Commercial vehicle fleet compliance checks, 2018 to 2020
Updated 1 July 2021
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1. About this summary report
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 lorries, buses and coaches.
The police and DVSA have the power to carry out spot checks on your vehicle and issue prohibitions if necessary.
Find out more about roadside vehicle checks for commercial drivers.
1.1 What the report shows
This report summarises the roadworthiness and traffic compliance of:
- all heavy goods vehicles and trailers
- Great Britain registered public service vehicles
The checks detailed in this report were carried out on randomly selected vehicles at randomly selected roadside sites throughout Great Britain.
2. Prohibition or serious offence
2.1 Summary for 2018 to 2020
| Vehicle type | Vehicles issued with a prohibition/serious offence | Vehicles not issued with a prohibition/serious offence | Total vehicles checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain vehicle | 300 | 2326 | 2626 |
| Great Britain trailer | 250 | 1417 | 1667 |
| Great Britain traffic | 245 | 2413 | 2658 |
| Non-Great Britain vehicle | 342 | 2268 | 2610 |
| Non-Great Britain trailer | 474 | 2086 | 2560 |
| Non-Great Britain traffic | 660 | 2044 | 2704 |
| PSV condition | 92 | 1217 | 1309 |
| PSV traffic - service bus | 2 | 466 | 468 |
| PSV traffic - school bus | 36 | 439 | 475 |
| PSV traffic - coach | 28 | 417 | 445 |
Prohibition and serious offence rate
| Vehicle type | % of vehicles stopped that led to a prohibition or serious offence |
|---|---|
| Great Britain vehicle | 11.4% |
| Great Britain trailer | 15% |
| Great Britain traffic | 9.2% |
| Non-Great Britain vehicle | 13.1% |
| Non-Great Britain trailer | 18.5% |
| Non-Great Britain traffic | 24.4% |
| PSV condition | 7% |
| PSV traffic - service bus | 0.4% |
| PSV traffic - school bus | 7.6% |
| PSV traffic - coach | 6.3% |
2.2 Historical information
These tables show the historic figure on the number of stops and prohibitions issued by DVSA:
Where ‘No data’ shows, it’s because either:
- the checks were done in alternate years
- no records are available
3. Vehicle and trailer defect rates
3.1 Total number of vehicle and trailer checks
| Vehicle type | Total number checked |
|---|---|
| Great Britain vehicle | 2626 |
| Great Britain trailer | 1667 |
| Non-Great Britain vehicle | 2610 |
| Non-Great Britain trailer | 2560 |
| PSV condition | 1309 |
3.2 Vehicle and trailer defect volumes
| Vehicle type | Immediate | Delayed | Inspection notice | No defect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain vehicle | 184 | 116 | 367 | 1959 |
| Great Britain trailer | 158 | 92 | 134 | 1283 |
| Non-Great Britain vehicle | 151 | 191 | 242 | 2026 |
| Non-Great Britain trailer | 210 | 264 | 156 | 1930 |
| PSV condition | 40 | 52 | 347 | 870 |
3.3 Vehicle and trailer defect rates
| Vehicle type | % Immediate | % Delayed | % Inspection notice | % No defect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain vehicle | 7.0% | 4.4% | 14.0% | 74.6% |
| Great Britain trailer | 9.5% | 5.5% | 8.0% | 77.0% |
| Non-Great Britain vehicle | 5.8% | 7.3% | 9.3% | 77.6% |
| Non-Great Britain trailer | 8.2% | 10.3% | 6.1% | 75.4% |
| PSV condition | 3.1% | 4.0% | 26.5% | 66.5% |
4. Traffic offence rate
4.1 Total number of traffic stops
| Type | Total number stopped |
|---|---|
| Great Britain traffic | 2658 |
| Non-Great Britain traffic | 2704 |
| PSV traffic - service bus | 468 |
| PSV traffic - coach | 445 |
| PSV traffic - school bus | 475 |
4.2 Traffic offence volumes
| Type | Serious | No traffic offence |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain traffic | 245 | 2413 |
| Non-Great Britain traffic | 660 | 2044 |
| PSV traffic - service bus | 2 | 466 |
| PSV traffic - coach | 28 | 417 |
| PSV traffic - school bus | 36 | 439 |
4.3 Traffic offence rate
| Type | % Serious | % No traffic offence |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain traffic | 9.2% | 90.8% |
| Non-Great Britain traffic | 24.4% | 75.6% |
| PSV traffic - service bus | 0.4% | 99.6% |
| PSV traffic - coach | 6.3% | 93.7% |
| PSV traffic - school bus | 7.6% | 92.4% |