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1 day left to apply for Brexit lorry permits You’ve got until 11.59pm on 18 January 2019 to apply for European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) permits. ECMT permits will allow you to continue operating in the EU after 29 March 2019 in the event of ‘no deal’. Annual and short-term (30 day) permits Both annual and short-term permits (valid for 30 days) are available. If you apply, you’ll be considered for annual permits first. If you are not successful your application will automatically be considered for a short-term permit, subject to availability. They won’t be allocated on a first come first served basis. We’ll inform operators if they’ve been awarded an ECMT permit in due course. Apply for a permit Applications close at 11.59pm on 18 January 2019. Find out more information and how to apply for an ECMT...

Key issues from public inquiry Part two of our series which aims to help you maintain and promote O licence compliance Usually it’s the action against an operator which grabs the headlines in a public inquiry case. If a licence is revoked and someone is disqualified, that’s what gets the most attention. But, behind the headlines, each case offers lessons for other operators, transport managers and drivers. And that means there’s valuable guidance from commissioners on how to avoid compliance issues and reinforce your commitment to safe working practices. In part two of our series, we look to a recent case where a Northamptonshire operator running five vehicles didn’t do enough to show the business would be compliant in the future. The decision by East of England Traffic Commissioner, Richard Turfitt, makes several important points: • be proactive if your maintenance contractor does not live up to standard • closely inspect preventative maintenance sheets when they are returned (before the vehicle or trailer returns to service) • a low first time pass rate at annual test requires immediate management • remember you are responsible for the vehicles operated under your licence – customers should not be involved in the control of a transport operation • your transport manager should always be prepared to ask questions to identify the true cause of any compliance issue • if they don’t have the technical knowledge to resolve any issues, they should know where to find it and which questions to ask • a transport manager who also acts as a driver may not be able to exercise continuous and effective management of...

Vehicle check, Oxfordshire: Van 1 stopped by @tvprp, 1000kg overweight, trailer prohibited for illegal tyre. Van 2 arrives from same company to take excess weight, but is overweight. Van 3 arrives from same company with 2 illegal tyres on trailer Great work...

Online account security – don’t share your details Operators reminded to properly manage user accounts and keep licence details secure Did you know that each user of the Vehicle Operator Licensing (VOL) system should have their own unique log in details? Recent checks show that up to 46% of organisations have only one registered VOL user account to manage multi vehicle licences. This means that usernames and passwords are being shared when they shouldn’t be. Keeping on top of your account access is really important. To help, we’ve made a list of the simple steps you should follow to protect your online account: • when you give a new user access, always add them as an additional user (via the “manage users” option on the black tool bar at the top of the log in screen) • always ensure that each new user knows the importance of keeping their username and password secure • when someone with access to VOL leaves your employment organisation, ensure their user account is deleted from the system • take into account the size of your fleet and be practical with the number of users required to manage this • it’s always good practice to have more than one user registered – this means the system can still be accessed to make changes during periods of annual leave/illness or if a single user leaves your employment • ensure accounts are managed correctly and updated quickly so that users never feel required to share their details to keep your fleet moving Proper account management is essential to protect your online security. Review your user access...

Roadside payments are changing: clarification We recently sent out an email alert about the new method of roadside payments we’re introducing on 29 January 2019. We’ve had some feedback that we need to clarify whether the new system will change the payment deadline for UK-based drivers. We can confirm that UK-based drivers will still have 28 days to pay fixed penalties. The new payment system only changes the method of payment, not the rules for payment. Apologies for any confusion the original message may have...

You will need to register UK commercial trailers before towing them abroad from 28 March 2019. From 28 March 2019, you must register commercial trailers over 750kg and all trailers over 3,500kg before they can travel through countries that have ratified the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. This includes these countries in the EU, EEA and Europe: Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland Ukraine This means that these trailers making international journeys will need to: • be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) • display their own registration plate (separate from the vehicle towing them) • be able to present the Trailer Registration Certificate to a foreign authority on request You do not need to register trailers that are only used in the UK or only used for journeys between the UK and Ireland. You also do not need to register trailers used in Spain, Cyprus or Malta. You will, however, need to register trailers if you drive them through any country listed above to reach these destinations. You can voluntarily register non-commercial trailers that weigh over 750kg but there is no legal requirement to do this. Prepare for trailer registration We will publish guidance about how to use the trailer registration scheme. Register via the DVLA notification system. Register commercial trailers being used internationally with a gross weight over 750kg with DVLA from January 2019....

This vehicle is 1600kg overweight and the driver can expect a day in court! #stoppingdistance #keepitlegal @DVSAgovuk @DurhamPolice...

This non testable trailer was overloaded, had no operative brakes or lights & no rear number plate….. Accident waiting to happen, but thankfully avoided by our officer’s...

#Hauliers, only one week left to apply for an ECMT permit. The deadline is 18 Jan 2019. Apply before then to ensure you have the right paperwork to drive in the EU from 29 March. Apply: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ecmt-international-road-haulage-permits …...

Licence revocation for operator who made poor judgements and buried his head in the sand Traffic Commissioner says operator gained an unfair competitive advantage when no transport manager was employed As industry regulators, the traffic commissioners promote safe, fair, efficient and reliable passenger and goods transport. Taking proportionate regulatory action against non-compliant operators in public inquiries ensures only those fit to hold a licence can continue to operate. This minimises the burden on compliant operators, like you. At a recent public inquiry, an operator lost its licence after the lack of a suitable transport manager prevented fundamental failures from being appreciated and addressed. This left operations non-compliant with road safety regulations. Stretching of maintenance frequencies, inadequate record keeping and a series of prohibitions were amongst the findings of a DVSA investigation. North West Traffic Commissioner, Simon Evans, said he didn’t have the level of confidence necessary to be satisfied the operator would be compliant in the future. He said it was right for the firm be removed from the transport...