Skip to main content

Lorry emissions checks to start at the roadside

From August 2017, roadside checks of lorries carried out by the UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will include an emissions check.
June 26, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

From August 2017, roadside checks of lorries carried out by the UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will include an emissions check.

DVSA will be target lorry drivers and operators who try to cheat vehicle emissions. The new checks will target those who break the law and will help to improve air quality.

DVSA’s enforcement staff and their European counterparts have found evidence that drivers and operators use emissions cheat devices to cut the cost of operating. These include:

- using devices designed to stop emissions control systems from working
- removing the diesel particulate filter or trap
- using cheap, fake emission reduction devices or diesel exhaust fluid
- using illegal engine modifications which result in excessive emissions
- removing or bypassing the exhaust gas recirculation valve

DVSA enforcement officers will give the driver and operator 10 days to fix the emissions system if they find a vehicle with tampered emissions readings. If the emissions system isn’t fixed within that time, DVSA will issue a fine and stop the vehicle being used on the road.

DVSA enforcement staff can insist that a vehicle be taken off the road immediately if they find a driver or operator is repeatedly offending.

DVSA will investigate all Great Britain operators cheating emissions and pass the findings to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain, who have the power to remove operator licences.

DVSA will also continue to work with its counterpart agencies across Europe and further afield, to make sure that all offences committed by non-Great Britain hauliers are dealt with locally.

Related Content

  • November 7, 2013
    Tech combo used to target overweight vehicles
    UK enforcement agency VOSA is using a combination of ANPR and weigh-in-motion technology to detect and target overweight trucks on some of the busiest motorways. Overloaded vehicles pose a potential danger to drivers, other road users and pedestrians.
  • February 2, 2012
    Need for balance on UK speed enforcement funding cuts
    Trevor Ellis, Chairman of the ITS UK Enforcement Interest Group, considers the implications of the UK Government's decision to withdraw funding for road safety camera partnerships
  • March 6, 2015
    The effectiveness of roads policing
    The Joint Roads Policing Unit of Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary in the UK commissioned the Transport Research laboratory (TRL) to evaluate the effectiveness of their roads policing strategy in terms of reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured in road collisions. The focus was on the fatal four causes of collisions: speeding, drink-driving, not wearing a seat belt and drivers using mobile phones. TRL carried out a detailed literature review, in-depth review and analysis of
  • January 10, 2012
    Robust enforcement strategy needed for free flow toll roads
    Timidity has no place in effective enforcement operations on free-flow toll roads, says the NRA's Cathal Masteron. What's needed is a robust strategy which starts big and reduces in size over time, rather than starts small and gains a reputation for being easy to avoid