I didn’t know they needed police assistance, does that mean I can keep going next time they invite me to follow them? 
They dont need police assistance. Its in the new highway code. (i think)
VOSA can stop trucks NOW without Police assistance,as it states in article.As can HATO.
HATO will only stop vehicles that look to have a safety problem, ie loose load etc. Even then they have to call in to say they are about to do so, and the reason why.
if i understand that article correctly, VOSA only have the power to stop when they believe there is a breach in hours, weights, saftey or cabbotage offences, by the sounds of it they have never had the power to stop vehicles for random checks without reason.
This new bill will give them the power to stop any one they like, you have to remember, even the the police need a reason to stop you, which in turn, that would mean they would have more power than the police to stop vehicles.
So, when I was asked to follow a VOSA car the other day when they put the FOLLOW ME lights on…no police in attendance, they were on a grey area?
Their car was parked on the entrance slip road hard shoulder, either junc 16/17 M6 South. They watched me drive past then followed me for a while before putting the lights on and going to their compound at Sandbach services.
Obviously I opted to follow them! But just from seeing me drive past, was that reason enough to pull me in without police?
They said it was a normal roadside check procedure and went through the book but decided I was all ok, apart from an oil leak for which I got a delayed prohibtion 
in england and wales they have the power to stop without police assistance, the secretary of state has recently stated that the same powers will be sorted for them to stop in Scotland, where at present they need police assistance to stop, difference in laws between there and the rest of the UK. Although there are the sites like the one above Gretna and Stirling were all heavy goods have to pull over when the signs are flashing.
Failing to stop for them in England can really bring the heat on you and the company, so you might not be too popular if the boss has to go and see the Traffic Commisioner alongside you !!
Only reason i say that is a guy from our yard did not and it resulted in a trip to bristol for a bollicking and a big fine, after watching it all on a film from the galaxy’s camera ! Gaffer sacked the driver after the hearing.
In England and Wales VOSA may stop (any) vehicle for the purposes of carrying out a Construction and Use check. The ‘stopping’ must be performed by an accredited officer. It is an offence not to stop. The other checks; overload (which is a glorified C&U check anyway), drivers hours, O-licence etc etc come on the back of the C&U check.
The proposal is that VOSA throughout the UK get the power to stop vehicles for reasons other than C&U checks as the primary reason. The power, if granted, is no greater than that the Police currently have. The proposed law change also tidies up the process whereby an accredited officer would be able to function throughout the country as opposed to the current situation where they have to be accredited in each individual county.
Currently in Scotland VOSA do not have ‘stopping powers.’ The proposed legislation would change that.
The proposals would also create a specific offence of impersonating a stopping officer.
geebee45:
The proposals would also create a specific offence of impersonating a stopping officer.
I believe some criminals have used bogus VOSA 4x4s to stop trucks…
Does any driver who is being told to stop by VOSA officers still have the right to go to the nearest police station before stopping if they feel that it is not on the up & up ■■
You can refuse to stop for a marked police car, and be escorted to the nearest police station, but would need a very good reason to do it ie if your carrying a very high value load.
So i would say yes, all they would do is call the police in to do the stop.
So Unless the criminals have a marked car as well , then you would be ok.
geebee45:
The power, if granted, is no greater than that the Police currently have. .
So VOSA getting traffic cop power they will soon be pulling joe blogs over for speeding in his merc in the outisde lane and enforce other “moving traffic offences” commited by joe public while paddy passes by in his truck at warp 9 
or have i misinterprited what your saying geebee??
Cruise Control:
geebee45:
The power, if granted, is no greater than that the Police currently have. .So VOSA getting traffic cop power they will soon be pulling joe blogs over for speeding in his merc in the outisde lane and enforce other “moving traffic offences” commited by joe public while paddy passes by in his truck at warp 9
or have i misinterprited what your saying geebee??
I will retract that last statement for now.
Rog said;
I believe some criminals have used bogus VOSA 4x4s to stop trucks
How many more times? VOSA DO NOT USE 4x4’s (or blue Peugeots, for that matter), their entire fleet of ‘stopping cars’ consists’ of silver Galaxies with ‘Battenberg markings.’
Rog also said;
Does any driver who is being told to stop by VOSA officers still have the right to go to the nearest police station before stopping if they feel that it is not on the up & up ■■
Simple answer MMTM Myth.
Cruise Control said;
So VOSA getting traffic cop power they will soon be pulling joe blogs over for speeding in his merc in the outisde lane and enforce other “moving traffic offences”
I note the retraction but as VOSA vehicles are not allowed to exceed the speed limit what you suggest won’t be happening any time soon. There are also a shed load of moving traffic violations that they won’t be enforcing either.
ajdavis64 said;
You can refuse to stop for a marked police car, and be escorted to the nearest police station, but would need a very good reason to do it ie if your carrying a very high value load.
So i would say yes, all they would do is call the police in to do the stop.
Not wishing to pick a fight ‘cos it’s late and I cannot be bothered after Tuesday and Wednesdays’ job for this week, but before you go refusing to stop please point out the precise parts of the Traffic acts that allow you to do this. Mitigating circumstances will always be taken into account but that didn’t help the two lads that died on the A4 in Bristol a few years ago, when refusing to stop for an unmarked police car.
ROG:
I believe some criminals have used bogus VOSA 4x4s to stop trucks…
I’ve only heard of one such alleged case. M53 enroute to Birkenhead, Montgomery driver loaded with engines about to do a trailer swap at 12 Quays for a load of Ciggies which subsequently went AWOL.
This was an inside job. The VOSA pull was either a figment of the driver’s imagination or as you state Rog.
I believe the driver, who had previous, is now inside.
The trailer has never been found.
Have there been any other recorded instances?
Edit: Geebee is ofcourse correct pointing out that VOSA currently only use Ford Galaxies.
geebee45:
Rog also said;Does any driver who is being told to stop by VOSA officers still have the right to go to the nearest police station before stopping if they feel that it is not on the up & up ■■
Simple answer MMTM Myth.
Thats not exactly a MMTM myth. Current advice from almost all police forces and industry bodies across the country (available on line too) is that if the driver is not 100% happy with the authenticity of anyone stopping them(i assume thats what not on the up and up means) they should phone their control and/or police and offer to follow the people who have stopped him/her to the nearest police station.Of course the ‘control officer’ could refuse the vehicle to move (spoken through the window), then you revert to the scenario i describe at the end of my post 
I like the mystique of the “vunerable load”, what its criteria are i have no idea, i thought all loads where vunerable but anyway there is a vunerable load card scheme, what you have to do to get a card i have no idea. Personally i’d knock one up on the comp in a few minutes, i have seen a few before. Anyway i love this written question about the vunerable load scheme and trouble with police acknowledging it, here europarl.europa.eu/sides/get … XML+V0//EN
Subject: Acceptance of the Vulnerable Load Card
Answer(s)Many lorry drivers and transport operators fall victim to transport crime, one form that this takes being the holding-up of a driver by bogus police officers, usually at night in a deserted place. The ‘police officers’ pull the lorry driver over on the pretext of a police check. The driver is then attacked and the lorry’s cargo stolen. In order to prevent this kind of crime, the transport industry has introduced the Vulnerable Load Card. When a lorry driver carrying a valuable load is pulled over by police officers whom he does not believe to be genuine, he can show them the card through the windscreen. The card bears the message that the driver is happy to undergo police controls, but not in a dark place beside the motorway; he will gladly follow the officers to a safe place, such as the nearest police station. This enables such incidents on the motorway to be prevented and transport crime reduced.
Unfortunately the Vulnerable Load Card seems not to be understood by many police and control agencies in the Member States. Recently, for example, a driver was subjected to aggressive treatment by a genuine police officer in Dunkirk when the driver showed his Vulnerable Load Card and refused to stop until he had reached a safe place. He was threatened with arrest if he failed to respond immediately to a police check on a future occasion. There have been other examples of increasing problems with acceptance of the Vulnerable Load Card.
Does the Commission take the view that the Vulnerable Load Card can make a valuable contribution to preventing attacks on drivers by bogus police officers and reducing transport crime?
Is the Commission aware of incidents involving the Vulnerable Load Card ?
What steps will the Commission take to ensure that there is better acceptance of the Vulnerable Load Card? What ways does the Commission see of ensuring that the relevant agencies are better informed? Is the Commission prepared to raise the matter of the Vulnerable Load Card with police and control agencies?
What other measures is the Commission prepared to take to promote acceptance of the Vulnerable Load Card?
And with these random tacho checks by the police on motorway hard shoulders i’d recommend any driver to get his moneys worth by speaking to the officer through the window, make him wait in his car whilst you verify who he is on the phone, tell him you’ll honk the horn when you’re ready and advise him against standing on the hard shoulder as its dangerous. You won’t be given a crime number but you can obtain a log number, which may be handy for future reference , like finding out why random checks are carried out in a dangerous a place as a hard shoulder
Keep your wallet full… 
If Vosa don’t use 4x4’s the one running around down here in the West Country which over took my Jag while I was ■■■■■■■ along a few weeks back must have been a figment of my imagination.He seemed to be in a desperate rush to reach his usual ■■■■■■■■■■■■ in the area of Ashburton where he was parked when I caught up with him again.The vehicle is covered in Vosa graphics…might be a criminal…well he was …he was speeding.
Armagedon:
If Vosa don’t use 4x4’s the one running around down here in the West Country which over took my Jag while I was ■■■■■■■ along a few weeks back must have been a figment of my imagination.He seemed to be in a desperate rush to reach his usual ■■■■■■■■■■■■ in the area of Ashburton where he was parked when I caught up with him again.The vehicle is covered in Vosa graphics…might be a criminal…well he was …he was speeding.
Did it happen to say Highways Agency on the side?
IIRC, VOSA have had the power to stop trucks without police assistance since about 2005.
There is another ‘card’ system which is to be used by drivers carrying certain amounts of certain dangerous goods, usually in amounts exceeding 3,000ltrs in a tanker.
Drivers don’t need to worry about the responsibility of applying for these cards, or when they should be issued with them, because that responsibility falls to the owner of the vehicle, known in ADR as the ‘carrier.’
To obtain the “dangerous load card(s,)” a company or their DGSA should make an application to VOSA.
The front of the card should have the company’s name and address as per their ‘O’ licence at the bottom left of the card, and a VOSA issued serial number should be at the bottom right of the front of the card.
The card below is a training model I obtained from VOSA’s office in Bristol.
Front of card:
Back of card:
This card scheme isn’t new, and knowledge of it has been a mandatory part of an ADR course for about 5 years.
my question is if your parked up and gonna either take a break or have daily rest do vosa have any power or right to do a check, reason am asking my m8 was down bristol way and vosa set up a check point right opposite him, he got out his cab with his shower kit and was stopped and asked how long he was gonna be, needless to say his shower lasted till 3am, until they had gone, but if it was a daily rest could you tell them so and just carry on with your business?