What’s the score?
Page 2
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Any fleet engineer, transport manager or MD worth their salt will know their operation’s OCRS ranking off by heart. But, from 30 April, they could find that their Operator Compliance Risk Score has changed (see page 8).
The new OCRS will take into account incidents more than two years old, becoming a three-year reference period, not two, which could sting some operators.
Two years ago, CM exclusively revealed that some 5,193 additional operators found themselves in the red OCRS banding for roadworthiness, and not amber, when VOSA changed the then boundaries. In 2010 that meant 25,817 operators in the UK became ‘red’ and found themselves targeted by VOSA.
There is no evidence that the latest changes to the OCRS will have such a profound effect on operators’ rankings, but the scores will be calculated more frequently, meaning some operators could find themselves yo-yoing between bands. For operators working hard to turn a corner this could be detrimental.
The key concern is removing the cowboys and the introduction of ‘straight-to-red’ offences, placing an operator under a minimum of six months’ scrutiny by VOSA can only make them safer, and more compliant. However, CM agrees with the Freight Transport Association that a ‘straight-togreen’ provision is also required for those who
are making the effort.
We will be keeping a close eye on how VOSA exercises these powers, and how the traffic commissioners use them. Christopher Walton