Heavy vehicle testing review represents lost opportunity to bring innovation into system

Transport Minister Baroness Vere triggered the Review after Logistics UK highlighted its members’ concerns that the testing system has not demonstrated the necessary resilience to continue operating during the pandemic. In a letter to Logistics UK, the minister said that the Review found the heavy vehicle testing system “was not in crisis” but identified areas for future work.

The Review concentrated largely on the service operators were receiving before the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than the ongoing situation.

Members had been hoping that the Review would lead to a testing model that made use of privately employed vehicle testers. However, the recommendations are to make incremental improvements to the existing system rather than wholesale reform. Logistics UK highlighted the lost opportunity to bring innovation into the testing system.

“Heavy vehicle testing needs wholesale reform,” said James Firth, Logistics UK’s Head of Road Freight Regulation Policy, “and it is a shame the Department for Transport missed this opportunity to pave the way for a more effective and efficient system. Logistics UK is now calling on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to work with industry to produce an implementation plan for the minor recommendations DfT did outline, including continued service improvement and increasing tester capacity.”

*www.gov.uk/government/publications/heavy-vehicle-testing-review/heavy-vehicle-testing-review-final-report

Published On: 18/03/2021 17:00:40

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