What DVSA’s Van Checks Tell You About Choosing a Courier

Between April and June this year, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) checked 1,258 vans and issued prohibitions to 890 of them. That is 71%. It also weighed 1,080 vans, and found that 742 of them, or 69%, were overloaded. (Source: DVSA’s vehicle enforcement data for Great Britain.)

A prohibition means a van must not be used until a defect is put right, either straight away or within a set time. For a business waiting on a delivery, that can mean goods stuck at the roadside and a missed delivery slot.

October is Tyre Safety Month, and tyres were the most common problem DVSA found. Here is what the figures mean when you choose a courier, and the checks we make on our own vans.

What the figures show

DVSA does not check vans at random. It targets vehicles it has reason to check, so these figures do not describe every van on the road.

Even so, the gap between vans and lorries is clear. In the same three months, DVSA issued prohibitions to 27% of the lorries it checked, and 25% of the lorries it weighed were overloaded. Vans were more than twice as likely to be given a prohibition, and more than twice as likely to be overloaded.

Part of the reason is the rules. A lorry needs an operator’s licence and an annual test from its first year. A van up to 3.5 tonnes needs no operator’s licence for work in the UK, and its first MOT is not due until it is three years old. So the standard a van is kept to depends largely on the business that runs it.

Tyres: the most common defect

More than one in five of the vans DVSA inspected at the roadside had a tyre defect serious enough for a prohibition.

Tyres are the only part of a van that touches the road. For cars and vans up to 3.5 tonnes, the legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tyre, all the way round. Each illegal tyre can bring a fine of up to £2,500 and three penalty points.

For Tyre Safety Month, the road safety organisation TyreSafe is asking drivers to check three things: air pressure, condition and tread.

How we keep our vans on the road

• A check every morning. Before they set off, our drivers do a walkaround check, using an app on their phone to tick off each item and report any problem.
• Our own workshop. We carry out much of our servicing, maintenance and repair work in-house, so faults are put right quickly.
• FORS Silver. Our accreditation requires documented maintenance, planned inspections and evidence that the work has been done.
• Seasonal checks. Our autumn changeover checks tyres for tread, pressure and cracking in the sidewalls, along with batteries, lights and wipers.
• Smooth driving. Our tracking system shows harsh braking and acceleration, and we use it to coach drivers. Smooth driving is safer, and it wears tyres and brakes more slowly.

Overloading: why we ask for weights

A 3.5-tonne van cannot carry 3.5 tonnes. The 3.5 tonnes is the most the van may weigh in total, including the van itself, the driver, the fuel and the load. The weight it can carry is much less, and it varies from van to van.

An overloaded van takes longer to stop, wears its tyres faster and is harder to control. If DVSA finds one, it can stop the van from going any further until the extra weight is removed.

That is why we ask for the weight and size of your goods when you book. It lets us send a vehicle that can carry them legally and safely.

Questions to ask any courier

Whoever you book, these questions are worth asking:

• Do your drivers check their vehicles every day, and is the check recorded?
• Who maintains your vehicles, and how often are they inspected?
• Are you FORS accredited?
• Will you ask for the weight of my goods before you send a vehicle?

Book a delivery

We run vans and Lutons up to 3.5 tonnes gross weight for same-day deliveries across Kent, London and the UK, including FORS Silver deliveries to construction sites.

Our control team takes new enquiries Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm, on 01227 773030. You can also email control@invictacouriers.com.