The MOT test failure rate for fleets using the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) Earned Recognition (ER) scheme is a third of other operators, data from FleetCheck has found.
The figures were compiled following recent news that the DVSA and Department for Transport (DfT) have decided not to add delegated MOT testing to Earned Recognition, a move met with widespread industry disappointment.
FleetCheck’s figures, covering more than 72,000 HGV and trailer records from 2023 onwards, showed the MOT failure rate to be 1.56% for Earned Recognition fleets compared to 4.54% for others.
Barrie Wilson, commercial fleet consultant at FleetCheck, said: “Our software is Earned Recognition approved and we can therefore see from our data the levels of compliance achieved by these fleets.
“Set alongside other operators, their performance is impressive.
“Not only is there a marked difference in the failure rate but in the pass rate, too.
“Earned Recognition fleets are hitting a 95.74% pass rate, against 91.97% for their non-ER counterparts.”
He added that while his company fully supported and shared the DVSA and DfT’s commitment to maintaining the highest safety standards, the data told a compelling story.
Wilson said: “For Earned Recognition fleets using systems like ours, compliance isn’t just assessed once a year – it’s monitored daily against DVSA KPIs.
“An MOT provides a snapshot in time, whereas ER delivers a continuous picture of performance.
“While we are, to a large extent, agnostic in this debate, when operators are already consistently meeting or exceeding these benchmarks, delegated testing arguably becomes a logical next step.”
FleetCheck’s role in ER was to provide the technological infrastructure that enables real-time KPI reporting and 360-degree fleet compliance visibility, Wilson said.
He added: “With a dedicated Earned Recognition dashboard and tailored reporting tools, accredited fleets can benchmark their performance year-on-year and gain a live, day-to-day understanding of how they’re tracking against DVSA standards.”
The DVSA’s ER is a voluntary scheme that allows fleets to prove they meet driver and vehicle standards by continuously monitoring their own compliance using approved software such as FleetCheck’s.
