Operational partnerships - Vehicle prohibitions SOP (R01d)

1. Summary of changes

1.1. The following changes have been made to this standard operating procedure (SOP) in March 2022:

• paragraph 3.7 has been updated
• paragraph 3.9 has been updated
• paragraph 3.14 has been updated

2. What this procedure is about

2.1. The purpose of this procedure is to outline the process for issuing prohibitions for overweight vehicles, defective vehicles, drivers’ hours offences and Hazmat vehicles (Hazardous Materials); it also outlines the appeal process.

Compliance with this SOP and any governing policy is mandatory.

3. Detail the procedure

3.1. Prohibition is a road safety measure preventing the movement of dangerous vehicles, contravention of which is an offence. It involves the limitation of a person’s liberty to move as he/she pleases and should therefore never be considered lightly.

3.2. Although the prohibition of a vehicle is a specialist skill (PG9), the removal of that prohibition (PG10) may in certain circumstances be carried out by any police officer or police staff who works front counter duties. It is therefore important that all staff coming into contact with the public read this standard operating procedure.

3.3. Any constable in uniform has the power to stop any mechanically propelled vehicle on a road. If the constable has reasonable grounds to think that continued use of the vehicle presents an actual danger due to one of the types of prohibition, they will consider calling upon a suitably qualified prohibition officer with a view to the vehicle being prohibited or weighed.

3.4. Prohibition officers: The power to prohibit is only available to specifically qualified and authorised prohibition officers who will have attended the nationally recognised course and successfully passed the examination.  They will then be deemed as ‘inspectors’ appointed under Section 19 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and authorisation will be given by the senior traffic officer, Coldharbour on behalf of the chief constable. Officers will produce their authorisation prior to any prohibition if requested. Prohibition officers will maintain an up to date knowledge of relevant legislation and procedures and are expected to use their powers on a regular basis. Officers who do not may have their authorisation withdrawn at the discretion of the traffic unit inspector, at Coldharbour. Officers who have authority withdrawn under the previous paragraph must surrender their written authority.

The services of a prohibition officer can usually be obtained by a request to the Force Control Room (FCR), although it should be remembered that there is no home call-out system.

3.5. The seven types of prohibition are:

1. overweight vehicles, any goods vehicle or passenger vehicle adapted to carry more than eight passengers
2. defective vehicles, any vehicle with a dangerous mechanical defect
3. driver’s hours offences, where the driver of a medium or heavy goods vehicle, or foreign public service vehicle is in serious breach of Drivers Hours Regulations
4. Hazmat vehicles, where vehicles carrying hazardous materials could have a serious adverse impact on road safety
5. tinted windows where vehicles with tinted windows exceed the set percentages for light to be transmitted through the front and side windows
6. over length vehicles
7. failure to make an immediate payment for a roadside deposit

3.6. Administration: Prohibitions issued by roads policing officers will be quality assured by roads policing supervisors. Prohibitions issued outside of Roads Policing to be quality assured by relevant line managers. Advice can be sought from Roads Policing supervisors if guidance is required.

Paper records generated by prohibitions should remain with case papers for storage. The Roads Policing department will maintain computer database records of prohibitions which should be updated by issuing officers. These will contain basic details only. It is incumbent on divisions other than Tactical Operations to maintain their own records in this respect.

3.7. Copies of process generated in relation to vehicles over 3.5t m.g.w. will be collated by roads policing and forwarded to DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency)/Traffic Commissioners by a nominated officer.

3.8. Any PG9 issued by VOSA and associated PG10 should be forwarded to the vehicle enforcement manager at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Gillingham GVTS, Ambley Road, Gillingham, ME8 0SJ.

3.9. Where PG9 is issued out of county, a copy of the PG10 should be forwarded to the relevant officer by the Public Enquiry Officer.

The roads policing unit will maintain a computer based up to date list of authorised weighbridges which will be administered by a nominated officer.

3.10. Prohibition notices: A prohibition notice (PN) may only be issued where the enforcement officer is of the opinion that there is a risk of serious personal injury. It is not necessary for there to be a breach of law but where there is (and that is usual) the notice must state what it is.

3.11. The risk must either be one that is present at the time or may occur later in the journey.

3.12. The threat of serious personal injury can be to anyone, the driver, the officer or any other member of the public.

3.13. Following the decision to issue a prohibition notice (immediate prohibition only) it is essential that the authorised officer completes the following tasks:

• request STORM CAD record be completed via FCR
• record the STORM CAD record number on the Prohibition Notice
• give the original (pink copy) to the driver with instructions for it to remain with the vehicle
• make the driver aware of the appeals process details on the rear of the PG9 form
• supply the officer responsible for maintaining the record of issues with the relevant information for database records. Papers generated should remain with the case file
• complete a suitable written statement for the officer in charge (OIC)

3.14. Where an immediate prohibition notice is considered, other factors will come into play. For example, the location and condition of the vehicle, which could not then be moved, may in itself create a further risk, for example when stopped on a hard shoulder of a major road. When considering the type of prohibition the officer should consider the following:

• it may be that by allowing the vehicle to move to such an area as a nearby depot, this would enable the faults to be rectified in a safe environment. The vehicle could then continue, having complied with the requirements of the prohibition. In this case a deferred PN would be issued, even though the time might be short (e.g. to allow a move to a nearby safe place)
• however, consideration must be given to the level of risk posed by allowing the vehicle to move under the circumstances found. There has to be a balance between this risk and the distance required to travel to a location where the fault(s) can be rectified
• an example of this is a vehicle not carrying a piece of equipment e.g. discharged fire extinguisher, which could be collected at a nearby depot
• another example is a vehicle stopped on a road where it would be unsafe to leave in situ, and the delayed prohibition would allow time to move to such as a service area where it could park up more safely

3.15 Prosecutions: there may be occasions where a prosecution must be considered. The times when this may occur are:

• evidence of multiple offences
• in this case the guidance has to be that these offences have to be ones that create a serious risk of personal injury
• blatant disregard of the legislation
• evidence must be gathered to the effect that the breaches are due to a blatant or deliberate or negligent act rather than just a lack of knowledge
• evidence of previous advice/prohibitions or prosecutions
• evidence will need to be obtained of a sequence of previous serious breaches of the regulations if a prosecution is to be considered. This evidence can be gathered through local knowledge and information gained via a local intelligence officer or the force Hazmat officer. This evidence will need to be submitted with any prosecution file. Prosecutions may only be undertaken in relation to Hazmat by a prohibition trained officer after consultation with one of the force trained Hazmat officers. Contact can be made via the on duty traffic sergeant

3.16. Appeals process and tribunals: Officers need to be made aware of the possibility of the appeals process detailed on the rear of the PG9 form. Once an officer has been notified that an appeal has been lodged then they must follow the force protocol with regards informing the force Legal Department, etc and they must not enter into any correspondence or discussions with the appellant.

3.17.There may be occasions before an appeal is lodged where a company contacts the issuing officer for clarification of the circumstances. If at any stage it is felt that the prohibition has been incorrectly issued then consultation must take place with the force Hazmat officer in relation to Hazmat issues.

Consideration can be given to removal of the prohibition and the company notified by the force Hazmat officer if this is the case.

3.18. There is no appeal process to an immediate prohibition.

4. Equality Impact Assessment (EIA)

4.1. An EIA has been carried out and shows the proposals in this policy would have no potential or actual differential impact on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, transgender, disability, age, religion, or belief or sexual orientation.

5. Risk assessment

5.1. This SOP has been assessed as low risk.

6. Consultation

6.1. Took place in 2013 with representation from constable to chief inspector.

6.2. Corporate consultation took place in 2014 with representation from

• Human Resources
• Finance
• IT Security
• Estates
• Health and Safety
• Legal
• Freedom of Information

7. Monitoring and review

7.1. Ownership for the review of this procedure will be with the RPU inspector. The SOP will be reviewed every two years with the next review taking place in March 2024.

8. Other source documents

• R02 - Traffic Enforcement
• O32 - Non Court Disposals
• Road Traffic Act 1988
• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

9. Security

9.1. Kent Police have measures in place to protect the security of your data in accordance with our Information Management policy.

10. Retention and disposal of records

10.1. Kent Police will hold data in accordance with our Records Review, Retention and Disposal policy.