The DVSA has begun nationwide checks to identify trucks using AdBlue cheat devices to circumvent emissions rules, after a regional crackdown last year highlighted significant non-compliance.
Between August and Febraury 2018, 388 vehicles were found with cheating devices after the agency checked more than 10,000 trucks in total.
In an earlier enforcement excercise, one in every 12 vehicles checked for emissions fraud devices were discovered to be fitted with a cheat device during four months of checks by the DVSA.
The agency said that as of this week checks would be national, having been conducted at five, unamed, locations up until this point.
Launching the crackdown DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn said: “DVSA’s priority is to protect everyone from unsafe vehicles and drivers. A vehicle doesn’t have to be falling apart to be unsafe - any driver or operator who uses cheat devices to get around emissions rules is putting the health of the entire nation at risk."
“DVSA will take the strongest possible action against anyone who tries to cheat emissions rules.”
Drivers caught with an emissions cheat device or a faulty emissions control system will be given ten days to remove the device and repair their emissions system. If they continue to use a device or fail to repair the system, they could face a £300 fixed penalty fine and have their vehicle taken off the road.
DVSA will also conduct a follow up investigation with the operator and may refer its findings to the traffic commissioners (TCs). The TCs have made it clear that they take AdBlue cheating extremely seriously.
RHA chief executive, Richard Burnett, said: “We fully support DVSA’s enforcement action on rogue operators. The haulage industry is making great strides in reducing emissions by adopting greener vehicles and technologies. We take a very dim view of the few hauliers who use emulators and other methods to cheat the system.”
The rollout is part of Defra’s wider policy to cut emissions and follows the publication of it’s Defra’s Clean Air Strategy 2018 and The DfT’s Road to Zero strategy for reducing road emissions.
