Defect Rectification System

There is a legal obligation, an operating licence undertaking and a duty of care to road users upon us to have an effective system of defect rectification; this factsheet gives some tips to satisfy this requirement.

Your obligations do not end in driver training; the truth is that this only the first step. Knowing (and evidencing) that your drivers are correctly trained to do this is essential, but it does not provide evidence that you have an effective method and, worse, can provide evidence to the contrary.

We suggest five steps in the process:

1. Train the drivers properly. A good Driver CPC course will cover not only what to check, but how to report it and how to evidence that the checks have been properly performed. See our driver factsheet “Walk Around Checks”.

2. Spot check the drivers. Having a procedure of spot-checking is a great indicator to an auditor (or enforcement officer) that you take this obligation seriously. Please feel free to download our memo to issue to your drivers concerning this.

3. Have an effective system of reporting, immediate where necessary. Paperwork is not the end of the matter. Encourage the drivers to call in with problems.

4. Have an effective system of rectification. The defects might be reported, but are they promptly rectified? Show that defects are promptly rectified and not left until the end of the day.

5. Keep an audit trail. Record keeping is vital to provide evidence to an enforcement officer. Please feel free to download our spreadsheet for your use n this regard.

For further advice, please contact us. Keep up to date by signing up to our email update service;  Sign up free of charge here.