibilities
You must ensure your vehicle is safe to drive before setting off on a journey. You should carry out a walkaround check of the vehicle before your journey and check the:
Download guidance for walkaround checks for public service vehicle (PSV) and heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers.
You are also responsible for reporting any defects in writing to whoever is in charge of sorting out vehicle defects in your organisation. Reports should include the:
Operator responsibilities
You must carry out safety inspections before you use a vehicle for the first time – even if you are just leasing, hiring or borrowing the vehicle.
You must also:
Safety inspections must be carried out by trained inspectors with a good knowledge of the appropriate Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) inspection manuals.
Driving without a valid operator’s licence
You need a valid operator’s licence if you drive the following for any type of business:
If you or your employer do not have a valid operator’s licence, your vehicle could be impounded and scrapped after 21 days unless you or your employer appeal to the local Traffic Commissioner.
Appeals can only be made when:
Your vehicle may still be scrapped if you appeal and the Traffic Commissioner rules that the impounding was correct.
Fixed penalties
If you get a fixed penalty from a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) officer or the police, the amount you have to pay could depend on the circumstances and seriousness of the offence.
Offences you can be fined for include:
You can be fined between £50 and £300. You can be taken to court for more serious offences, and a magistrate will decide how much your fine is.
You can check you’ve been fined the correct amount by reading DVSA’s guide to offences and fines.
Endorsements to your driving licence
For some offences, you will get points added to your licence (endorsements) as well as a fine. For example, if your vehicle has defective brakes, you will be given a £100 fine and 3 points on your licence.
You must present your driving licence within 14 days if the offence is endorsable.
Fixed penalty notices
You must have a UK address you can be easily contacted through. Bed and breakfast, hotel, agency or solicitor addresses are not normally accepted.
If you have a satisfactory UK address, you will have 28 days from when you are given a fixed penalty notice to either:
In Scotland, you will get a ‘conditional offer’ instead of a fixed penalty notice. You get 28 days from the date of issue to pay the fine. After this, you could be prosecuted if you do not pay.
If you do not have a satisfactory UK address
You will have to pay a ‘financial penalty deposit’. This will be either:
In both cases, the maximum amount you will have to pay as a deposit is £1,500. You have to pay this straight away – if you do not, you might not be allowed to drive your vehicle.
The money from deposits is used to pay any fixed penalties or court fines.
You will be refunded any money left over from your deposit after fines have been paid.
Your vehicle will be immobilised if you do not pay the deposit.
What happens if your vehicle is immobilised
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) officers and police officers have the power to immobilise your vehicle when they stop you.
This might happen if you have committed a serious enough offence to get an ‘immediate prohibition’.
An immediate prohibition is used to prevent risks to road safety (for example an unroadworthy vehicle or a tired driver). It means you will not be able to drive your vehicle until the problem is sorted out.
When your vehicle could be immobilised
DVSA or the police can also immobilise your vehicle at the roadside if an immediate prohibition is issued for any of the following reasons:
Not all vehicles given an immediate prohibition will be immobilised. Special circumstances will be considered, for example:
How your vehicle is immobilised
DVSA and the police use a steel cable secured by a padlock to immobilise vehicles. It is fitted around the wheels of the vehicle and a warning notice is attached to the vehicle.
The notice tells you how to get the vehicle released. You have to:
It is an offence to remove the warning notice or interfere with the immobilising device.
DVSA has produced a guide to vehicle immobilisation with more information, including advice on how to avoid it.
Source – .Gov
