Government Asks For Fleet Opinions On New Safety Rules…
The government is asking for the opinions of fleet owners as it looks to update the UK’s vehicle safety regulations.
It follows the new European and International safety regulations for vehicles being updated, with any vehicles manufactured for the EU and other countries having to pass against those new standards.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is canvassing opinion on the rules as it looks to update its own regulations and decides whether to mirror the international standards or deviate in any way.
The UK’s standards are known as the ‘GB Type Approval Scheme’ and it means that manufacturers of any new models of vehicle have to test prototypes against those safety and environmental standards.
It’s then down to the government to approve the model before it’s eligible to go on sale in the UK.
When the UK was in the EU, the safety protocols were all laid out by the EU’s regulatory frameworks.
But post-Brexit, those decisions are now at the discretion of the UK government, which means the GB approval scheme is what matters for us.
One consideration is whether any deviation in regulations would have a knock-on impact on the cost of vehicle production for the UK.
That’s because many manufacturers produce vehicles en-masse Europe-wide, whether in the UK or elsewhere, and if there was a different model for the UK than the EU it could lead to a rise in production costs.
The consultation has been launched by the DfT and fleets have until 2nd December to submit their views.
