“There is a concern that van operators are flouting regulations in their haste to meet delivery schedules,” warns Andy Picton, senior commercial vehicle editor at Glass’s.
“Whether this is down to poor operator practices or a lack of driver training, more needs to be done to adopt and maintain good procedures – otherwise legislation will be imposed that will enforce it,” he warns.
Picton makes the point that there are now more than 4 million vans on the UK’s roads, covering a combined 46.9 billion miles a year. That is 70% greater than 20 years ago and vans now make up 15% of all road traffic.
Currently, no tachometer is required for vans under 3.5 tonnes and operators’ and drivers’ only real obligation is to ensure their vans are serviced and MOT'd.
“The introduction of O lLicencing legislation at a lower 2.8 tonne gvw was mooted on many occasions by the European Commission, but since Brexit this is once again raising its ugly head,” warns Picton.
“Should it happen, objections from manufacturer's, operators and even SMEs would be swift and, if the law were passed, it is likely that it would only result in a repeat cycle of overloading at the newer lower weights,” he predicts.
Moreover, should O licencing ever be approved at the van level, most believe sales of new vans above the 2.8 tonne threshold would be decimated.
“Many operators [would come] out of bigger vans into more of those that avoid the new regulations – resulting in further congestion of our already overloaded roads,” forecasts Picton.
To avoid the interference of the regulators and the burden of onerous new guidelines, the industry should instigate more professional management processes, he advises.
“A fleet should be one of the best sources of advertising, but a poorly operated vehicle can easily ruin that. Operators need to act now and get their houses in order before the government intervenes and enforces some unwanted changes.”