Ask the MAC

Walk the walk

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 operator licence or not. If we stop doing 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, eg worn tyres, defective lights etc. 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 (as a means of ensuring they are in a roadworthy condition) 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 licensed vehicles can reflect badly on your operator licence and may 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.

The doctor will see you now…

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-1997 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, however 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.