.jpg)
DVSA figures show that 98% of PCV and LGV MoT tests are now carried out at its 578 Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs).
Meanwhile, operators continue to report that they often suffer major difficulties when trying to obtain test dates. Many tell horror stories of having to send vehicles significant distances.
At the same time, DVSA hopes to eventually see 40% of the eligible vehicle parc captured by Earned Recognition (ER). The aims of ER are laudable, and it takes (or should take) the vehicles of the most compliant operators out of the scope of routine enforcement.
That happens because ER participants are trusted to be the best in the business. They prove their competence via an independent audit and by ongoing monitoring of several KPIs. DVSA is informed should any of those indicators be missed.
So why is it, then, that they cannot also be trusted to carry out their own MoT testing?
The arguments for it are numerous. It would help to relieve DVSA of the major burden of attempting to accommodate all tests at ATFs. It would incentivise other operators to become part of ER, further allowing enforcement efforts to be directed at the non-compliant.
Any worries of testers employed by operators ‘looking the other way’ are misplaced. By definition, those that are part of ER have proved themselves as the best in their field, and DVSA operates a team that focuses on MoT fraud. The most serious offences can lead to a prison sentence.
There is a disconnect between the trust that is placed in operators by ER, and DVSA’s refusal to permit the same companies to self-test their own vehicles. For ER to be a long-term success, that needs to change.
