Being a goods vehicle operator
Maintaining your vehicles
You must keep your vehicles safe and in good condition at all times. You’ll have to keep records of all safety inspections and maintenance that you or your maintenance contractor do for a minimum of 15 months.
Carrying out your own inspections and maintenance
If you carry out your own safety inspections and maintenance, you must keep records that include:
- vehicle details
- a list of all items to be inspected
- when and by whom the inspection is carried out
- the result of the inspection
- details of any work carried out
- a declaration that any defects have been properly fixed
Walkaround checks
You must make sure your drivers carry out a ‘walkaround check’ before driving a vehicle for the first time each day.
Using a maintenance provider
If you do not do this work yourself, you must provide the traffic commissioner with a copy of a contract with a maintenance provider. You’re still responsible for the condition of your vehicles and trailers, even if they are maintained for you by someone else.
Read the guidance to find out how to keep your vehicle in a roadworthy condition.
There are also specific roadworthiness checks for recovery vehicles and for horse boxes and trailers.