No changes to the heavy vehicle testing regime for members of DVSA Earned Recognition (ER) are to be made after conclusion of internal analysis of options in that field.
Those potential amendments were published in a call for evidence from the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2023. They were to increase the time between tests for ER members; allow those operators to test their own vehicles via a delegated approach; and streamline the test by removal of some items.
In early 2024, DfT said that further assessment was required of the delegated testing and increased test interval suggestions in a move that also appeared to discount reduction of test content for vehicles in ER members’ fleets.
DVSA has now reported that process is complete and “has not provided a strong case” for either that could “outweigh potential safety impacts or other considerations,” including the effect on ER, a need for legislative change, and resource implications.
“The testing requirement for ER operators will, therefore, remain the same. There will be no delegation to allow ER operators to test their vehicles,” the Agency continues.
Despite that seemingly inevitable conclusion around vehicle testing, DfT and DVSA say that they remain committed to Earned Recognition, noting how it plays an important part in encouraging and promoting best practice.
Momentum to explore whether annual test intervals for ER members began in 2021 with a review of heavy vehicle testing. It concluded that while that regime was “generally not in crisis,” some parts would benefit from attention.
DfT interest in progressing the potential changes always appeared lukewarm. It noted at the call for evidence stage that any extension of test intervals would require primary legislation and be a slow process, and that some insurers may still require an annual test.
Concerns were also aired about travelling outside the UK and what would happen when a vehicle was sold from an ER member to a non-ER operator.
A fourth option presented in the call for evidence in 2023 was for DVSA to focus its service improvement efforts on ER members. The final DfT position is that the Agency has rolled out “considerable improvements to its service position… for all operators” and that further work in that area continues.
