One of the first things that we look to ascertain with new clients is what their Operator Compliance Risk Score (sometimes abbreviated to OCRS) currently stands at – and nine times out of ten, they have no idea! In this post, we are going to explain what the Operator Compliance Risk Score is, how to find out what your score is and most importantly, how it can affect your licence.
The Operator Compliance Risk Score is the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) internal risk-based mechanism used at the roadside to help identify operators who are most likely to be non-compliant. Despite being in use since 2006, major changes were implemented in late 2012 and it is these changes that some operators are still adjusting to.
First things first – how is your score calculated? Your score is derived from a rolling three-year set of data updated on a weekly basis. This helps to keep your score as current as possible whilst also providing more data than previously (the old system used a two-year data set) to base an informed opinion on your level of compliance.
Your score is divided into two categories – roadworthiness and traffic. The roadworthiness category covers data derived from first-use inspections, annual tests and vehicle encounters; and your traffic score is determined by roadside inspections and prosecutions. Furthermore, your score is determined by two factors – defect/offence points and certain trigger incidents (more on these later).
Points are issued on a graduation basis dependent on the severity of the defect or offence; for example, an immediate prohibition for brakes will receive more points than one for defective bodywork. “S” marked prohibitions will incur double points as it has been determined that there has been a significant breakdown in the operator’s maintenance arrangements.
| Type of Defect | Points |
|---|---|
| Category 1 – Immediate prohibition for tyres, brakes or steering defects | 200 |
| Category 2 – Immediate prohibition for all other defects | 100 |
| Category 3 – Delayed prohibition for tyres, brakes or steering defects | 50 |
| Category 4 – Delayed prohibition for all other defects | 25 |
| Category 1 – Immediate S marked prohibition for tyres, brakes or steering defects | 400 |
| Category 2 – Immediate S marked prohibition all other defects | 200 |
| Category 3 – Delayed S marked prohibition for tyres, brakes or steering defects | 100 |
| Category 4 – Delayed S marked prohibition for all other defects. | 50 |
| Annual Test failure for tyres, brakes or steering defects | 50 |
| Annual Test failure for all other defects | 25 |
For a full list of the points associated to each defect, please click here.
Your score will be banded green, amber, red or grey. Red rated operators will be those most likely to be stopped at the roadside with green and amber operators being considered less likely to be non-compliant. Grey rated operators are those who DVSA have no information on and are more likely to be stopped than green and amber rated operators.
Your banding is dependent on your baseline score. Your baseline score is determined by dividing your total number of defect/offence points by the number of events (i.e. roadside inspections) you have encountered. The older an offence, the fewer points it carries. The formula for calculating your banding is:
Year 3 points + (Year 2 points x 0.75) + (Year 1 points x 0.5) / Number of Events
So for example, if you had 5 roadside inspections in the last three years and were issued an immediate prohibition for a tyre defect in the first year, the formula used would be:
0 + 0 + (200 x 0.5) / 5
This would give you a traffic baseline score of 20 and therefore place you in the amber banding bracket.
As previously mentioned, there are certain trigger events that can move your Operator Compliance Risk Score to the red band for a period of time, e.g. 6 or 12 months. A trigger event can be an operator prosecution or an encounter that resulted in a Most Serious Infringement for serious drivers’ hours offences or unmarked dangerous goods. Once the trigger period of time has completed, assuming no more trigger events have occurred, the operator will return to their baseline score.
Examples of “straight to red” triggers include:
- driving with a digital card of which the driver is not the holder,
- falsification of data downloaded from the tachograph or driver card,
- falsifying of record sheets of the tachograph,
- using a device to modify the speed limiter or
- transporting dangerous goods without identifying them on the vehicle thus endangering lives or the environment.
Managing your Operator Compliance Risk Score effectively is vitally important to maintaining a safe operation but the fact remains that many operators are still unaware of their score. To register for your score, please follow this link. This will grant you access to your online reports – a sample report can be found here.
If you require any assistance interpreting your Operator Compliance Risk Score or would like some free advice on your levels of compliance, please get in touch with us today.