THE Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has announced several changes to be made on defects in roadside checks, as of April 20, 2022.

Their new guide outlines the actions that will be taken when roadworthiness defects are found during vehicle inspections.

The changed rules will be enforced from 1 May 2022. On that day will also publish the revised Enforcement Sanctions Policy.

What’s changed:

  • The categorisation of defects has been updated to include new items, notes and amendments in parts 1 and 2 of the manual.
  • There are significant updates to the load security sections, which includes removing the reference to the load security matrix.  
  • There are additional load security defects and notes.
  • Other updates include vehicles missing an obligatory seat belt, electronic stability control (ESC), suspension joints and overrun brakes.

For more information visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/categorisation-of-defects.