Roadside reality check: Fleet management is failing at the wheel

Every day, thousands of light goods vehicles and specialist commercial vehicles cross the UK road network, keeping our economy moving. From small builders and landscape gardeners to scaffolding contractors, waste carriers and private hire drivers, these vehicles are the backbone of local trade and logistics.

Recent data from a series of multi-agency roadside enforcement operations paints a worrying picture. For too many operators, basic vehicle maintenance, load security and daily safety checks are being overlooked.

TyreSafe and Driving for Better Business (DfBB) have come together to send a clear message to trade associations, SME business owners, transport managers and the organisations that procure services from them: vehicle roadworthiness and load compliance are not optional. Neglecting them carries serious legal, financial and human costs — and responsibility does not sit with operators alone.

What the roadside data tells us

Over recent months, TyreSafe has supported police forces and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) at enforcement checkpoints across the UK. These included Operation Spotlight on the M53 and in West Mercia, Operation Considerate and Operation ACT in Greater Manchester, and dedicated border checks in Cumbria.

While these operations targeted the ‘Fatal 5’ driving offences, the technical inspection data revealed systemic failures in vehicle safety. Authorities issued a significant number of immediate PG9 roadworthiness prohibitions, banning vehicles from the road until critical faults were fixed.

Key findings included:

Cumbria border checkpoint. Of 21 vehicles checked (predominantly light commercial vehicles and trailers), more than one in four (28.6%) had a critical tyre-related safety risk. Inspectors found tyres with exposed structural cords and active punctures, as well as severe vehicle overloading.
Operation Spotlight, M53. In a sample made up of 97% commercial vehicles, vans and trailers, 23% of all vehicles inspected had at least one tyre defect, including embedded objects and structural crown damage.
Operation Spotlight, West Mercia. 26% of all vehicles inspected had tyre-related issues. Of these, 85% were classified as critical defects, including tyres at immediate risk of blowout.
Operations Considerate and ACT, Greater Manchester. Inspection teams issued a high volume of immediate PG9 prohibitions. As well as mechanical faults and worn tyres, stops revealed insecure loads and vehicles operating above their gross vehicle weight (GVW) limit.

Note: These figures are drawn from targeted enforcement operations, which are designed to focus on higher-risk vehicles and locations. They should not be read as representative of the wider fleet population. However, the consistency of findings across multiple operations and regions is a strong signal that these are systemic issues, not isolated incidents.

Why overloading and tyre condition are linked risks

Tyre defects, overloading and insecure loads are recorded as separate offences by enforcement officers. On the road, they combine to create a serious danger.

When a vehicle is overloaded, its tyres are forced to operate beyond their rated load index. The excess weight causes sidewalls to flex abnormally, generating heat that degrades rubber and bonding agents. The risk of a sudden blowout at motorway speeds rises sharply.

Insecure loads shift in transit. A sudden movement in cargo can concentrate unexpected force onto a single axle or tyre. If that tyre is already under-inflated or damaged, the consequences can be severe.

Sectors where the risk is highest

The enforcement data highlights sectors where non-compliance is disproportionately common. Trade associations and the businesses that procure services from these sectors should take note.

LGV operators, small builders and landscape gardeners. Light commercial vans are often treated as mobile toolboxes rather than regulated assets. Loading heavy aggregates, tools and materials without weighing the vehicle leads to overloading and compromised tyre performance.
Scaffolding and independent waste carriers. Vehicles operating on construction sites and in waste environments are particularly exposed to tyre carcass damage from debris. Poorly secured loads also present a hazard to other road users.
Private hire. High-mileage, urban stop-start driving requires rigorous preventative maintenance. Operations like Operation ACT resulted in multiple immediate council suspension notices for licensing and mechanical infractions.
International operators. Border checks found that some vehicles registered overseas and travelling on UK freight corridors did not meet UK roadworthiness standards. The DVSA applies the same enforcement standards to all vehicles on UK roads, regardless of where they are registered.

Most of these faults were preventable

The most important message from this data is straightforward: the vast majority of these faults should never have reached the roadside.

Severe under-inflation, exposed tyre cords, shifting cargo and vehicles riding dangerously low on their suspension are not hidden defects. They are visible risks that a routine daily walkaround check would catch.

When a driver skips a pre-journey vehicle and load check, they put themselves and others at risk. For businesses, this is not just a driver compliance issue. It is a failure of management oversight and duty of care.

This is not just an operator problem

Responsibility for safe vehicles does not begin and end with the operator. It runs through the supply chain.

If your employees drive for work, their vehicle is legally a workplace. As an SME operator, that means you are responsible for the roadworthiness of every vehicle your drivers use, the loads they carry and the checks they carry out before each journey. Managing road risk is not a compliance box to tick — it is a core part of running a safe business.

But if you commission services from van operators, hauliers, scaffolders, waste carriers or any other road-using business, you also have a role to play. The organisations you contract with are carrying out work on your behalf. If their vehicles are poorly maintained, their drivers untrained and their loads unsecured, that risk does not stay with them — it reflects on you too.

Procurement is one of the most powerful levers available to raise standards. Asking suppliers how they manage road risk, including vehicle maintenance, driver checking and load security, sends a clear signal that safety is a condition of doing business — not an afterthought.

Allowing a driver onto the road in an overloaded van with unsecured cargo and defective tyres is no different to sending a construction worker onto a site without the right safety equipment. We would not accept that on a building site. We should not accept it on our roads either.

A shared framework for action

For TyreSafe, the solution starts with integrating tyre health into broader vehicle and load security checks. The ACT framework provides a simple structure for operators and drivers:

Air pressure. Check that tyres are correctly inflated, particularly when carrying heavy payloads.
Condition and cargo. Check the tyre carcass for structural damage and confirm that the vehicle’s load is secured, balanced and within legal weight limits.
Tread. Maintain tread depths well above the legal minimum, especially when operating under load in wet conditions.

When businesses do not implement robust fleet management policies, enforcement agencies will step in.

The volume of PG9 prohibitions, vehicle immobilisations and traffic offence reports across these operations shows that law enforcement increasingly treats vehicle and load maintenance as a leading indicator of overall business compliance.

What you can do now

The actions needed depend on your role.

If you run an SME that uses vehicles for work: put a road risk policy in place. Make walkaround checks part of every driver’s daily routine. Check your vehicles are roadworthy, your loads are secured and your drivers are fit and legal to drive. Use the free tools available through DfBB and TyreSafe to get started.

If you procure services from businesses that use vehicles: ask your suppliers how they manage road risk. Include road safety expectations in your contracts and tender processes. Use your buying power to drive up standards in your supply chain.

If you represent a trade association: help your members understand the realities of roadside enforcement and the true cost of a PG9 notice. Poor vehicle and load management leads to fines, lost productivity, invalidated insurance, reputational damage and, ultimately, preventable deaths.

Work with TyreSafe and Driving for Better Business. Access our free tools, downloadable resources and fleet management guidance. Help close the safety gap in your sector and make sure every worker gets home safely at the end of every journey.

Driving for Better Business is a free, Government-backed programme helping employers manage occupational road risk. Visit drivingforbetterbusiness.com for resources, toolkits and guidance.

Published in partnership between TyreSafe and Driving for Better Business

Stuart Lovatt (left) is director and chair of TyreSafe, and Mark Cartwright (right) is head of the commercial incident prevention team at National Highways