Safety must come first for private CV testing, says FTA

The FTA has supported the DVSA’s commitment to exploring private CV testing, but said that safety must be a priority.

In its five-year business plan, it said that it would commit to looking into the case for “allowing exemplary commercial vehicle operators to test their own vehicles if they share their testing data with us.

“This will bring ultimate flexibility for operators or Authorised Testing Facilities to conduct tests at a time which suits them or their customers,” said James Firth, FTA’s head of licencing policy and compliance information. “But safety must always be the key consideration – any devolvement of responsibility for testing must not allow standards to slip.”