At the Tow Show Police Conference held on Tuesday 17th September in Telford, the PROSE Chairman Ian Greenman announced that the DfT plans to amend regulations to permit GB roadside breakdown rescue and recovery operators, (which includes commercial and mobile tyre technicians responding to roadside incidents), the use of rear-facing red flashing lamps under very specific operating conditions.
The regulatory amendments are not expected to enter into force until 2025, so as an interim measure, the Department is offering operators the opportunity to apply now for a Vehicle Special Order (VSO). This does not currently apply in Northern Ireland, but the NTDA will be working as an active member of PROSE with an aim to have the same permissions applied there.
Detailed guidance and the VSO application can be downloaded from the Featured News section of the PROSE website: www.prose-uk.com
In order to make a successful VSO application for red lamps, companies deploying commercial and mobile tyre technicians to work at the roadside must ensure the technicians have undertaken mandatory PROSE approved training, which for the tyre industry is either the NTDA REACT or NTDA REACT compliant LMTT together with the new PROSE Use of Amber Warning Beacons and Rear-Facing Red Flashing Lamps Protocol training, which also covers the use of white work lights. The technicians must also hold a current REACT or LMTT licence, which should be carried by the technician at all times.
All NTDA approved training providers delivering REACT and LMTT courses have been issued with the new PROSE training module and the latest approved training provider directory is available on the here on the NTDA website HERE. An online version of the training produced by PROSE will also be available soon.
In simple terms this means: No Training = No VSO and No VSO = No Red Lamps! The training is vital to ensure that tyre technicians do not misuse the lamps.
The NTDA CEO Stefan Hay commented: “I cannot stress how important the new dynamic risk assessment-based training is. As a case in point, on Friday 20th September, I was passed on a dual carriageway near Bicester Village by an NTDA member owned Mobile Tyre response van which was driving at speed with its Amber Beacons flashing, this is absolutely not permitted and yet, it is the sixth time I have witnessed a tyre incident response van with Amber Beacons flashing while driving on the strategic road network since April this year.
The DfT has made it very clear that if we abuse the red lamps in a similar way, we will lose the right to use them, so I urge NTDA members to educate their employees now and ensure they undertake the new training as soon as is practicable.”
PROSE Chairman Ian Greeman will be speaking at the 2024 NTDA Tyre Industry Conference on the 10th of October in Milton Keynes and will be joined by Richard Goddard the Chairman of PROF. Colleagues from National Highways and the European Recovery and Rescue Initiative will also be on hand to answer any questions delegates may have.
NTDA members can attend the FREE to members conference by booking via: info@ntda.co.uk