Webuyanyvan.com has stepped in to help van owners and drivers with their ‘Walk around Check List’, introduced by VOSA (now the DVSA) as a best practice guide.
Every year, more than 10,000 vans are checked at random by the DVSA. At least 9 out of 10 vehicles stopped are dangerously overloaded, and over 6 in 10 have serious mechanical problems.
Van owner/drivers face unlimited fines, loss of their licence and up to 14 years in prison if their vehicle is not being operated correctly. In practice imprisonment is rare, but van owners who depend on their vehicle for their businesses could face serious disruption if the DVSA takes action following an inspection.
The webuyanyvan.com check list can be found at https://www.webuyanyvan.com/van-advisor/van-checker/ . Each of the sections covered by the DVSA are detailed in the guide, which is easy to use on all devices, including mobile. Each section has a handy tick box, making it easy to keep track of everything on the walk around.
Webuyanyvan.com is one of the biggest van buyers in the UK, and each week thousands of van owners check with the site when thinking of selling their van.
Rich Evans, Head of Technical Services, said, “Our new van website is there so van, pickup and truck owners can get a valuation for their vehicle within 30 seconds. We decided that in order to help owners, we’d include a number of helpful guides on buying and selling a van, pickup or truck. The webuyanyvan.com walk around check list is simple and easy to use, and we felt owners would appreciate the extra help in keeping to the right side of the regulations.”
The DVSA states that best practice is for van drivers and owners to do a thorough check every day and, like many areas of regulation, this is a significant requirement in time and money for all involved.
According to the Department for Transport there were 3.47 million light commercial vehicles on the road at the end of 2014. Van sales are at an all-time high, with new vans sold recently making up for the severe drop in numbers following the financial crisis in 2008 (when there were 3.2 million registered in total).
Around 1.8 million vans are registered by individuals, with the remainder owned by companies. It is believed that the van sector is a good barometer for the health of the British economy, especially smaller businesses, where owning a van is an essential tool of the trade.
