Compliance is ‘vital’ in van sector

9th April 2015

More than 450 delegates attended the 2015 Van Excellence Operational Briefings last month, where the clear message was that compliance in the van sector is vital.

As part of his keynote speech, the DVSA’s Head Of Policy Peter Hearn praised the FTA Van Excellence scheme which he said had been “nurtured to improve the van situation.”  He also outlined the challenge to van operators, stating that “while many strive to improve compliance in the van sector, there is still a long way to go.”

The main issue, delegates were told, is that many vans are used by traders in the same way as others use their own vehicle – servicing it once a year, usually around the same time as the annual test, despite covering considerably more miles.

“The van sector as a whole has lots of good practice,” Peter Hearn said, “and we need to work together to share this and make compliance the best value option for businesses.  Educating drivers, for example to carry out a daily walkaround check of their vehicles before use, is a simple task that can have a massive impact on road safety and save costly unplanned expenses at the roadside.”

The FTA’s Head Of Vans Mark Cartwright added:  “Everyone who attended the Van Excellence Briefings will have taken away some practical, informative and essential advice from operators, experts and enforcers who spoke at the events. 

“The number of people who have attended the briefings this week is indicative of how important compliance is considered, and illustrates how if we work together as an industry we can improve standards to achieve that.”



Membership of Van Excellence is open to all operators of vehicles of 3.5t GVW or less.