OLCIS eNews – July 2025

Tuesday 29 July 2025

Welcome to the July edition of Logistics UK’s Operator Licensing Compliance Information Service (OLCIS) enews update. This document is a monthly round-up of transport news items sent out as part of your OLCIS subscription. Its objective is to keep you up to date with news affecting your commercial vehicle operation. To view previous editions and access your other subscription benefits, visit the dedicated OLCIS hub.

We welcome any comments and suggestions for new topics you would like to see included within OLCIS enews. Contact Customer Services with any feedback.

TfL releases multi-vehicle permit look-up tool for Direct Vision Standard (DVS)

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a multi-vehicle look-up tool to check the permit status of the vehicles to confirm if they have an existing DVS permit, or if an application for a permit is needed. Operators can now upload a CSV file of five of more Vehicle Registration Marks (VRM), up to a maximum of 150 VRMs.

The tool can be found here. Members are encouraged to pass any feedback on this new look-up tool to Chris Yarsley.

Further updates to DVSA’s roadside prohibition notification

DVSA has made more changes to the tool used by its roadside enforcement colleagues to record vehicle encounters.

Since 18 June 2025, prohibition notifications have been emailed to users if the operator licence has an email address recorded.

As of 17 July 2025, prohibition email notifications will include a link for users to download the letter, rather than the email containing the wrong wording.

Operators will still be given a physical prohibition at the roadside and receive clearance notices by post.

Operators without an email address recorded will continue receiving letters and notices to their business address.

To update an email address online, operators should register for self-service on the Vehicle Operator Licencing (VOL) system here.

DVA publish updated version of Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness

The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Northern Ireland has published an updated version of the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness. This updated edition reflects the latest standards, best practices, and regulatory requirements to support operators in ensuring the safety and compliance of their fleet.

The revised guide includes:

• Enhanced guidance on assessing brake performance.
• Updated checklists and templates.
• Clarifications on responsibilities for transport managers and operators.
• Integration of recent legislative changes and technological advancements.

The DVA encourages all transport operators, fleet managers, and maintenance technicians to review the new guide and incorporate its content into their operational practices. Maintaining roadworthiness is not only a legal and regulatory obligation, but also a vital component of road safety.

The updated guide is available for download on the website here.

Top questions this month at the Member Advice Centre  

Q – We operate a large fleet of vehicles, from cars to goods vehicles that come under operator licensing. Our company policy is that driver walk around checks are carried out by all drivers of any company vehicles, whether they are on an operator licence or not. If we stop carrying out walk around checks on all our vehicles and just carry the checks out on operator licenced vehicles would this raise any issues?

A – The driver daily walk around checks form part of your maintenance system. They are not as in depth as the planned safety inspections but are put in place to ensure, to the best of the driver’s knowledge, that when they take a vehicle out on the road it is in a safe and roadworthy condition. Any defects found by the driver that would affect the roadworthiness of the vehicle, such as worn tyres or defective lights can be spotted and rectified before the vehicle is used on the public highway.

Driver daily walk around checks are a requirement for vehicles operated under operator licensing, but as you have this in place for all your vehicles this can only be a good thing. A point worth noting is the fact that problems found on non-operator licenced vehicles can reflect badly on your operator licence and would attract unwanted attention from DVSA. You have a duty to ensure all your vehicles used on a public highway are in a safe and roadworthy condition, and daily walk around checks are a proven method of helping to comply with this requirement.

Q – All our HGV drivers over 45 undergo five yearly medicals when they renew their vocational licences. However, we also operate two 7.5t vehicles which are driven by pre-97 licence holders who have their C1 by acquired rights. Both these drivers are over 45 but have never had a medical, should they have done? The C1 expiry date is the same as their category B car licence.

A – If the two drivers in question had gained their C1 entitlement through a test pass then the rules regarding medicals would apply. As the C1 entitlement your two drivers hold is classed as acquired rights, it was gained through their pre-1997 car licence so the rules for car drivers and medicals apply, in that a medical will be required by these drivers if they wish to retain the entitlement after the age of 70.

There is still the requirement for the driver to inform DVLA of any medical conditions that may affect their driving under the conditions of the licence whether a medical is required or not.

Compliance news: around the courts

Background

An operator holds a standard national operator’s licence authorised for three vehicles and three trailers. Three vehicles were shown as in possession. The director is also the transport manager named on the licence.

The operator/transport manager were called to a public inquiry, as unsatisfactory reports from the DVSA showed concern in both maintenance and traffic matters, following on from a prohibition notice issued for an insecure load. The Traffic Commissioner at that time issued a formal warning and recorded undertakings for inspection frequency, roller brake testing and a systems compliance audit to be submitted.

The Traffic Commissioner was made aware of the apparent failure to supply the audit and a further DVSA maintenance investigation, again, identified major shortcomings along with potential fraud. The operator had failed to respond to the DVSA Examiner. The Traffic Commissioner proposed to revoke the licence by way of a letter. This generated a prompt response from the operator and an audit report was submitted by the end of that month. The operator claimed they submitted this report months ago, however, had no evidence to support this. A public inquiry was requested.

The audit noted numerous shortcomings with the administration and documentation, with missed/late inspections and a lack of roller brake testing. The undertakings given at the previous inquiry had not been complied with.

The DVSA Vehicle Examiner (VE) provided a maintenance investigation visit report produced from a visit prior. The VE noted similar shortcomings to those found by the auditor around seven months earlier, stating that the operator’s maintenance paperwork was “an absolute shambles”. The VE also reported fraud, as there were duplicated safety inspection reports for the same vehicle/trailers, with the same identical faults, but with date changes amongst other issues with brake test reports.

There were other shortcomings and the Traffic Commissioner called both the operator and transport manager to public inquiry.

Evidence

The operator/transport manager attended the public inquiry unrepresented. A bundle of documents was provided in advance.

The Traffic Commissioner noted that the operator’s evidence bundle included documents back to 2018 with no particular order. The operator accepted that their record keeping was a mess. The Traffic Commissioner noted that for numerous vehicles, they could only find safety inspection reports for certain months.

It was also noted that trailers within the fleet had roller brake tests completed on two separate months which were entirely identical, even down to the tests having been conducted at a specific time and all the brake efforts and measured axle weights were the same. The only difference was the dates.

The Traffic Commissioner explained that the operator had been requested to submit tachograph analysis evidence but had received only some random printouts.

Revocation of the licence would be the end of the business and create major issues to the operator/transport manager personally. Vehicles were still on finance and there was a bounce-back loan. Disqualification as an operator would impact on the business negatively. There had been external pressures and illness and requested if they could just operate one vehicle. The operator said they would resit the transport manager examination, and appoint an external transport manager.

The facts were largely undisputed. Vehicles had not been inspected every eight weeks, it was accepted that there had been large gaps in all the relevant inspections that had been included in his bundle of evidence. Outside MOT, the Traffic Commissioner could find no trace of laden roller brake testing and found entirely false documents to try to hide the lack of inspections and brake tests.

The operator failed to comply with the public inquiry directions to produce compliance documents, a list of which was clearly set out. As a result, the Traffic Commissioner could make no assessment of systems for complying with drivers’ hours or working time rules.

Summing up

As a transport manager, the management systems are completely missing. The operator/transport manager had not exercised continuous and effective control over their operation. Having trusted the operator from a previous inquiry, that trust was almost immediately broken and the Traffic Commissioner was unable to trust them again. The good repute as transport manager is lost and an extended period of disqualification from that role was appropriate.

The operator/transport manager was also disqualified from holding or applying for an operator licence for one year.

Separate findings of loss of good repute and loss of professional competence meant that the licence was revoked.

The Transport Manager has lost their good repute. They had been disqualified from acting as such for a period of three years.