DfT MOT decision makes Earned Recognition scheme ‘less attractive’

A Department for Transport (DfT) decision to not take forward further changes to heavy vehicle testing could compromise the DVSA’s Earned Recognition scheme, says Logistics UK.

Earned Recognition (ER) is accredited to operators that show excellent standards of vehicle maintenance and driver safety.

It was hoped that the Government would allow Earned Recognition accredited operators to perform annual vehicle tests, through ‘delegated testing’.

However, despite a comprehensive review and a call for evidence, the DfT has rejected the proposal to introduce delegated testing for ER operators

Logistics UK’s head of engineering policy, Phil Lloyd, said: “Delegated testing has always been the main incentive in which operators were encouraged to adopt the Earned Recognition scheme, so for the Government to dismiss the option out of hand is hugely disappointing and frustrating.

“The industry is united that delegated testing would deliver flexibility and efficiencies for transport operators without compromising safety, and the expectation has always been that self-certification would operate at a standard significantly higher than the voluntary arrangements currently found in the maintenance sector.

“The promised benefits of Earned Recognition need to materialise soon, and Logistics UK will continue working with the DfT and DVSA to support the initiative, but decisions like this will make the scheme less attractive for operators.”

MOT failure rate reveals Earned Recognition advantage

The MOT test failure rate for fleets using Earned Recognition scheme is a third of other operators, new data from FleetCheck shows.

FleetCheck’s figures, covering more than 72,000 HGV and trailer records from 2023 onwards, show the MOT failure rate to be 1.56% for Earned Recognition fleets compared to 4.54% for others.

Barrie Wilson, FleetCheck’s commercial fleet consultant, 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. 

“For Earned Recognition fleets using systems like ours, compliance isn’t just assessed once a year, it’s monitored daily against DVSA KPIs,” he said.

“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 Earned Recognition was to provide the technological infrastructure that enables real-time KPI reporting and 360-degree fleet compliance visibility.

“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.”