This comes from a friend on another forum thought it was worth sharing
Dont shoot the messenger
A bit more on VOSA's recent fun and tricks..
I thought I was getting mixed up with taco law which is on another thread but:-
Just recently I discovered that most of us towing a minidigger behind a light commercial have been doing so under the 'small trailer exempton'. Basically this is going to be done away with so if you run a 3.5t van (or anything roughly bigger than an Astra van) and trailer you will be required to obtain an 'o' license. VOSA now add the GVW of the van to the unladen weight of the trailer and if this is greater than 3.5t then you've broken the law.
Basically the cut off date is Dec 4th and you should have applied for your 'o' licence 10 weeks ago.
Very few people will be doing this I suspect and I think there are some loop holes but I for one don't fancy arguing the toss with the yellow coats on the roadside.
I'm pretty sure this wasn't covered in the taco law thread recently and there is quite alot of jargon involved which I don't have the patience to read.
is this a law that is over and above the current b+e entitlement. vosa are rapidly starting to resemble a tinpot communist state what forum is this thread on mate.
I've been told this by 2 different people one in plant hire business and someone from aggregate industries, a firm I work for has emailed vosa but surprise surprise no answer yet. Is it definately true then?
VOSA are hot as hell now as they've got all this new-found power and on-the-spot fining capability.
You should see our local VOSA checksite; it used to be a rarely-used place, nowadays it seems to be buzzing busy nearly every day. Trucks, vans, pickups with trailers are nearly always there.
RW Gale Ltd - Civils & Surfacing Contractors based in Somerset
Did i read somewhere that vosa is now self funding? Thats probably the reason for all of the extra fining, errm i mean vehicle saftey checks....
Its hard to say whats really going on regards the truth, vosa change the rules more often than i change my pants and its so confusing when they do who knows what is wrong or right
Like i said before there is that much confusion regarding the law on towing, so much that even VOSA themselves cant interpret their own legislation, even if you really did try to keep on the right side of them, chances are that when you got pulled they would find something to do you for anyway.
I did my trailer test not so long ago, and the fella that taught me has had alot of dealings with VOSA and DVLA, he said its a mine field, he said the best bet is to avoid getting a pull in the first place by making sure your trailer is in good nick, not overloaded (or doesnt look overloaded) all lights work, big enough tow vehicle etc etc. Ive heard of people being pulled on the move like a copper can, make you follow them to a check point.
big thing in the front of new earthmover about vosa stopping a telehander on the road in scotland and because it didnt have a bucket on it, it wasnt exempt as a digging vehicle ergo required tacho and apporopraite driving license for weight 8ton plus +, O license, regular checks, not to bad you say move it on plant wagon.....
recent court case redefined public highway from maintained by council to any surfaced road public have access to meaning base coarsed new build estates could be classed therefore telehanders on these sites would require all of the above.... article to follow in future earthmovers its stupid just forces honest guys out the business or makes them bend the rules, though we were meant to be having less red tape....
time to think about I.T again maybe...
Edited By GB_Groundworks on 1323297986
Giles
Groundworks and Equestrian specialists, prestige new builds and sports pitches. High Peak, Cheshire, South Yorkshire area.
We had an unnanouced visit from VOSA on Friday just gone. I was absolutely bricking it because i have heard all these horror stories about them going through every single piece of paperwork with a fine tooth comb. We have always complied with the rules as far as we are concerened but you never know.
turned out really well and we were given a completely clean bill of health, the guy was very decent and gave us a lot of good advice for improvements and was just generally very helpful and on our side. its a real relief because we have been expecting a visit for the last couple of years.
The most important thing from thier point of view is that you have got systems in place to record and monitor whats going on with your lorries. Even if you do have a couple of indiscretions as long as they can see that you are addressing them then they will work with you.
I dowloaded this fleet management software earlier in the year for about $40 and its been an absolute god send. You can set up all your different service, maintenance and legal tasks and it tells you when they need to be done by and then reschedules them for the next time. I.e we have to do a six weekly service for all of our trucks. it emails me a reminder a week before and as soon as i have had the vehicle serviced and marked the task as completed it then sets the next date for service six weeks later. Takes a while to set up but once you've done it, its like having a second brain focussing soley on your lorries. if anyone runs a few trucks send me a PM and I will send you over the link. You can also have a free version which allows you to use up to 2 vehicles but for $40 you may as well just buy it
"Vehicles with a maximum permissible gross weight of not more than 7500 kg carrying material and equipment for the driver's use in the course of his work within a 50km (31 miles) radius of the place where the vehicle is normally based, provided that driving the vehicle does not constitute the driver's main activity" is exempt from tacho rules
That was taken off a link off the same thread you are on about on ceforum LPAD, the link was barlow trailers. That shows why plant hire companies have to have them, as driving is the guys only activity as he is delivering an item of plant to site, hes not taking it to one of his jobs to do his own work.
