7 We have produced a separate VOSA booklet to help you apply for an Operator’s Licence, called Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing – Guide for Operators. We have also produced a manual called A Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness, which gives details about the systems you need to put in place for maintaining vehicles in a roadworthy condition. Drivers’ hours rules and record keeping requirements are explained in VOSA guides GV262 (for heavy goods vehicles) and PSV375 (for passenger carrying vehicles). 1
Information on most of the important aspects of operating commercial transport can be found in other VOSA guides listed in Annex 12 of this Guide. We recommend you read and keep these guides for future reference. There are also codes of practice available relating to various aspects of transport operations, including the weighing of vehicles and the safety of loads on vehicles. Nobody’s perfect VOSA recognises that operators of heavy goods or passenger carrying vehicles will not be perfect all of the time. However, we do want you to be vigilant and responsible. The penalties for and consequences of noncompliance to you the operator – and to the general public – can range from the inconvenient to the very serious and, sometimes, to the catastrophic. You and your staff may be prosecuted and your vehicles may be prohibited. At worst, you may cause serious injury or fatal accidents due to tired drivers or poorly loaded and badly maintained vehicles.
How does the law affect me? Traffic Commissioners have the power to revoke, suspend or curtail your Operator’s Licence. They may also impose various conditions on the way you operate authorised vehicles if you don’t comply with the requirements of the licensing system. If you continue to use a heavy goods vehicle when your licence has been revoked, your vehicle and any goods carried in it could be impounded and your assets may be lost. A Traffic Commissioner may also suspend or revoke a driver’s vocational licence on the grounds of non-compliance with drivers’ hours rules and/or other driver licensing legislation. When an Operator’s Licence is granted, the holder makes written promises to the Traffic Commissioner that, among other matters, he/she will have a working system in place to make sure that the drivers abide by drivers’ hours/record keeping regulations and that the vehicles will be maintained properly and used within the weight limits. The person holding the Operator’s Licence must report to the Traffic Commissioner, within 28 days, any convictions relating to the drivers or the holder of the licence, and any event affecting the good standing of the operator, such as an authorised vehicle being seized by HM Revenue & Customs when found to be using illegal fuel.
Health and safety (risk assessments)
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SECTION 1: Introduction
As well as general road safety, your first consideration must be the health, safety and welfare of all your staff. The text that follows is therefore particularly important. Health and safety and risk assessments should be ingrained in all your thoughts about all planning aspects of any transport business.
See Annex 12 of this Guide for full details. Many of these guides are available on request from any VOSA Traffic Area Office or Test Station, and from the VOSA website at www.transportoffice.gov.uk. Useful addresses and sources of further help can be found in Annex 13 of this Guide.