Vosa has confirmed it is planning to significantly increase its enforcement effort on vans.
Speaking at the recent FTA Van Excellence Conference, Vosa head of enforcement policy Gordon Macdonald said the agency was “determined to improve van operational standards”.
He added that it “makes no secret of its intention to significantly ramp up the number of roadside inspections and other enforcement activity”.
A spokesman for Vosa subsequently confirmed to Motortransport.co.uk that the increase in van enforcement would include 20 additional roadside checks per quarter in major UK towns and cities during the current financial year, as well as a communications compliance strategy to educate and assist operators.
“The main reasons Vosa is increasing enforcement effort on light goods vehicles is because of their high risk of harbouring mechanical defects and being overloaded,” said the Vosa spokesman.
“Data on vans shows that first-time pass rates at annual test are consistently around 50%. Prohibitions for mechanical defects and overloading are also much higher than heavy goods vehicles,” he added.
Thanks to some “modest” additional funding, the planned increase in enforcement against vans would “take very little away” from other areas of enforcement, he added.
