The Information Commissioner’s Office guidance which states that you must let people know when they are in an area where a surveillance system is in operation.
The most effective way of doing this is by using prominently placed signs, which are particularly important where the surveillance systems are discreet or in locations where people might not expect to be under surveillance.
Signs should be clearly visible and legible, contain details of the organisation operating the system (if it is not obvious) and include basic contact details such as website or phone number.
NAME OF THE GAME
Our company has recently restructured and has changed names, resulting in us having to obtain a new operator’s licence. We operate the same vehicle with the same drivers and operating centre as we used to under the old name.
Do we have to retain drivers’ hours and maintenance records that refer to the previous company name?
Vehicle records need to be kept for 15 months, whereas EU drivers’ hours records need to be kept for 12 months (24 months if used for working time purposes). Both the vehicle maintenance and the drivers’ hours records should still be kept for the relevant time period despite the company name change, as you are still operating the same vehicles with the same drivers, so those records could still be inspected by enforcement if required.
TRAINING ON A LOOP
I have booked my drivers on some Driver CPC modules. When booking I noticed that they have already sat the same one – can they still attend?
A range of different subjects should be covered over the 35 hours, modules should only be repeated if there is evidence that the driver needs specific remedial training.
Your course trainer would also be able to advise this before attending the course. Repeated hours could be removed by DVSA.
VERGING ON ILLEGAL PARKING
When carrying out deliveries to customer premises, at times we need to park up on the footway or verge. Is this legal to do?
The Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 19 Prohibits the parking of HGVs as you describe, unless certain conditions are met: —
(2)A person shall not be convicted of an offence under this section in respect of a vehicle if he proves to the satisfaction of the court—
(a)that it was parked in accordance with permission given by a constable in uniform, or
(b)that it was parked in contravention of this section for the purpose of saving life or extinguishing fire or meeting any other like emergency, or
(c)that it was parked in contravention of this section, but the conditions specified in subsection (3) below were satisfied.
(3) The conditions mentioned in subsection (2)(c) above are—
(a)that the vehicle was parked on the verge of a road or on a footway for the purpose of loading or unloading, and
(b)that the loading or unloading of the vehicle could not have been satisfactorily performed if it had not been parked on the footway or verge, and
(c)that the vehicle was not left unattended at any time while it was so parked.
NO SPACES REQUIRED
A couple of our vehicles have just been recalibrated with spaces in the registration. The garage who did the calibration have claimed it is not illegal and therefore want to charge us to rectify this. Is this correct?
The approved tachograph centre manual states “amend or confirm the required parameters and update the VU, ensuring that all details are correct and entered in the correct format, eg vehicle registration number is entered with no spaces or additional characters.
Annexe 1B of the tachograph regulation, does not list space as a character to be used. Therefore, it could be inferred that if the character in question is not listed in these sets then the character is not accepted.
TAKING A BREAK
One of our drivers selected Period of Availability (PoA) on their tachograph instead of break. He then received an infringement for insufficient break. The driver claimed that it was acceptable as the vehicle had wiped it clean. Is the driver right?
In the United Kingdom, Period of Availability (PoA) is not considered a break; however there is nothing stopping a driver taking a break during this available time. This is a different interpretation to much of Europe and, as such, digital tachographs view PoA as a break in their internal software. Therefore, if a driver was to take 45 minutes PoA in a digital vehicle, this would show as “wiping the slate clean” for the 4.5 hours driving period being displayed to the driver. However, under the UK interpretation, this would not be the case and in those circumstances, if using PoA, the driver must be very careful to calculate their own 4.5 hours driving periods and break requirements and select the correct mode on the tachograph.
MAINTAINING ROADWORTHINESS
We have had occasions where a vehicle with a defect has needed to be driven to the maintenance provider. How would we stand if stopped by roadside enforcement during this journey and the fact the defect could attract a prohibition?
A vehicle used on the public highway must always be kept in a roadworthy condition.
Any prohibitions picked up will have a detrimental effect on your Operator Compliance Risk Score and Operator licence. However, in the Categorisation of defects, there is a “Delayed Defect Concession” for roadside inspection. Under certain circumstances a delayed prohibition can be downgraded to an inspection notice. In your case this may apply if the vehicle when encountered is on a direct route to a repair facility for a delayed prohibition defect to be repaired. The driver must provide evidence to back this up (including a logged appointment with the maintenance provider), and that the vehicle is safe to drive. The concession does not apply if any other prohibitions are detected on the encounter.
NEW VEHICLES, NO PLATES
There have been some brand-new vehicles delivered to our depot. They have no VTG plates or plating certificates. Do we have to wait for the plates to arrive before using them?
You can use newly registered vehicles without displaying a VTG plate. The plate should be displayed in the vehicle within 14 working days of being issued by DVSA. The legal requirement is laid down in Road Vehicles (Construction and Use Regulations) Regulation 70. The VTG 6 is the plate and the VTG 7 is the certificate. Vehicles encountered at roadside without a plate will be checked against DVSA’s records to determine if a plate has been issued.
