Guidance for people running transport operations.
Practical writing on Operator Licences, Driver CPC and drivers’ hours, from the team building FleetOptix.
Winter fleet compliance: what actually changes between October and March
Nothing in the O-licence undertakings changes when the clocks go back, but almost every practical way you meet them does. A look at the compliance jobs that get harder in winter, and the ones that only look like they're holding up.
Subcontracting work out: what you stay responsible for
Your customer sees one haulier, and it is you. Due diligence on the operator you pass work to is the part most often done once and never again.
Spreadsheets vs fleet compliance software: when it's actually time to switch
A well-built spreadsheet can genuinely work for a small fleet — the honest question isn't whether spreadsheets are inherently wrong, it's at what point the manual effort of keeping one accurate stops being worth it.
Load security and weight compliance: what a driver and operator are each responsible for
An insecure or overweight load is a shared offence — both the driver and the operator can be prosecuted, and DVSA issues around 2,000 prohibitions a year for insecure loads alone.
Setting safety inspection intervals that actually hold up
DVSA doesn't mandate a single fixed interval for preventive maintenance inspections — it expects operators to set one based on evidence, and to actually stick to it, which is where most PMI systems quietly fail.
Vans under 3.5 tonnes: the compliance most fleets skip
Falling outside O-licensing is not the same as falling outside duty of care — and van fleets are where the gap between those two is widest.
The Working Time Regulations for mobile workers, and how they differ from drivers' hours
A 60-hour single-week cap, a 48-hour average, and night-work limits — the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations sit alongside drivers' hours rules, not instead of them, and cover different things.
Driver training beyond CPC: what's actually worth investing in
The 35 hours keeps a licence valid, but it doesn't automatically make a fleet safer or more efficient — eco-driving, manual handling and defensive driving courses are optional, and worth choosing deliberately.