Compliance

No vans are involved in a recall of 15,000 Renault vehicles the French manufacturer has announced as a result of recent concerns over their emission levels, a spokesman for the company has told Commercialmotor.com.

The DfT said it expects to make its final proposals in the next six months regarding the possible inclusion of a range of exempt vehicles in the requirement for annual roadworthiness testing.

Sainsbury’s has been fined £4,000 after delivery lorries to one of its Rugby stores repeatedly parked on a pavement, breaching a planning notice.The supermarket was found guilty of four breaches of the condition notice at a hearing at Warwickshire Justice Centre on 5 January.The council said it was the third time the store had been prosecuted for the breach after magistrates imposed fines in April and September 2015.

The owner of a Shropshire haulage and shot-blasting business has been fined for safety failings after a worker’s hand was dragged into an unguarded machine. In March 2013 John Bagley, who was working for Woofferton-based Chris C Hazel Haulage, suffered serious crush injuries when the leg of his overalls got caught in the machine’s drive mechanism. His hand was dragged into the machine as he tried to free himself.

Operators have always had a duty under O-licensing rules to take reasonable steps to ensure their drivers, not just vehicles, are not breaking the law. But with the UK government planning to crack down on drink and drug driving even harder, this responsibility has never been more pertinent.  

Volkswagen UK MD Paul Willis has confirmed the company does not intend to provide compensation to EU owners whose vehicles have been fitted with a defeat device to lower NOx output during emissions testing procedures.

Two companies that flouted London’s Safer Lorry Scheme by using vehicles not fitted with safety equipment have been prosecuted and fined.

A tougher drink-driving limit for HGV drivers is to be enforced in Northern Ireland from 2018, bringing its policy in line with Scotland.The blood alcohol limit for vocational drivers will be lowered from the current 80mg per 100ml of blood limit that applies to all drivers, regardless of the type of driving licence they hold, to 20mg per 100ml of blood.The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, which was passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 12 January, removes the right of a driver to request a blood or urine sample to replace a breath test.

A skip haulier who “grossly offended against fair competition” by allowing other businesses to use his O-licence discs has been disqualified from the industry for three years.

A County Tyrone operator has been fined £750 for failing to supply a Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) enforcement officer with information when requested.