ROADWORTHINESS TESTS A t most roadside checks, vehicles will usually be mechanically examined by an examiner of the Vehicle Inspectorate.
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The law which gives him power to inspect a goods vehicle—and detain it while he does so—is in Section 68 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. He can inspect it at any time and, at any reasonable time, he can even enter premises to do so. It is an offence for a per son intentionally to obstruct a VI examiner acting under these powers.
At some roadside checks police will also examine vehicles. Their power does not come from Section 68 but, if the vehicle is on a road, it comes from Section 67 or, if the vehicle is not on a road, it comes from Regulation 74 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. The police power under Section 67 applies only to officers authorised by their chief constable to examine vehicles. Not all police have that authority.
For the purpose of testing a vehicle under this Section, a policeman (or a VI examiner if the examination is on a road) can require the driver to comply with reasonable instructions (eg applying the brakes or turning the steering wheel) and he may drive the vehicle. Peculiar to Section 67 is a provision which says a driver can elect for a deferred test, except in a case of an accident involving the vehicle or if the policeman considers the vehicle is too defective to proceed. The deferred test procedure is in Schedule 2 of the Act which says that if the driver is the owner of the vehicle he can specify a period of seven days in the next 30 days when the test can be done and the premises or area where it can be carried out. If the driver is not the owner he has to name the owner who must be given the same opportunity of nominating a time and place. The vehicle owner has to be given at least two days notice of precisely when, in the seven-day period, the test will be made.
It is an offence to obstruct an examiner testing a vehicle under Section 67, to fail to comply with a requirement or with Schedule 2.
The power under Regulation 74 to inspect a vehicle off the road can be used by any policeman whether authorised or not. But, under this regulation, the consent of the owner of the premises must first be obtained and the owner of the vehicle must consent, be given specified notice or the inspection must be within 48 hours of an accident. A VI examiner also has power under Regulation 74 but, as he has a stronger power under Section 68, he would be unlikely to act under the regulation.
In addition to the above, both a VI examiner and a policeman in uniform can require the driver of a goods vehicle, which is stationary on a road, to take it to a place up to five miles away for examination under Section 68. The "place" will normally be a HGV testing station but it could be anywhere where the test can be carried out—see also "prohibitions" overleaf.
Apoliceman or VI examiner can require the driver of a vehicle to give his name and address and that of the owner of the vehicle.
• Driving licence. A policeman and a VI examiner can require the driver of a vehicle and a person supervising a provisional licence holder to produce his driving licence (which includes WV entitlement).
A policeman can also require that person to give his date of birth in specified circumstances.
If a person does not produce his driving licence at the time it is a defence, in the event of a prosecution, for him to show that (a) he produced it within 7 days at a police station he specified; (b) he produced it there as soon as was reasonably practicable; or (c) it was not reasonably practicable for him to produce it there before proceedings were commenced for not producing it. That said it makes sense to carry your licence (or a photostat of it in the event of it being sent away to the DVLA for renewal) with you at all times.
The holder of the old-style HGV licence must produce it when required by police or a VI examiner. If production was required by police the driver can produce it within the next 7 days at a police station he specifies. If the request was made by an examiner the licence can be made available for examination in the next 10 days at an office specified by the examiner.
• Insurance and test. Police and a VI examiner can require the driver of a vehicle to produce a certificate of insurance, test certificate and goods vehicle plating certificate (if compulsory).
But a person will not be convicted of failing to produce a certificate if he show that (a) within 7 days the certificate was produced at a police station he specified; (b) it was produced there as soon as was reasonably practicable; or (c) it was not reasonably practicable for it to be produced there before proceedings were commenced for not producing it.
It is also worthwhile having a photostat copy of the company's insurance certificate in the event of an accident, or for a roadside check.
However, this will not remove the right of the Police or VI to see the original.
Vehicle excise licence/O-licence disc. There is no power for police or examiners to require production of a vehicle excise licence or operator's licence identity disc. If one has been issued it should, of course, be displayed inside the vehicle's windscreen.
• Operator's licence. Only the holder of the licence can be required to produce it. The requirement can be made by police or a VI examiner. The operator can produce it, within 14 days, at any operating centre covered by the licence, his head office or principal place of business within the traffic area or, if the request was made by police, at a police station chosen by the licence holder.
• Waste registration certificate.lf a waste regulation official or a policeman has a reasonable belief that controlled waste is, or has been, transported in a vehicle by a person who is not a registered carrier he can require that person to produce a certificate of registration (or official copy of it), search the vehicle and take samples for test.
If the certificate or copy is not produced at the time, the person concerned must, within seven days, produce it at, or send it to, the principal office of the waste regulation authority of the area in which the check was made.
Waste transfer notes, required under the carriers' duty of care, do not have to be produced by the vehicle driver.
.4 I n any roadside check police and VI enforcement staff will take an interest in a driver's tachograph records.
The law on tachograph records is contained in EC Regulation 3821/85 and is enforced by Section 97 of the Transport Act 1968.
The only records a driver is required to be able to produce are the records for the days of the current week and the record for the last day of the previous week on which he drove a vehicle subject to the EC hours' law. Carrying more records in the cab than the required minimum often lands a driver and his employer in trouble when discrepancies are found on those records.
A point was raised in Commercial Motor some months ago that police and Ministry examiners had no power to enter the cab of a vehicle to inspect tachographs or records. The position is that Section 99(2) of the Transport Act provides power for police and examiners to enter a vehicle to inspect the vehicle and tachograph and inspect and copy any records found there, But when Section 99 was brought into operation on 1 March 11970 the order bringing it into force specifically excluded the entry and inspection of any vehicle and of any record found in it.
The Department of Transport does not propose to make an order to rectify its 20-yearold omission but considers that Article 15(6) of the EC Regulation enables enforcement staff to enter a vehicle.
All that Article 15(6) states is that a tachograph must be designed so that an inspecting officer can, if necessary by opening the tachograph, read the recordings for the preceding nine hours. The tachograph must
Police and examiners frequently take possession of tacho graph records and .. .4.: i their right to do so
is often questioned. 2_; ! Section 99(6) gives .!,... ; -=,_-_ ; ---f an examiner and a policeman power to seize any record sheet which he has. '''., ,',i.:. ' _ \ reasonable cause to 1\ believe is false or has been altered -''. \ with intent to, \ deceive. ....o ,
..,, An examiner has no -',', \
legal power to take from -:..:f `,, , a driver, record sheets A,,,\,, \ \
',
simply because they reveal '10. N, \, N. ., an hours or tachograph ."..0., s. \ •-.. ‘,., ''-....
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offence. However, police can ".",,,(s) s, ''..., `-...., --.. seize records in such a situation 1s, because they have power to do so under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, The above rules on
production and seizure also apply to the
British driver's record book. 9