Good luck Ron
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Now we know that after 13 years at the helm, Ron Oliver, the first boss of the Vehicle Inspectorate, is giving up his executive job at the end of April.
Ron Oliver says he is proud of the Vehicle Inspect mate's achievements, and rightly so. Ron took over when it was a collection of 15 senior area mechanical engineers, each with various subordinate grades of vehicle examiner in districts, testing stations and clerical offices.
The VI was born out of the idea of privatisation after Lloyds Register spent am studying the feasibility of running the motor vehicle test scheme as a private concern. It pulled out, declaring it was not practical or viable, and in March 1994 the whole idea of privatisation was finally laid to rest.
The VI started in 1987 employing some of the ideas put forward by Lloyds Register's business consultants. At first there was much resistance to privatisation and the changes that would follow. Many argued that it was not practical, sensible or viable, saying: "If Lloyds couldn't work it, nobody could."
Ron Oliver was already in the Ministry of Transport as a senior area mechanical engineer and he could see that testing could indeed be organized under one roof and put himself up as the man with the knowledge and courage to do it.
To become the chief executive of the VI was a formidable task: more than 16,000 authorised MoT garages carrying out annual tests; 91 vehicle testing stations conducting testing of PSVs and HGVs; also plating, and notifiable alteration inspections, with many other matters to do with prohibition, enforcement, public relations, etc.
Ron has lifted the VI to greater professionalism and new heights which now serve as a sound base on which future developments in vehicle testing technology depend.
Vic Tarry Vehicle Industry Consultant. Poole, Dorset