The Highways Agency (HA) has joined forces with the DVSA to examine commercial vehicles at the roadside.
The current situation has DVSA making routine stops to check for red diesel, tachograph offences and so on, while the HA deals with incident management, usually redirecting traffic following an accident or a road-blocking breakdown.
HA Traffic Officers will be trained in Stopping Officer duties, but both executive agencies are quick to point out that the HA will be supporting, rather than replacing DVSA Stopping Officers.
Initially, the scheme will run as a four-month pilot on the M6 on the junctions around Doxey in Staffordshire.
A statement on the DfT’s ‘Moving On’ blog said, “From 1 September, the pilot is to assess if joint working improves on our ability to target high risk vehicles, and how the additional demands will affect HA Traffic Officers.”
As reported last week, DVSA will now check for leaks and for weak seals on fuel tanks in addition to its regular duties. The position and powers of road traffic police remain unaffected by the pilot.
