How Does the 2018 Revised Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness Impact Your Business?

Updated: Jul 2, 2018

Changes to the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness issued 2018

On Monday 23 April 2018 the latest revision to the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness was published. There are quite a number changes to the previous guide, some potentially having more impact than others. Let’s have a look at some of the changes.

i) Removal of the inspection frequency graph

A major question asked by many operators is what should the frequency of my safety inspections be? The answer to this question was previously to be found in Annex 4 by way of an ‘inspection frequency graph’. This graph has been removed and replaced by a series of case study scenarios describing an operation and the inspection frequency for that operation. The idea of the use of scenarios is to encourage operators to take a pro-active approach and base the frequencies on their actual operation.

ii) Safety inspection and repair facilities

The section on inspection facilities has been amended to reinforce the fact that facilities at any service provider or workshop must be adequate to carry out the work. The staff should also be suitably qualified and have reached a recognised quality standard e.g. IRTE accreditation scheme. A phrase used in the guide is ‘even if the inspection is contracted out’ would indicate that operators using third party service providers should ensure the facilities and staff at these providers are in line with the requirements.

iii) Brake testing

There has been additional advice added on brake testing. For example, the recommendation that when carrying out a roller brake test the vehicle is in a laden condition. There is also information on how to use Electronic Brake Performance Monitoring Systems. Another recommendation is if a road test is being used to assess the brakes it is recommended that the brake temperature readings should be measured and recorded on the safety inspection sheet.

Some of the other changes

Some of the other changes to the guide include;

Emissions and air quality - This is currently a major issue for road haulage with a visible increase in enforcement at roadside checks. A new section has been added highlighting the importance of correctly maintained emissions control systems

Tyre management- The guide has information to assist in aspects of tyre management including monitoring tyre age. Tyre issues and defects are some of the most common issues found by DVSA enforcement at roadside checks.

There is an updated driver defect report to include AdBlue system checks and vehicle height systems.

There is also advice for the operator on the use of the Vehicle Operator Licensing system (VOL)

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