As Halloween creeps up on us, we thought we’d share with you these recent horror stories that our enforcement officers have spotted on our roads.
But don’t lose any sleep, we’ve cast our spell on these wicked deeds and the malevolent offenders have received their punishment!
It’s our mission to protect all road users from the evils of unsafe drivers and vehicles.
We detected nearly 32,000 serious defects and traffic offences on our roads last year. This resulted in us issuing £6.6m in fines along with a range of other enforcement actions and prosecutions.
DVSA Vehicle Examiner Gareth Prismick explains these cases.
Balder than Uncle Fester
This photo says it all.
More frighteningly, we spotted this bald tyre on an HGV driving during the torrential downpours of Hurricane Lorenzo!
Tyres with this lack of tread offer little grip and risk a serious accident if sudden braking happens, particularly on wet roads.
Scary load
Look away now…
We stopped this scarily loaded and defective vehicle en route to Africa, which resulted in £650 in immediate fines and a prohibition.
The driver was also not using a tachograph and as you can see, the loaded truck is longer than the carrying vehicle! It is enough to send chills down anyone’s spine!
Mirror, mirror
It’s not just vampires who wouldn’t be able to see their reflection in this lorry’s front mirror. Yes, the mirror has scarily been replaced by a tasselled pendant.
Safety comes first and we immobilised this vehicle until a new mirror was fitted.
Zombie driver
The driver of this lorry must have felt like a zombie after we caught them driving 34 hours over two days with just over two hours’ rest. The livery is very apt.
Restrictions on HGV driving hours are in place to keep us safe and this lack of rest hours is frightening.
We immobilised the vehicle and issued almost £1,500 in fines.
Wheely frightening
Eight of 10 wheel nuts were loose on this HGV wheel, not to mention numerous other defects that we uncovered.
It was clear that this driver didn’t carry out his vital walk around checks!
Although these type of defects are not common, the thought of this wheel coming loose on a motorway is hair raising.
On a final note
With all the jokes aside, our staff work day and night, in all weathers to help ensure heavy vehicles are safe to be on Britain’s roads.
Heavy vehicle operators commit to keep their vehicles safe when they apply for their operator’s licence. Failure to do this could lead to any of the following: regulatory action from the Traffic Commissioner (including loss of licence), prosecution or even worse, a serious road incident.
We do this to protect everyone from dangerous drivers and vehicles.
If you see any of your own lorry, bus or coach horrors out there then report them to us and, like the Ghostbusters, we’ll hunt them down!
93 comments
Comment by D Robinson posted on
Mild defects at best I have seen far worse
Comment by lee cox posted on
Hi,
Just wondered when the DVSA will start clamping down on the Volumetric trucks running around Wolverhampton, Dudley and surrounding areas? These trucks are trundling around at 44 tonne when they are restricted to either 32 or 38.6 tonne on an 8x4, an actual driver informed me of that when i questioned him, he said they load them till they spill over the sides! Also they offer 24/7 day service, with the same drivers. Surely these matters should be addressed before an exhausted driver carrying top weight has an horrific accident.
The general consensus with these companies are that DVSA are not concerned with them and it's carry on regardless, there is Facebook page that actually mocks the fact, some saying her trucks top 50 tonnes loaded.
Any reassurance that these matters are of interest would be greatly appreciated.
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
Yes, we take overloaded vehicles very serious. Details of how to anonymously report such lorries are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-a-lorry-bus-or-coach-driver-or-company?fbclid=IwAR13IgLmyhp8478nGQXootf5GV-Qj2rR1ll-C0I_mQIjwuwOjpWVR7TiXgw Thank you!
Comment by lee cox posted on
Hi Peter,
Thanks for the reply, I have repeatedly sent images given to me of overloaded trucks, but it seem's at least in my area it falls on deaf ears. My fear is that it puts regulated suppliers out of business and all that's left are these unscrupulous companies with bad practices, I know of 4 conventional concrete suppliers that have pulled the shutters down unable to compete with such companies.
Comment by Jason posted on
what about the sat nav in drivers view?
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
Each case is always deemed on its individual merits whilst our examiner is sitting in the driver's seat.
On this particular occasion the driver was offered advice to rectify the position of the sat nav, as per guidance in the guide to maintaining roadworthiness.
Comment by Leanne posted on
Can someone please explain how the lorry was a safety risk? I understand there isn't a rule regarding length as long as lights etc are seen and clear and the load is securely strapped, I may not be seeing something here but lights would clearly be seen by other drivers and the load is secured I understand the tachometer problem which is fair enough but to pull him over for the load I can't see your reasoning. Would be highly appreciated if someone could enlighten me as to where the hazard is regarding the load
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
It is an offence if a load's rear projection exceeds 1 metre, the full details are contained in this link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/795005/dvsa-enforcement-sanctions-policy.pdf#page46
Comment by simon flint-jones posted on
anything that is longer than your deck must have a warning flag of some description I would also like to say where were the securing chains and I say chains as there arember of edges that could damage straps there is no apparent restraint to stop the carried object from moving side to side or backward/ common sense screams this is wrong / you don't need to be a rocket scientist to get it right..
Comment by Keith posted on
We are all so proud of you dvsa that is. What percentage of truck miles per year. These offences equate to
Comment by Paul Drake posted on
Can't believe the amount of comments regarding the mirror issue. Do you drivers not look at your windscreen. Top left or right depending on country you will see the front mirror too check for pedestrians or cycles. Why on earth are you all commenting on a rear view mirror. The said truck is probably a Renault premium as the have Thier mirror slap bang in the middle. Give me strength.
Comment by Maughan posted on
We used to call it a bumper mirror and not a rear view mirror,
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
We refer to it as the front mirror in this case.
Comment by Maughan posted on
I think that the proper name for it is a "cyclops" mirror and it does not have to be mounted in the middle of the windscreen ,better closer to the side opposite the driver in my opinion.
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
Yes, this particular model is meant to have its front mirror in this central position.
Comment by Kevin posted on
When I started driving you didn't need to have a downward mirror fitted
Comment by David Young posted on
Been driving a long time then, I guess. It was mid to late 2000's when it became a requirement.
Comment by Steve Bird posted on
As a general note..
I've been driving LGV's since 1982 (yes I really am that old :)), the job & the requirements of it make it almost unrecognisable now from then.
What I would say is I believe most, but sadly probably still not all, operators & drivers are trying their very best to be compliant, in the vast majority of cases. However there are still a small number of operators & drivers who flaunt the law, if this is through ignorance (no excuse) or total disregard it needs stamping out.
What I always say to our Drivers is "what if it were someone you loved who was maimed or killed by a negligent driver or operator what would your reaction be?"
LGV driving really is very demanding, hats off to all the excellent drivers out there, the small minority give us all a bad name, lets do all we can to eradicate them.
Comment by Tony Twist posted on
I have driven hgv 1 for over 40 yrs but because I won't do the stupid cpc I am now deemed unfit to drive a hgv yet since this stupid cpc the hgv offenceces have increased
Comment by Steve Bird posted on
Tony,
sorry you feel that way about CPC training.
Know it's not everyone's 'cup of tea' but as a Company we've had a few benefits with driver CPC training.
I've been driving almost as long as you and genuinely I've never had a training session when I haven't learned something, or seen a different side to a discussion.
The Company I work for pays for the training (I know, we're lucky) & I believe this makes our Drivers feel like the Company is investing something in them as employees. I think the employers that don't pay for the training are missing a BIG trick here.
If you keep on top of the training by doing a period every year it keeps you ahead of the game. Earlier this year I went for my annual training and a Chappie in there was doing 5 straight days of the same course, WOW he must have felt like self abusing after day two.
I far prefer the situation now where new drivers have at least something of a clue rather than back in my day when you were thrown the keys to a truck and told to get on with it.
Comment by John Stimpson posted on
Hi Tony like you I find the driver CPC difficult but I suspect for different reasons why not use that 40 years of experience to help the other drivers in the room so they don't make the same mistakes you may have made when you started out
Comment by Steve Bird posted on
What a plonker I am, you mean the 'external' downward looking mirror (y/n??). Gets coat & orders taxi.
Steve
Comment by Steve Bird posted on
Peter (DVSA),
to satisfy my own curiosity, what type of vehicle is it that requires a centrally positioned mirror on the other side of the windscreen?
I'd also have thought the dangly/tassel pendant was obscuring forward view (y/n??).
steve
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
A DGVW exceeding 7500kg. These kind of decorations can obscure the view and our enforcement staff assess this during their checks. Even if this vehicle had a front mirror this feature would have obscured that!
Comment by Steve Bird posted on
Peter (DVSA),
I'd 'sort of' sussed out (see subsequent comment) which mirror you were talking about. Thanks for the reply though.
Steve
Comment by Frank posted on
Isn't the over length truck at the docks. Dare say ready for export ???? They load them at the docks like that say I'd imagine it's going on a ferry and hasnt travelled on the road like that.
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
This was found like this en route unfortunately.
Comment by Karl posted on
I noticed your pictures are in America , South Africa and the hgv with the covered mirror is also a foreign one , why you would need a rear view mirror in a hgv is beyond me , but you’ve stuck it in there to show the public what total disregard for their safety we hgv drivers have , the majority of drivers are diligent and have safety as a number one concern , but you portray us in a different light , look at the amount of hgv s on our motorways and the majority will be safe , you could also say the same about cars as there are some real wrecks out there , I believe vosa that you are self funded !!!!! So let people make there own judgments about your misleading motives , we are already hated by the public, is it any wonder when an official body like you are putting in pics of other countries and using uk hgvs as the target ,, I’m sure you could find a bunch of pics from defected hgvs in uk
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
These photos have all been taken in the UK by our enforcement officers.
Comment by David Young posted on
What about the photos makes you think they were not taken in the UK? The DVSA look at any HGVs on the UK roads so it could be that some of the vehicles depicted are foreign.
The DVSA are part of the Dept for Transport and as such receive funding from central government. Not self funded in the slightest.
You are right though, there are a lot more cars in a lot worse condition on the roads, but they are a matter for the police.
Comment by Peter posted on
You dont need an internal mirror as long as you have both side mirrors. Also if it's a HGV or large LGV they dont have internal mirrors So to immobilise vehicle is wrong
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
It is the front mirror that is missing and it has been a requirement to have one of these on this type of vehicle since 2007.
Comment by Karl posted on
You mean a class 6 mirror ,, which is normally to the left to centre,, opposite side for left hookers
Comment by Tony Young posted on
You keep making pots of money to buy your expensive vehicles. Should never have been privatised. Privatised just means money first over a decent job.
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
The DVSA is not a private company. It is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Transport.
Comment by David Young posted on
The money from penalties issued goes to the treasury. Perhaps if the money went to the DVSA they would spend more time focusing on the bad operators.
Comment by Derek Davidson posted on
I started worki using class2 did 1 drop & 1 uplift then parked lorry& swapped for articulated vehicle , went down to plant sat there for 20 mins then transport supervisor phoned me to say they needed vehicle back as a driver going to Aberdeen had faulty dip beam , so I had to take lorry back up & change over with me getting the faulty dipped beam vehicle, I complained why I should have to take the faulty light vehicle back out to do my job , his reply was the driver is going to Aberdeen so he needs ligjts, & your only doing local work , where do we stand on these so called transport supervisors actions , I cant afford to lose my job , so I went out & did my job on faulty dipped beam vehicle do I tell transport manager or report it to VOSA ???.
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
You can report the issue to the DVSA anonymously, this link has more information https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-a-lorry-bus-or-coach-driver-or-company
Comment by J maggs posted on
I know it doesnt look good but Im assuming the truck with the scary load if the back axle of the lorry being carried was supported properly and appropriate rear marker boards used it would have been legal ?
Guess it probably wasnt overloaded ?
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
It wasn't overloaded as such but as you can see from the overhang the carrying vehicle was not appropriate for a load of this length.
Comment by Andrew posted on
Until drivers get employment rights they often have little choice but to drive whatever they are told to regardless of condition. BAN LTD agency drivers ( 3 years in I'm quitting HGV)
Comment by Colin posted on
I agree, ltd company & umbrella driver’s pay little in to the system. The other problem is that awful cpc, it’s responsible for retiring thousands of drivers early.
Comment by James posted on
6.6 million pound eh ! In a country that has no industry, that will keep things ticking for a short while. Maybe they could send it to Europe, after all its just over half a month's subscription payment.
Comment by Dom posted on
I'm confused... Hgvs don't have mirrors in the middle of the windscreen. So why is that included?
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
Vehicles like this are required to have front mirrors which are positioned in a central position on the other side of the windscreen.
Comment by Phillip Platt posted on
Having been an HGV driver for many years, working for a reputable company who cared (besblock) I'm deeply saddened to see the poor standards often shown by companies & drivers alike, what happened to professionalism,Glad to be retired
Comment by Gary Alvey posted on
Rather surprised that the Dvsa patrol following the coal powered van up the M20 this morning didn’t feel the need to pull it over.
Had it been a wagon or coach I’m sure they wouldn’t have ignored it.
Maybe they couldn’t see it for the smoke!
Comment by Ratch posted on
All them photos look like , foreign trucks , not uk haulage companies.
Comment by Forza posted on
Rear view mirror in a lorry? Surely that's not a default if its covered all my years of driving an HGV I've never driven one with a rear view mirror fitted.
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
Vehicles like this are required to have front mirrors which are positioned in a central position on the other side of the windscreen.
Comment by Les smee posted on
I wish DVSA would start stopping cars motorcycles light vans etc, the amount of defective vehicles driving about in these classes of vehicle is horrendous.
If they did some night time early morning operations it would be worth the effort.
Comment by Alec Jackson posted on
I agee there is probably more defective cars on the road than hgvs. But they seem to always talk about us truck drivers..maybe they should be pulling over cars as part of there job. I have seen many cars missing wing mirrors I thought they where standard issue on cars ..
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
The DVSA covers lorries, trailers, buses and coaches with our roadside enforcement. The Police cover cars.
Comment by David Young posted on
If you see any commercial vehicle with problems you can report them to the DVSA.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-a-lorry-bus-or-coach-driver-or-company
Comment by Mark Senior posted on
So scary... But let's set something straight
1st pic could still be legal. You only require 1mm over 3/4 the edge of the tyre can be like that if the remaining 3/4 is of legal 1mm depth. Can't really tell how much that has on the rest just that the wall edge is near bald tread
2nd pic goods been longer than the vehicle don't mean anything. Thought over 1 meter requires signage and over 3 meters require an escort vehicle. The weight of the carried vehicle could be all legal also... But no tacho well that's their problem lol
3rd pic is an Artic... How many attics do you know have a rear view mirror? Looks a tad long but I've seen alot worse come out of DVLA spot checks as a pass so I don't understand this one
The rest throw the book at em
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
Our enforcement team checked all of these vehicles shown carefully and they were all found to be a safety risk. The vehicle with the tasseled feature was missing its front mirror which has been a requirement on such a vehicle since 2007.
Comment by Pat Mccay posted on
The mirror in question is for seeing along the front grill area.
Comment by Richard Burns posted on
Can you get lorry drivers off their phones and TVs? I commute 600 miles a week and see far more lorry drivers on phones than cars and vans, you can see them in their drivers mirror as you overtake, talk about overtaking, I'm sick of having to swerve to avoid a collision, because they have drifted over the white lines into the middle lane, oh, they correct it, in-between a sip of coffee and Netflix! Thing is, Im driving, I can soon shift, speed up or slam the anchors on, in other words take avasive action, when they drift onto the hard shoulder, they could be a stricken vehicle there and not everyone gets out and stands the other side of the barrier, I know they should......but they don't.
Comment by David Young posted on
The police are working on this.
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2019-05-14/more-than-500-dangerous-drivers-caught-by-supercabs-in-the-east/
Comment by Richard Smith posted on
Rarely do any trucks have a rear view mirror in center Of windscreen to cover up
Visual Checks will not show loose nuts
A load may be larger than loading area of a vehicle but must carry warning signs
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
This particular vehicle shown has been required to have a front mirror since 2007.
Comment by Lee Whitby posted on
Very good to see a contrast between poor operators and good (likewise with the testing blog) there was an operator recently that was so bad they were taken straighht to the port believe for vehicle defects/prohibitions, but is it the same as with OCRS in uk that the operator would be penalised by their own member state equivalent to DVSA/TC, if so, are there any statistics to show this works? The fine will hurt non uk operators but no O licence really would prevent this from occuring again? Then i suppose the argument is.... who is going to do the work?? 🙂
Comment by Steve Brooks posted on
Pete
thanks for the update and keep up the excellent work you guys do out there.
Comment by Terry posted on
On another note would be ideal if like the rest of Europe vehicles had to change to winter tyres then skidding along the motorway in light snow and heavy rain during the winter months would be a thing if the past.
Comment by Terry posted on
Of not if.. darn spell check is a horror story.
Comment by Dem posted on
Winter tyres is rule in Europe for cars only. Try and change 14 tyres twice a year....it will cost more than the vehicle and not much different on the road any way.
Comment by Alan posted on
Alright if it's a big firm, you work on a percent of the firms trucks, say 100 vehicles and only 1 gets pulled over, it has a defect it then goes against the operates licence, but that's only 1 percent, and nothing is done, however if you're a small company with say 2 vehicles, you class that as 50 per cent of that firm's vehicle's, then things go out of control, yet the chances are that big firm can potentially have more faults but nothing more is likely to happen.....fair???
Comment by Shane posted on
If u only have 2 trucks running should be easy to keep on top of their service/maintenance etc no excuses 2 trucks or 100 trucks employ decent drivers and won't have any problems
Comment by Mr Michael Lucani posted on
Shouldn't you just be compliant at all times?
Comment by Alfie Anderson posted on
It does not matter if you have one or one hundred vehicles, none should be on the road if they have a defect.
Where is the process to prevent this from happening.
Comment by George posted on
Hi Alan do they still give GV 9s ? I got one years ago
Comment by Dem posted on
Regarding this system I believe the way it works is different. No difference if you have one or a hundred trucks you will go on RED. Having more trucks can help put it back to GREEN easier though.
Comment by David Young posted on
That's where the OCRS comes in.
https://www.gov.uk/operator-compliance-risk-score
A fleet of 100 vehicles, if only 1 is found an issue, that won't take them out of the green.
A fleet of 2 vehicles, if 1 is found to have the same issue, then they are likely to go into the amber.
It might not seem fair to the small operator, but it is fair because they are only running 50% of their fleet safely rather than 99%.
Depending on the issue found, the operator could still end up being taken to PI or court even if their OCRS is still green. After all it's just an indicator of how good an operator you are based on when you have an encounter.
Comment by Pat Mccay posted on
Keep up the good work, it is time the financial penalties where increased.
Comment by albert posted on
have you seen in yr mirror whilst driving?? only to find its a car or a van, when you thought it was a motorcycle......get these off the road and get their lights tended to.
Comment by Michael Perris posted on
Keep it up!
Comment by Paul Thimson posted on
Absolutely crazy what lengths drivers and operators will go to get something delivered. Cost of fines must out weigh the actual cost to deliver or collect. Not to mention the fact people could be killed by these actions.
Comment by David Young posted on
Yes, but how often are they stopped and fined versus how much more profit do they make per run.
Until they are stopped on every journey where they are running illegally they will continue to break the rules.
Comment by Kevin Smith posted on
Fright night or is it freight night enjoy Halloween be safe
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
Wish we thought of that one!
Comment by albert posted on
think of this one...bend your index fingers at the careless drivers who have left their brains in the jar at the side of their beds..along with their bulbs to go on their cars/vans & yes..taxis..good & bad on the road.
Comment by Dee posted on
Unbelievable....
How to these HGV drivers have a conscience...or perhaps they haven't.
Comment by Nick hgv driver posted on
Please don't tar all drivers with the same brush,some of us do care we have to ,it pays our mortgage,and bills ,
Some times the company put into place policies that cause the drivers to break the law and cut corners,but these firms are slowly being found out .
Fortunately the firm I work for do care ,and comply with the law.
Believe me after 35 years driving i've met only a few bad driver's,most truckers have pride in there trucks its our office,kitchen,bedroom all in one .
Live the dream as we say
Comment by Paul posted on
Keep up the good work, it will pay dividends one day.
Comment by FG posted on
Good to read blogs like this - please keep them coming as they help focus the mind.
Comment by Colin Emden posted on
Excellent idea to update us to the problems you encounter and what you find as it helps us spread the word as to why we need to do daily safety checks and the consequences of the fines if they do not.
Comment by Steve Brooks posted on
Can you share any more of these horror stories as they are good for driver engagement and to make all professional drivers aware of shady operators out there.
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
We have more horror stories on our Matters of Testing blog tomorrow, which are testing rather than roadside enforcement related.
Comment by Norman cable posted on
How long did all this take. Take a bow. Why don’t you get on with your work instead of always trying to big yourselves up!!
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
We write blogs like this as part of our role to raise awareness to encourage other operators and drivers not to do the same.
Comment by dave farrow posted on
The Mirror, Mirror, picture is inaccurate, if as it looks this is an articulated unit, then he has side mirrors only and not a windscreen(central mirror as he will not have any rear windows), understand the pennant/tassles are incorrect and should not be there and block the view, but get it right.
Comment by Peter (DVSA) posted on
Vehicles like this are required to have front mirrors which are positioned in a central position on the other side of the windscreen.
Comment by David posted on
Took me as a non-hgv driver to work the mirror thing out, but for everyone commenting, it’s mounted on the outside of the vehicle looking down so the driver can see the area immediately in front of the cab.