How DVSA Found 70 Percent of Vans Unsafe to Drive at Roadside Checks

• DVSA carried out 1,258 mechanical checks on GB-registered vans between April and June 2026 and issued 890 mechanical prohibitions, a rate of 70.75 percent among the vehicles stopped.
• Tyre condition was the single most common defect, found on 22.68 percent of vans inspected, ahead of faulty indicators, insecure bodywork and exhaust emissions problems.
• A prohibition can stop a van being driven the same day, and DVSA also issued overload prohibitions on 68.70 percent of the vans it weighed during the same quarter.

Seven in ten vans stopped by DVSA failed on the spot

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency stopped 1,258 GB-registered vans for a mechanical check between April and June 2026 and handed out 890 mechanical prohibitions, according to enforcement data DVSA published on 17 September. That is a prohibition rate of 70.75 percent among the vans its officers chose to inspect at the roadside, and for anyone whose livelihood depends on that van being on the road the same day, a prohibition is not a paperwork inconvenience. It means the vehicle cannot legally move until the fault is fixed.

The figures cover light goods vehicles, the category that includes the vans driven by tradespeople, couriers, delivery drivers and small businesses across the country. DVSA is explicit that the 70.75 percent figure describes only the vans its officers targeted for inspection, not a random sample of Britain’s entire van fleet, and the dataset itself is not classed as an official statistic. Even accounting for that targeting, a defect rate above seven in ten among the vehicles actually stopped points to a maintenance gap that goes well beyond a handful of unlucky operators.

Tyres are the fault DVSA keeps finding

Tyre condition was the single most common prohibition defect, recorded against 22.68 percent of all vans inspected at the roadside during the quarter, up from 21.91 percent between January and March. Direction indicators were the second most frequent problem, found on 15.83 percent of vans, followed by insecure bodywork on 10.06 percent and exhaust emissions defects on 9.06 percent. Brake warning systems accounted for 7.99 percent of defects and seatbelt or restraint problems for 6.78 percent, with parking brake faults, lighting and electrical faults, suspension springs and worn wheels or hubs rounding out the ten most common issues DVSA officers found.

None of those defects are obscure or specialist. Tyres, indicators, brakes, lights and suspension are everyday items that should be part of a driver’s basic walkaround check before a van leaves the yard, not faults that only surface once a DVSA officer has flagged a vehicle down. Tyre problems that appear acceptable at a glance can still carry damage or uneven wear that a proper inspection would catch, and uneven wear itself can point to a suspension or alignment fault that goes untreated until it fails a check or, worse, fails on the road.

Overloading is catching almost as many vans as mechanical faults

Mechanical condition was not the only area where DVSA’s enforcement activity found widespread problems. Of the 1,080 weight checks carried out on GB vans in the same quarter, 742 resulted in an overload prohibition, a rate of 68.70 percent among the vans selected for weighing. Overloading is not simply an administrative limit. It affects a van’s braking distance, its handling, and the wear on its tyres and suspension, which links the overload figures directly back to the mechanical defects found elsewhere in the same dataset. DVSA’s roadside activity during the quarter also produced 1,293 traffic checks, 664 fixed penalties and £131,000 in fixed penalty income, on top of the prohibitions themselves.

What a prohibition actually means for the driver

DVSA and police officers can issue two kinds of roadworthiness prohibition. An immediate prohibition stops a van being driven at all until the fault is repaired, and driving a vehicle under an immediate prohibition is itself a separate offence. A delayed prohibition allows up to ten days for the problem to be fixed before the vehicle must come off the road. DVSA grades the seriousness of each defect on a four-point scale, with brake, steering and tyre faults treated as the most serious category and issued as immediate prohibitions, reflecting how directly those systems affect a vehicle’s ability to stop and steer safely.

For a self-employed tradesperson or a small delivery firm, an immediate prohibition means a van that would otherwise have been earning money that day is instead parked up, and the fault still has to be paid for before the vehicle can move again. That combination of lost income and repair cost is what turns a mechanical defect from an inconvenience into a real financial hit, and it is also why DVSA’s figures matter to a far wider group of readers than professional van operators alone. Vans on Britain’s roads are driven by employees, family members and, increasingly, second vehicles kept by households that also run a car. A defect found on a van used for work carries the same real-world risk as one found on any other vehicle, with the added complication that it can also stop someone earning.

Why the MOT alone is not enough

Every van on the road already goes through an annual MOT, so it is worth asking why DVSA’s roadside figures still turn up such a high rate of basic defects. The answer is that a van can pass its MOT in good condition in, say, April, and pick up a tyre cut, a failed indicator bulb or an overloaded axle at any point in the eleven months before its next test. The MOT is a snapshot of roadworthiness on one day of the year, not an ongoing guarantee, and DVSA’s enforcement data effectively measures how well that roadworthiness holds up in between tests. A van covering high mileage on varied routes, carrying different loads from one job to the next, is far more likely to develop a fault between MOTs than a car doing a modest weekly shop and school run, which is part of why light goods vehicles feature so heavily in DVSA’s targeted enforcement in the first place.

How to avoid becoming part of next quarter’s figures

DVSA’s own guidance is simple and does not require specialist tools. Tyres should be checked for tread depth, but also for cuts, bulges and uneven wear that a quick glance can miss. Indicators, headlights, brake lights and other electrical equipment take moments to test with a second person watching from outside the vehicle. A dashboard brake warning light should never be treated as something to deal with later, and any change in braking feel or distance should be investigated immediately rather than waited out until the next scheduled service. Anyone unsure whether a fault reported at their last MOT needs immediate attention, or whether it was recorded only as an advisory, can check the vehicle’s full test history and outstanding recall status for free, including through a free DVSA check that covers open recalls on a car or van already on the road.

Drivers should also know their vehicle’s permitted weight and build a habit of checking it before loading, rather than estimating, since the overload figures in this quarter’s data are almost as stark as the mechanical ones. DVSA’s roadside checks are targeted rather than random, which means the 70.75 percent figure should not be read as a claim that most of Britain’s vans are unsafe. What it does show is that when DVSA officers select a van for closer attention, the maintenance basics, tyres, lights, brakes and load, are still where the majority of vehicles are falling down, and those are precisely the items a driver can check themselves before ever encountering an officer with a clipboard. Vehicle crime and roadworthiness enforcement often overlap for van owners too, and drivers wanting to reduce their overall risk profile may also want to review wider costs facing UK tradespeople who rely on a van for work.

Sources:

• DVSA, “Vehicle enforcement data for Great Britain”, published 17 September 2026
• DVSA, “Top 10 prohibition defects for LGVs inspected at roadside”
• GOV.UK, “Roadside checks for HGV, van, bus or coach drivers: roadside prohibitions”