Commercial vehicle fleet compliance checks, 2020 to 2022
Published 16 April 2024
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commercial-vehicle-fleet-compliance-checks-2020-to-2022/commercial-vehicle-fleet-compliance-checks-2020-to-2022
1. Introduction
Fleet compliance checks
Fleet compliance checks are carried out to determine the:
- level of roadworthiness across the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) and public service vehicle (PSV) fleet, known as ‘condition’
- overall level of HGV and PSV operator compliance with traffic regulations, known as ‘compliance’
Fleet compliance checks have been carried out since 1997. Since 2018, the checks have been run over a 2-year period, with PSV and HGV checks being run throughout the whole period.
In the 2020 to 2022 check, both PSV condition and compliance checks were to be performed from April 2020 to January 2022. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no PSV checks and limited HGV checks were possible in 2020, so as many checks as possible were performed in 2021.
The checks are performed by Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) examiners, to a sample requirement defined by the Department for Transport (DfT). DfT collate the data from the checks and analyse the results.
Why fleet compliance checks are carried out
The main reasons why this survey is funded by the DfT and carried out by DVSA are to:
- determine trends in non-compliance with regulations and roadworthiness in order to gauge the effects of changes in legislation and the effectiveness of DVSA’s day-to-day targeted operations
- provide information to help identify potential areas for targeting, so that DVSA’s work can be more focused
- compare differences in condition and compliance between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and non-Great Britain vehicles
The results of the checks are given in this report. A full methodology of the checks is available at how DVSA carries out fleet compliance checks.
Quality of analysis in this report
The level of assurance surrounding the analysis undertaken is medium/high, based on the DfT analytical assurance framework.
The analysis was undertaken by experienced and skilled staff with sufficient time and resources to develop an adequate methodology for DVSA roadside examiners to use, and to carry out and quality assure a detailed analysis of the results.
There is scope for challenge to some underlying assumptions, particularly around examiners’ underlying ability to choose vehicles randomly. Uncertainty surrounding the results is relatively low. Further analytical work is unlikely to significantly improve the solution or reduce uncertainty. The quality assurance is considered proportionate to the uses being made of the data.
Confidence intervals
This report provides 95% confidence intervals for prohibition rates and serious offence rates, as an estimation of the underlying fleet defect rate. This means that in 95% of cases, we would expect the results to fall within the interval provided.
In this report, the word ‘vehicle’ is used to refer to the tractor unit of a combination. If the combination is articulated, the vehicle and trailer results are analysed separately.
2. Types of fleet compliance check carried out from 2020 to 2022
DVSA checked 6727 vehicles from 2020 to 2022.
| Check type | DVSA earned recognition member | Not DVSA earned recognition member | Unknown or not applicable | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain HGV | 199 | 2,445 | 21 | 2,665 |
| Non-Great Britain HGV | 0 | 0 | 2,629 | 2,629 |
| PSV condition | 114 | 494 | 0 | 608 |
| Service bus compliance | 91 | 169 | 2 | 262 |
| Coach compliance | 17 | 281 | 2 | 300 |
| School bus compliance | 6 | 248 | 9 | 263 |
3. Great Britain heavy goods vehicle (HGV) roadworthiness compliance
Types of Great Britain HGVs checked
| Vehicle type | Number of vehicles checked |
|---|---|
| Vehicles in DVSA earned recognition scheme | 186 |
| Vehicles not in DVSA earned recognition scheme | 2308 |
| Vehicles with unknown DVSA earned recognition status | 19 |
| Total vehicles checked | 2513 |
Results of Great Britain HGV checks
| Check result | Number of vehicles checked |
|---|---|
| No defects found | 1883 |
| Inspection notice issued | 401 |
| At least one prohibitable defect | 229 |
9.1% of vehicles checked were found to have at least one prohibitable defect. The 95% confidence interval for the prohibition rate was 7.7% to 10.5%.
The prohibition rate for DVSA earned recognition operators was 3% and the rate for operators not on the scheme was 9%. The 186 vehicles in the DVSA earned recognition scheme checked for HGV roadworthiness compliance represent a small portion of the vehicles on this scheme and should therefore be treated with caution.
Types of sanction given at Great Britain HGV checks
| Type of sanction | Percentage of vehicles |
|---|---|
| No defect | 74.9% |
| Inspection notice | 16% |
| Delayed prohibition | 2.5% |
| Immediate prohibition | 6.6% |
In total, 320 prohibition defects were found on Great Britain HGVs, which is 1.4 per prohibited vehicle.
Types of defect found at Great Britain HGV checks
| Type of defect | Percentage of prohibitions given to vehicles for this type of defect |
|---|---|
| Running gear | 36.9% |
| Lamps and reflectors | 17.5% |
| Engine and associated equipment | 10.9% |
| Brakes | 10.9% |
| Bodywork | 8.8% |
| Steering | 5.6% |
| Suspension | 5% |
| Vehicle interior | 2.8% |
| Transmission | 0.9% |
| Chassis | 0.6% |
4. Great Britain trailer roadworthiness compliance
Types of Great Britain trailers checked
| Vehicle type | Number of vehicles checked |
|---|---|
| Vehicles in DVSA earned recognition scheme | 131 |
| Vehicles not in DVSA earned recognition scheme | 1484 |
| Vehicles with unknown DVSA earned recognition status | 4 |
| Total vehicles checked | 1619 |
Results of Great Britain trailer checks
| Check result | Number of vehicles checked |
|---|---|
| No defects found | 1229 |
| Inspection notice issued | 183 |
| At least one prohibitable defect | 207 |
12.8% of trailers checked were found to have at least one prohibitable defect. The confidence interval for the prohibition rate was 10.9% to 14.7%.
The prohibition rate for DVSA earned recognition operators was 3% and the rate for operators not on the scheme was 14%. The 131 vehicles in the DVSA earned recognition scheme checked for trailer roadworthiness compliance represent a small portion of the vehicles on this scheme and should therefore be treated with caution.
Types of sanction given at Great Britain trailer checks
| Type of sanction | Percentage of vehicles |
|---|---|
| No defect | 75.9% |
| Inspection notice | 11.3% |
| Delayed prohibition | 3.5% |
| Immediate prohibition | 9.3% |
In total, 285 prohibition defects were found on Great Britain trailers, which is 1.4 per prohibited vehicle.
Types of defect found at Great Britain trailer checks
| Type of defect | Percentage of prohibitions given to trailers for this type of defect |
|---|---|
| Brakes | 37.7% |
| Running gear | 26.8% |
| Lamps and reflectors | 16.9% |
| Bodywork | 13% |
| Suspension | 4.2% |
| Engine and associated equipment | 1.4% |
5. Great Britain heavy goods vehicle (HGV) traffic compliance
Types of Great Britain HGVs checked
| Vehicle type | Number of vehicles checked |
|---|---|
| Vehicles in DVSA earned recognition scheme | 198 |
| Vehicles not in DVSA earned recognition scheme | 2398 |
| Vehicles with unknown DVSA earned recognition status | 21 |
| Total vehicles checked | 2617 |
Of these, 263 (10%) had committed a serious offence. In this analysis, the following offences are counted as serious:
- offences resulting in a prohibition
- offences resulting in a graduated fixed penalty deposit
- level 4 offences
- level 5 offences
This is a change from previous years. Previously, offences such as offence rectification notices were included. It is expected that this will have a small effect on the offence rate, in the region of a 1% difference.
The confidence interval for serious offences was between 8.6% to 11.5%.
The prohibition rate for DVSA earned recognition operators was 2% and the rate for operators not on the scheme was 10%. The 198 vehicles in the DVSA earned recognition scheme checked for HGV traffic compliance represent a small portion of the vehicles on this scheme and should therefore be treated with caution.
Types of offence found at Great Britain HGV checks
| Offence type | Percentage of vehicles |
|---|---|
| Serious offence | 10% |
| No traffic offence | 90% |
6. Non-Great Britain heavy goods vehicle (HGV) roadworthiness compliance
2424 non-Great Britain vehicles were checked for defects. Of these, 1883 were found to have no defect, and 294 received an inspection notice. 247 (10.2%) were found to have at least one prohibitable defect. The 95% confidence interval for the prohibition rate was 8.7% to 11.7%.
Types of sanction given at non-Great Britain HGV checks
| Type of sanction | Percentage of vehicles |
|---|---|
| No defect | 77.7% |
| Inspection notice | 12.1% |
| Delayed prohibition | 5% |
| Immediate prohibition | 5.2% |
In total, 349 prohibition defects were found on non-Great Britain vehicles, which is 1.4 per prohibited vehicle. The graph below shows the proportion of all prohibitions that were given to each defect category. Of all the prohibitions issued, 22.9% were for running gear and 18.6% for bodywork.
Types of defect found at non-Great Britain HGV checks
| Type of defect | Percentage of prohibitions given to vehicles for this type of defect |
|---|---|
| Running gear | 22.9% |
| Bodywork | 18.6% |
| Lamps and reflectors | 16.6% |
| Brakes | 13.2% |
| Engine and associated equipment | 8.6% |
| Steering | 7.7% |
| Suspension | 5.4% |
| Vehicle interior | 4.6% |
| Chassis | 2% |
| Transmission | 0.3% |
7. Non-Great Britain trailer roadworthiness compliance
2388 vehicles had trailers that were checked for fleet compliance. Of these, 431 (18%) were found to have a prohibitable defect. The confidence interval for the prohibition rate was 16.1% to 20%.
| Type of defect | Percentage of trailers |
|---|---|
| No defect | 72.1% |
| Inspection notice | 9.9% |
| Delayed prohibition | 8.8% |
| Immediate prohibition | 9.2% |
In total, 701 prohibition defects were found on non-Great Britain trailers, which is 1.6 per prohibited vehicle.
Types of defect found at non-Great Britain trailer checks
| Type of defect | Percentage of prohibitions given to trailers for this type of defect |
|---|---|
| Brakes | 32.4% |
| Running gear | 25.3% |
| Bodywork | 18% |
| Suspension | 12.4% |
| Lamps and reflectors | 8.1% |
| Engine and associated equipment | 2.3% |
| Steering | 0.7% |
| Chassis | 0.4% |
| Vehicle interior | 0.3% |
8. Non-Great Britain HGV traffic compliance
Examiners checked 2540 vehicles for traffic offences. Of these, 547 (21.5%) had committed a serious offence.
In this analysis, the following offences are counted as serious:
- offences resulting in a prohibition
- offences resulting in a graduated fixed penalty deposit
- level 4 offences
- level 5 offences
This is a change from previous years. Previously, offences such as offence rectification notices have been included. It is expected that this will have a small effect on the offence rate.
The confidence interval for serious offences was 19.6% to 23.5%.
Types of offence found at non-Great Britain HGV checks
| Offence type | Percentage Britain vehicles |
|---|---|
| Serious offence | 21.5% |
| No traffic offence | 78.5% |
9. Public service vehicle (PSV) compliance
9.1 School buses
Examiners checked 258 school buses for traffic offences. Of these, 11 drivers (4.3%) committed a serious offence. The 95% confidence interval for the serious offence rate was 1.3% to 7.3%. Due to the small numbers of serious offences, no meaningful comparison could be made between DVSA earned recognition operators and operators not on the scheme.
9.2 Service buses
Examiners checked 260 service buses for traffic offences. Of these, 0 drivers (0%) committed a serious offence. The 95% confidence interval for the serious offence could not be calculated. Due to the small numbers of serious offences, no meaningful comparison of Earned Recognition and non-Earned Recognition operators was possible.
9.3 Coaches
Examiners checked 293 coaches for traffic offences. Of these, 26 drivers (8.9%) committed a serious offence. The 95% confidence interval for the serious offence rate was 5.5% to 12.2%. Due to the small numbers of serious offences, no meaningful comparison could be made between DVSA earned recognition operators and operators not on the scheme.
10. Public service vehicle (PSV) condition
Types of public service vehicle checked
| Vehicle type | Number of vehicles checked |
|---|---|
| Vehicles in DVSA earned recognition scheme | 114 |
| Vehicles not in DVSA earned recognition scheme | 494 |
| Vehicles with unknown DVSA earned recognition status | 0 |
| Total vehicles checked | 608 |
Results of public service vehicle checks
| Check result | Number of vehicles checked |
|---|---|
| No defects found | 444 |
| Inspection notice issued | 132 |
| At least one prohibitable defect | 32 |
5.3% of PSVs checked were found to have at least one prohibitable defect. The 95% confidence interval for the prohibition rate was 1.8% to 8.7%.
The prohibition rate for DVSA earned recognition operators was 5% and the rate for operators not on the scheme was 5%. Whilst these results are the same, it should be noted that the confidence intervals for both of these factors are relatively broad and so the actual prohibition rates across the whole DVSA earned recognition and non-scheme member fleets may be different.
Types of sanction given at public service vehicle checks
| Type of sanction | Percentage of vehicles |
|---|---|
| No defect | 73% |
| Inspection notice | 21.7% |
| Delayed prohibition | 2% |
| Immediate prohibition | 3.3% |
11. Sampling information
11.1 Representativeness of the sample
The heavy goods vehicle (HGV) sample was representative of the spread of HGV traffic geographically. The public service vehicle (PSV) sample was not representative, but due to the impact COVID-19 had on PSV operations this is unsurprising. This could result in results that do not completely represent the underlying population.
11.2 Changes to consider when making comparisons across years
A direct comparison between years would need to consider changes to the traffic offence categories. However, broad trends in serious traffic offences across years are valid, as are yearly comparisons since 2011.
For the purposes of this year’s report, an offence is deemed to be serious if it results in a prohibition, graduated fixed penalty deposit or a level 4 or level 5 offence.
This marks a change from previous years when ‘serious offences’ included those which resulted in at least one of the following:
- report for prosecution or report to the traffic commissioner
- report for further investigation
- prohibition
- offence rectification notice (ORN)
- graduated fixed penalty deposit
- advisory letter
- impounding
Changes to traffic offence categories
Traffic offence categories have changed since the checks started in 1997. For example:
- prohibition and offence rectification notices were introduced in 2003
- graduated fixed penalty deposits were introduced in 2009 – usually only issued in addition to other outcomes
In addition, from 2011 the results of further investigation were unknown at the time the analysis was performed, so these cases have an offence category of report for further investigation. Therefore, it was decided that a single category called ‘serious offences’ should be used throughout most of the report.
Serious offences
For the purposes of this fleet compliance check report, an offence is deemed to be serious if it is a prohibition or graduated fixed penalty deposit. In previous years, these have included lesser offences as well, but this has been changed in the 2020 to 2022 report.