The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport. It carries out driving tests, approves people to be driving instructors and MOT testers, carries out tests to make sure lorries and buses are safe to drive, carries out roadside checks on drivers and vehicles, and monitors vehicle recalls. The responsibilities of DVSA only cover Great Britain. In Northern Ireland the same role is carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Agency.
protecting people from unsafe drivers and vehicles
On 30 March 2017, DVSA published a strategy for 2017 to 2022 setting out how it would do this.
Responsibilities
DVSA is responsible for:
setting the standard for safe and responsible driving and riding
carrying out theory and practical driving tests for all types of motor vehicles
maintaining the register of approved driving instructors
approving training bodies and instructors to provide compulsory basic training and direct access scheme courses for motorcyclists
running the tests that allow people to join and stay on the voluntary register of driver trainers who train drivers of car and van fleets
setting the standards for the drink-drive rehabilitation scheme, running the scheme and approving the courses that offenders can take
conducting annual testing of lorries, buses and trailers through authorised testing facilities and goods vehicle testing stations
conducting routine and targeted checks on vehicles, drivers and operators ensuring compliance with road safety legislation and environmental standards
supervising the MOT scheme so that over 20,000 authorised garages carry out MOT tests to the correct standards
providing administrative support to the Traffic Commissioners in considering and processing applications for licenses to operate lorries, buses, coaches and registered bus services
conducting post-collision investigations
monitoring products for manufacturing or design defects, highlighting safety concerns and monitoring safety recalls
providing a range of educational and advisory activities to promote road safety
Enforcement Examiners
The DVSA appoints Vehicle Examiners to stop and check vehicles for defects and compliance.. They wear uniform, which consiits of a shirt and tie/polo shirt, high visibility coat, trousers, boots and a white-topped cap with a green and white chequered cap band.
Powers
Under the Police Reform Act 2002, section 41 and Schedule 5, Chief Constables could grant powers to - formerly VOSA and now DVSA - officers to stop vehicles, for checks on vehicle and driver compliance without the need for police support. At that time, only police officers had the power to stop vehicles and therefore had to be present. The powers were piloted in 2003 and brought more widely into force in 2004. Following a consultation in July 2010, the law was overhauled in 2011 to grant VOSA/DVSA officers the power to stop vehicles without relying on police approval through Community Safety Accreditation Schemes as above. This also allowed VOSA/DVSA officers to stop vehicles in Scotland, as well as in England and Wales as previously. The amendment, which was made by the Road Vehicles Regulations 2011, allows "stopping officers" approved by the Department for Transport to stop vehicles for certain reasons. To be appointed as a stopping officer, a person must:
be a suitable person to exercise the powers of a stopping officer,
be capable of effectively exercising their powers, and
have received adequate training for the exercise of their powers.
Officers must be in uniform to stop vehicles. Impersonating or obstructing stopping officers is an offence.
