Skip to main content

UK vehicle agency introduces remote enforcement

The UK Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is to introduce remote enforcement for more compliant transport operators. The remote enforcement office (REO) will be tested by VOSA in an initial six month trial scheduled to start in October.
September 17, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The UK Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is to introduce remote enforcement for more compliant transport operators.  The remote enforcement office (REO) will be tested by VOSA in an initial six month trial scheduled to start in October.

VOSA examiners currently visit an operator’s premises to inspect vehicles; the REO will request relevant information to be sent to its office where it will be reviewed and recommendations made to the operator.

According to VOSA, introducing an efficient, less burdensome method for dealing with the more compliant operators will release resources to target the serious/serially non-compliant operator. The more encounters a non-compliant operator has the greater the cost to their operation, thus removing any competitive advantage by running a non-compliant operation.

VOSA will use an operator’s history of compliance to identify those most suitable for this approach and will monitor data from these operators to ensure they remain complaint.

Commenting after the recent Freight Transport Association Transport Manager Conference, VOSA’s Richard Denby said: “VOSA has been listening to feedback from the industry and the Trade Associations, especially the FTA and are looking to change the way we deliver enforcement. We want compliance to equal good business value, and to ensure that a non compliant operator does not have a competitive edge over a compliant operator and cannot have a greater profit margin than a compliant operator. We want a level playing field so that non compliant operators cannot unfairly bid for contracts above a compliant operator.”

Related Content

  • MPs urge more investment in UK roads
    May 8, 2014
    Joined-up planning for both passenger and freight traffic across the UK’s road and rail infrastructure is crucial for future prosperity, warn MPs in two new reports. Effective regulation and long-term funding plans are essential for investment in the strategic road network.
  • Texas, Oklahoma move to interoperable tolling
    April 25, 2013
    Electronic toll systems in Texas and Oklahoma could be interoperable as soon as 2014, according to toll authorities from both states. Moves to link tolling systems in Texas and Oklahoma will enable drivers with Texas tolling accounts or Oklahoma turnpike accounts to travel on the other state’s toll roads using their current toll tags. The tolls would be automatically billed to the out-of-state driver’s account. “Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said it would be good to have interoperability with other states,
  • CBO report on federal highway spending ‘a breath of fresh air’ says IBTTA
    February 17, 2016
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) applauds a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, Approaches to Making Federal Highway Spending More Productive, which examines the economic advantages of tolling as one means of funding the nation’s highway system.
  • Breaking the bias: Making public transport safer for women
    October 3, 2022
    Understanding the lived experiences of women using mass transit systems worldwide will help drive positive change, argue Louise Ribet and Naomi Grant from WhereIsMyTransport