20-12-04 VOSA Releases Results of Latest Coordinated Ports Check
A targeted check of goods vehicles travelling to and from ports serving the Irish Sea resulted in 89 UK registered vehicles and 82 foreign registered vehicles receiving immediate prohibitions for roadworthiness defects. A further 33 vehicles were issued with prohibitions for overloading, 81 for breaches of drivers' hours regulations and 13 for defective speed limiters.
The check took place from 9 to 12 December 2004. It was a joint operation involving not only staff from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) but also from the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (Northern Ireland)), Department of Transport in the Republic of Ireland, HM Customs and Excise and Police forces.
Commenting on the check Alastair Peoples, Operations Director for VOSA said:
“It is good to see from these results how effective VOSA’s intelligence network is at targeting non-compliant operators. Joint checks such as these are an important way of improving road safety and we will continue to work with our colleagues from other agencies to make sure that the roads are safe for everyone.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
The ‘Certificate of Keeper’ is a document sometimes required by the EU member states in order to provide information and mechanical details of vehicles and trailers which go outside of Great Britain. It is not a mandatory document but one which helps facilitate the movement of vehicles around the European Community.
VOSA is responsible for:
- Processing applications for licences to operate lorries and buses and registering bus services
- Operating and administering testing schemes for all vehicles, including the supervision of the MOT testing scheme
- Enforcing the law on vehicles to ensure that they comply with legal standards and regulations
- Enforcing drivers' hours and licensing requirements
- Supporting Traffic Commissioners to help them make informed decisions on operator licensing, vocational drivers and bus registration requirements
- Providing training and advice for commercial operators
- Investigating vehicle accident, defects and recalls.
Page last updated: 25/09/2006