The Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness (GTMR) is the Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency’s (DVSA) standard produced in collaboration with key industry stake holders which explains the responsibilities and systems involved in maintaining vehicles in a roadworthy condition.  The guide outlines the regulations, requirements and industry best practice that is recommended to properly maintain a fleet of commercial vehicles, including the daily checks, inspections and maintenance and record keeping that goes with running a fleet of commercial vehicles, large or small.

The guide, which can be viewed here has recently (5^th November 2024) been updated in several areas, but the two key areas are;

• Brake Testing, and
• Safety Inspection and Repair Facilities

Brake Testing:

It had been rumoured that a change to brake testing “best practice” would be added to the guidance for a while now.  The updated guide includes new sections on risk assessment and acceptable reasons for not being able to carry out a laden break assessment.  The new section of the guide provides additional ‘best practice’ guidelines within section 5.3a “Braking Performance Assessment requirements from April 2025”.  The guidance states that to follow best practice and comply with legislation there is an expectation that every safety inspection will include a measured brake performance assessment using either an Roller Brake Tester (RBT), a suitable electronic brake performance monitoring system (EBPMS) or a decelerometer with temperature readings.

On the subject of using a decelerometer, the guide states that it is “acceptable to use an approved and calibrated decelerometer to measure overall brake efficiency values for rigid vehicles without trailers or for vehicles that cannot be tested on a Roller Brake Tester (RBT) [but, whilst] a decelerometer will measure the overall brake efficiency, it may not identify individual braking issues”.  The need to carry out a temperature check on all the brakes both before and after the decelerometer test to ensure that individual brake problems are identified, is highlighted in the guidance and it clearly states that where “satisfactory results cannot be achieved another method [to assess the brake performance of the vehicle] needs to be used”.

The updated guidance in section 5.4 on Electronic Braking Performance Monitoring Systems states, “if using EBPMS to monitor brake performance there must be an evaluation of the vehicle/trailer performance report before every safety inspection by a competent person who can interpret the data”.  The guidance then goes on to state that the evaluation must be signed, dated and attached to the vehicle record together with the performance data report.

Safety Inspections and Repair Facilities:

Also in section 5 of the GTMR, the need to properly manage outsourcing of inspections and repair has been addressed.  A new paragraph stating that “If you chose to outsource any of your maintenance you need to take steps to ensure the maintenance facility is adequately equipped and completes any work [done] to a satisfactory standard”.  It goes on to say that “the quality of the work and the workshop facilities should be periodically reviewed by undertaking quality assurance checks”.  A ‘fire and forget’ approach to 3^rd party safety inspections will therefore need to be changed, with operators needing to record that they have the correct paperwork from vehicle maintenance providers and that they have actually reviewed and read the safety reports.

Sections with Additional Advice:

Wheels & Tyres:

There is additional advice in section 5.1 about refitting road wheels.  The section states that the code of practice for the selection and care of tyres and wheels for commercial vehicles, which was developed by the Department for Transport and the British Standards Institute alongside industry and trade associations, recommends that following road wheel removal and refitting the wheel nut torque should be checked.  Ideally this would be done after the vehicle has been stationary for 30 minutes or after it has travelled for between 40km and 80 km (25 – 50 miles in old money).  The section states that all re-torque checks must be recorded and retained on the vehicle file.  More information on wheel security can be found by clicking here.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) – Section 5.6:

ADASs are a set of technologies that use sensors, cameras and software to improve a vehicle’s safety as well as comfort and convenience for the driver.  An example might be early warning and detection of hazards in the road, blind spot assists and night vision systems.  Many of these systems support safety critical systems such as braking or steering.  It is unsurprising then that the guide requires that “effective maintenance procedures” are in place to “ensure correct functionality and that they deliver the road safety benefits they are capable of”.  The section in the GTMR gives advice on recalibrating such systems if, for example, windscreens need to be replaced or if the engine control unit develops a fault.

PSV Automatic Vehicle Location Systems – Section 5.7:

These systems, often known as ‘AVLs” are computer-based technologies that track the location of a vehicle in real time and transmit that information to a central record or to the driver of the vehicle.  AVL systems are most commonly used by PSV operators to improve service quality and efficiencies.  The new version of the GTMR gives information on these technologies and reminds operators that they should ensure that the real time location data is being supplied before the vehicle is operated on a registered service.

Best Practice:

As always, the updated Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness seeks to focus on what is Best Practice for transport operators.  The Guide states that it is ‘not enough to rely on a maintenance system alone, because this cannot ensure that vehicles are roadworthy.  To ensure best practice, you will need to combine good quality maintenance practices and skills with supervision and effective management of the system’.  If that is something that you might need some help on, then the team at Pelly Transport & Regulatory Law has many years’ experience of setting up effective compliance systems for operators that are tailor made to each individual operation’s requirements.  Call us now on 01279 818280 or click here to send an email.  We are here to help.

© Richard Pelly, November 2024