What Does ‘Roadworthiness’ Mean?

Published on6 January 2025

The term ‘roadworthiness’ refers to the state of a vehicle being safe and legal to operate on public roads and therefore roadworthy (fit to be used on the road).

As the saying goes, “the best ability is availability.” This is true for managing a fleet of vehicles, especially large ones.

Operations must ensure that all their vehicles are safe to drive at all times. They do this by following legal guidelines and practices.

The rules and guidance are meant to protect everyone inside and outside of a vehicle, so it is important to follow them at all times.

This is done by completing regular walkaround checks. Report any defects found during these checks. Strictly follow vehicle inspection schedules and keep records consistently. These actions, along with other best practices, help to ensure vehicle safety.

We will discuss each of these practices and highlight the important roles they play in keeping heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and public service vehicles (PSVs) roadworthy.

What is the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness?

The UK Government and the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency (DVSA) update their rules for keeping commercial vehicles safe regularly, which is called the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness.

This guide helps transport managers, fleet owners, drivers, and others follow safety laws. It shows how to keep commercial and passenger vehicles safe and in good condition.

These guidelines are updated on a fairly regular basis, which we cover in detail in our ‘What’s Changed in The Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness?’ series of blogs, the last of which was published in December 2024.

Key points raised in the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness

The Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness is detailed and it includes procedures and systems for roadworthiness responsibilities. These generally cover five main areas.

Firstly, it outlines the legal and operational responsibilities of operators, drivers, and other personnel involved in vehicle operations.

Secondly, it highlights the need for daily vehicle checks. These checks help find any problems that could impact road safety.

Thirdly, it explains how often different safety inspections happen. This includes first-use inspections, intermediate checks, and annual inspections.

Fourthly, it provides guidance on selecting and using appropriate facilities for vehicle maintenance and repairs.

It explains the need for good systems to track vehicle performance. These systems should record maintenance activities and fix any problems found.

This helps improve vehicle safety, efficiency, and legal compliance. It also reduces vehicle downtime and keeps roads safer.

How to maintain vehicle roadworthiness

As mentioned in the introduction, there are several ways an operation can keep their vehicles well-maintained.

Here are a number of key recommendations that will help to keep your vehicles roadworthy:

Conduct daily walkaround checks and regular maintenance

Daily walkaround checks are crucial for maintaining road safety and ensuring vehicles are roadworthy.

They are an important part of an operator’s O-Licence and a mandatory safety inspection that every driver must perform.

This involves a careful visual check of the vehicle to find any problems. Drivers must record these findings, typically using a mobile app or on a paper checklist. Then, they report the issues until they are fixed.

When doing a daily walkaround check, here’s a list of the components that need to be checked:

Tyres: Check the condition of the tyres, including the tread depth, sidewall damage, and pressure.
Brakes: Check the operation of the brakes, including the service brake, the parking brake, and the trailer brakes.
Steering: Check the operation of the steering, including the power steering, the steering wheel, and the linkages.
Lights: Check that all the lights and indicators work correctly.
Mirrors: Check that all the mirrors are clean and adjusted correctly.
Windows: Check that all the windows are clean and free from damage.
Bodywork: Check for any signs of damage or wear and tear.
Battery: Check that the battery is secure and in good condition.
Other safety-critical components: Check any other safety-critical components, such as the seatbelts, the fire extinguisher, and the hazard warning lights.

These checks should happen along with regular maintenance checks. Maintenance checks don’t need to be daily but should be frequent. This includes following the manufacturer’s service schedules.

It also involves checking vehicle fluids like engine oil, coolant, and power steering fluid, among other components.

Report defects through to resolution using software

Defect reporting plays a critical role in maintaining vehicle safety and quality assurance.

To reduce downtime and expensive repairs, it is recommended that you use a proactive defect reporting and maintenance system. Our 3-step approach helps solve even small problems quickly. This can be done easily using a defect reporting app.

Record

Effortless logging: Capture defects during daily walkarounds, scheduled inspections, or ad-hoc checks directly within an application.
Detailed documentation: Drivers record defect details, including notes and photos.
Comprehensive vehicle history: Each vehicle maintains a complete defect record, providing valuable historical data for analysis and future maintenance planning.

Report

Clear chain of command: A defect reporting app tracks who the defect was reported to, ensuring accountability and efficient communication.
Instant notifications: Automated notifications alert relevant personnel (e.g., transport managers, maintenance teams) upon defect discovery, enabling immediate action.

Resolve

Complete defect lifecycle management: Defect reporting applications track every defect from discovery to resolution, maintaining a permanent record for reporting and auditing purposes.

There are many types of Transport Management Software (TMS) which offer defect reporting alongside other features to help keep fleets safe.

These systems provide central data management. They store important information like vehicle details and maintenance records. This information can be easily accessed by everyone in the business.

This information is used in different product features. These features can change from one platform to another. High-end TMS usually provides these core features:

Vehicle inspection scheduling – Create schedules for every vehicle and receive reminders ahead of bookings.

Vehicle management – Manage vehicle types, service and inspection schedules, MOT reminders, and more in a centralised application.

Analytics and reporting – Generate reports to gain insight into information such as the number of walkaround checks conducted, the number of defects reported, and more, across your whole fleet.

When implemented and used effectively, fleet operators can significantly improve their vehicle maintenance processes, enhance safety, and reduce costs.