The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has introduced a compliance guide to help vehicle operators comply with stricter checks of vehicle side-guards, scheduled to begin this May.
The new guide will ensure that vehicle operators are fully prepared for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency’s (VOSA) amended requirements for the vehicles’ annual testing.
The stricter checks were announced in 2007 but were deferred following an intervention by the FTA. It was suspected that some vehicle operators would have faced difficulties in complying with the stricter rules.
The FTA’s new guide gives full details of the existing legislation regarding vehicle side-guards and the changes to the annual test requirements to be implemented from 1 May.
Andy Mair, FTA’s head of engineering policy, said: “The concessions FTA has achieved will be of immense benefit to operators who would otherwise have found it impossible to comply with the rules.
“We now have a sensible, workable set of requirements which will enable every operator to comply, regardless of their vehicle’s configuration, while keeping safety considerations paramount.”
The technical changes include concessions for vehicles with cranes and operating platforms or those vehicles where it is technically not possible to comply with dimensional requirements, such as folding cranes stowed behind cabs in the side-guard area.
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