Guidance

Work trucks

Published 1 April 2009

For a vehicle to be used on the public roads in Great Britain it must comply with insurance, licensing (tax) and registration requirements. It must also comply with applicable construction regulations. Primarily these are the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (C&U), as amended, and the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, as amended. These requirements apply even in cases where the road use is minimal (for example crossing the public road from one private premises to another).

Definition of ‘works truck’

Regulation 3(2) of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended, defines a Works truck as:

a motor vehicle (other than a straddle carrier) designed for use in private premises and used on a road only in delivering goods from or to such premises to or from a vehicle on a road in the immediate neighbourhood, or in passing from one part of any such premises to another or to other private premises in the immediate neighbourhood or in connection with road works while at or in the immediate neighbourhood of the site of such works.

What is ‘immediate neighbourhood’ is a matter of judgement for the user of the road involved. Only the courts may provide a definitive interpretation of the distance that could be considered immediate neighbourhood but the department’s advice is that this is likely to be a very short distance.

This definition covers a wide variety of vehicles that can be considered works trucks and, for example, vehicles such as fork lift trucks and dump trucks are likely to fall under this definition. However, given the definition requires the vehicle to be ‘designed for use in private premises’, ex road going vehicles such as old tractor units used as ‘shunters’ are unlikely to meet this definition.

Construction requirements

All vehicles used on public roads must comply with the construction requirements set out in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended. Although, certain derogations exist for vehicles defined as ‘works trucks’, the following requirements apply:

• if the works truck can exceed 20 mph it must have a horn in good working order
• if it can exceed 25 mph it must have a speedometer in good working order
• the engine must be in good working order (does not emit black smoke) and fitted with a silencer if necessary so that it does not emit excessive noise
• it must have brakes that enable it to stop within a reasonable distance
• mirrors are not required if the driver can easily see traffic to the rear
• the vehicle must be maintained in a safe condition so that it does not cause danger to the driver or other road users

Please note that this list is not exhaustive. For the definitive requirements the regulations themselves should be consulted. For details of how to obtain these regulations please see section 3 of this information sheet or alternatively, it may be helpful to consult the vehicle manufacturer or their agent for further information on the standards required — as they will be fully aware of the legislation with which the vehicle had to comply when it was constructed.

The Road Vehicle (Construction & Use) Regulations 1986

These regulations are not available on the internet and have been amended many times which makes it difficult to piece together the latest form of the regulations. However these regulations are available in a consolidated format in most city reference libraries, or from legal publishers. One example is Sweet and Maxwell who publish the ‘The encyclopaedia of road traffic law and practice’. This publication is continually updated and Volume 4 contains a full version of the above mentioned regulations in consolidated format. Other possible suppliers include InterRegs.

Alternatively, it is possible to purchase printed copies of the Statutory Instruments that comprise the regulations from the TSO at the following address:

The Stationery Office
TSO Orders/Post Cash Dept
PO Box 29
Norwich
NR3 1GN

Telephone: 0870 600 5522
Fax: 0870 600 5533
e-mail: customer.services@tso.co.uk
Online ordering: www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp
Customer service: www.tso.co.uk/contact/customerservices

Workplace safety

There may be requirements under Health and Safety (Safety at Work) legislation for all forklifts or other types of works truck, regardless of whether they are used on road or not. For further information please contact the HSE website.

Oversized vehicles

As stated above, all vehicles used on GB public roads must comply with the requirements set out in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (as amended). However, certain large dump trucks (both rigid and articulated) are permitted to use public roads under specific and restricted circumstances by the Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003. The full requirements applicable to such vehicles are set out in schedule 10 of this order.

Overloading

Vehicles that are overloaded can pose a danger to the driver, passengers or other road users and also, cause excessive road damage. If a vehicles’ gross or axle weight limits are found to have been exceeded when weighed by either DVSA, the police or trading standards officers, the company and/or driver risk prosecution. In addition to this, an overloading conviction is one of the factors that could lead to a Traffic Commissioner taking disciplinary action against the operator’s licence. For further information on overloading please refer to DVSA’s guidance on GOV.UK.

Legal information

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