Vosa fails to prevent risky foreign lorries on UK roads

The ability of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's (VOSA) to target risky commercial vehicles entering the UK is limited by a lack of resources, a National Audit Office report says.

VOSA relies heavily on roadside checks to enforce regulations, carrying out around 252,000 checks in 2008-9. VOSA's approach is more effective in targeting vehicles which do not comply with roadworthiness regulations but most accidents are caused by driver performance and driver behaviour. The police are responsible for enforcing road traffic laws and dealing with breaches but the agency could use roadside checks and operator visits to educate drivers and operators about road safety. It does not have a comprehensive education programme for operators or drivers.

The effectiveness of VOSA's roadside checks is constrained. Some stopping sites are no longer at strategically important locations owing to changes in the road network over time. Sites can also be rendered inoperable by local roadworks or diversions. The agency's delegated powers to stop vehicles are provided inconsistently across Britain. It has delegated powers in England and Wales but current accreditation arrangements are cumbersome and inefficient. In Scotland it does not have delegated powers yet for legislative reasons. The department has plans for VOSA to be given direct powers to stop throughout Great Britain by October 2010.

The agency's ability to target risky commercial vehicles entering the UK is limited by a lack of access to ship manifest and other information held by Government and because VOSA cannot always inspect incoming vehicles at ports. Not all sanctions can be deployed effectively against foreign drivers and the agency has no direct power to impose sanctions on foreign operators.

Mr Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said today: "It is reassuring that the number of commercial vehicles involved in road accidents is decreasing and that VOSA is removing more dangerous drivers and vehicles from the road, but my report raises a number of issues which will concern those who use Britain's roads.