Braking performance assessment requirements from April 2025

In a significant move to enhance road safety, the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has announced that, effective April 2025, there is an expectation that every safety inspection will include a brake performance assessment using either an RBT, a suitable electronic brake performance monitoring system (EBPMS) or a decelerometer with temperature readings. If EBPMS is not used it is expected there is a minimum of four laden brake tests spread evenly across the year, this can include the annual test.

Acceptable reasons for not carrying out a laden brake assessment.

Vehicles where laden brake assessments may not be possible or where additional loading would be difficult are listed below (this is not an exhaustive list), however there is an expectation that at least four of the assessments will use an RBT unless the construction or weight of the vehicle prevents its use.

Vehicles where under normal operating conditions (more than 70% of the time) run at less than 65% of the permitted axle weights. This may include car transporters where they are designed for that specific task
Furniture removal vehicles – Only when designed and constructed as a furniture removal vehicle
ADR – Only when the load is considered dangerous and specialist facilities are not available
Vehicles operating at 50% or more of permitted axle weights when unladen – This could include fixed plant, mobile libraries, compactor vehicles, exhibition type vehicles, bullion vehicles, etc.

Where a laden brake test is not carried out a risk assessment detailing the reasons, must be completed by a competent person who understands braking systems and its components at every safety inspection.

There must be an evaluation of the vehicle/ trailer performance report before every safety inspection by a competent person who can interpret the data. The evaluation must be signed, dated, and attached to the vehicle record together with the performance data report. The evaluation and data report may be a single document.

To allow flexibility vehicles can be presented for brake testing up to 14 days before the safety inspection date; this allows the operator to conduct a laden brake test during the vehicle/trailer normal activities without the need to specially load it.

Reliable brake testing is crucial to ensure road safety, helping to identify any potential brake issues that may lead to accidents on the road, minimising risks to the HGV drivers and other road users.

What does this update mean for you?

To follow best practice and comply with the proposed new legislation, the DVSA expect that with every safety inspection a brake performance assessment is completed with an RBT, suitable electronic brake performance monitoring system (EBPMS) or using a decelerometer and taking temperature readings as the sole method for evaluating brake performance.

In some cases, a loaded brake test may be impractical. As such, if a vehicle or trailer consistently operates under specific conditions, exemptions may apply. Examples include:

ADR vehicles: when the load is considered dangerous, and specialist facilities are unavailable.
Livestock carriers: when recreating the load is not possible.
Noxious load carriers: only if the vehicle is specifically designed for this purpose.
Furniture removal vehicles: only if the vehicle is specifically designed for this purpose.
Public service vehicles: this includes prisoner transfer vehicles.
Vehicles that operate at 50% or more of permitted axle weight when unladen. This could include fixed plant, mobile libraries, compactor vehicles or bullion transport vehicles.
Vehicles that more than 70% of the time run at less than 65% of the permitted axle weights, these may include car transporters or unladen tri-axle semi-trailers.

For businesses running vehicles not fitted with an EBPMS (currently only available on trailers) or exempt, a minimum of four laden RBT assessments are required, these are to be spread evenly across the year and include the existing requirement to conduct a RBT at each MOT test. To ensure minimal disruption, these tests can be completed as early as 14 days before the next safety inspection date.

A risk assessment (example here) must be available to support every safety inspection where a laden brake test is not completed. The operator will still be responsible for a risk assessment is in place to justify any exemption. This assessment should be:

Available to review during every safety inspection.

Updated annually, or whenever there is a change in vehicle use.

Retained with vehicle maintenance documents for 15 months.

What Should Our Customers Do?

At Mac’s Truck Rental, we are dedicated to providing safe and roadworthy vehicles to our customers and as part of this dedication we will be working with our customers to ensure they re-main compliant.

To achieve this, we will continue to complete our standard 4 laden RBTs per year across our managed fleets, while supporting our customers’ unique operational needs but will offer an increase in the frequency of the laden brake tests being conducted at the customer’s request. (Conditions apply).

We will be available to assist our customers, offering advice on how the new requirements affect their operations, any potential cost implications and providing information on keeping their own fleet in compliance.

For more information on the Braking performance assessment requirements from April 2025 and further reading please see below links.

Guide to maintaining roadworthiness: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6751b5d044885d072cecbd62/guide-to-maintaining-roadworthiness-commercial-goods-and-public-service-vehicles.pdf

Brake test risk assessment: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67362fbaf6920bfb5abc7bc1/annex-7-example-of-a-brake-assessment-risk-assessment-template.pdf

Understanding your HGV or trailer’s brake test report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-your-hgv-or-trailers-brake-test-report/understanding-your-hgv-or-trailers-brake-test-report

EBPMS Industry Standard Specification:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electronic-braking-performance-monitoring-systems/electronic-braking-performance-monitoring-system-ebpms-industry-standard-specification

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Summary

The delay to Brexit has caused more disruption to truck purchasing
A post-Brexit 16% tariff on HGV’s & components will raise prices of new trucks
To compensate, truck dealers are also likely to raise used truck prices
Combined with increasing pressure to comply with efficiency standards (plus new initiatives such as London’s ULEZ), more companies are turning to truck rental
Renting makes monthly outgoings more predictable and removes the headache of ongoing management, servicing and taxing.

Brexit has been delayed. Again. Which means the uncertainty around one of the most heavily-impacted industries – haulage & automotive – is set to continue.

This is particularly bad news for the industry. Why? Consider the number of components within any given truck that has been manufactured in the UK. Over 50% of those components are sourced from the EU. Of course, that figure is likely to substantially rise for trucks manufactured outside of the UK too.

This perfectly demonstrates how interlinked the automotive & haulage industry is with supply chains across Europe. Uncertainty around how the WTO is going to impose tariffs on the import/export of trucks and components has delayed purchasing decisions, as transport & fleet managers are unsure of the best way to fund their new trucks.

What is this tariff?

The Temporary Tariff Regime would be used in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and the Government have stated that 88% of imports will be tariff-free. Unfortunately, the tariff will apply to HGV’s and components.

The rate of this tariff was set at 22%, but after some convincing by the Road Haulage Association, has been reduced to 16%. To put this into context, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said:

“With the average price of a tractor unit with an engine rating of Euro 6 starting at around £85,000, the prospect of paying over £100,000 for a new truck will, for many, make new vehicle acquisition almost impossible,” he remarked.

“This is a ludicrous situation. UK hauliers, particularly those already at a loss as regards future border crossing processes, will now be faced with massive, additional financial burdens to add to their worries.

“For those who can afford these excessive tariffs, they will have no alternative but to increase their rates by a substantial amount. For those unable to pass the additional cost on, there’s a real risk that Brexit will be the final straw.”

The price of new AND used trucks will increase

Richard Burnett highlights the need for businesses to be using trucks manufactured to the latest emissions standards, Euro 6.

Commercial Motor reported that there are a significant number of businesses with Euro 4 & 5 rated trucks that are holding off on purchasing a Euro 6 truck.

Heading into 2020, the price of these is set to rise, which would massively impact these businesses, particularly as London will introduce the ULEZ, designed to clean up the capital’s air with heavy fines imposed for drivers without Euro 6 engines.

This is likely to force businesses owners to turn to used trucks. However, as demand will likely fall initially for new trucks, this reduction in revenue will be offset by increasing the price of used trucks too (Commercial Motor).

Of course, used Euro 6 trucks will remain cheaper than their new alternatives, but the price gap will be reduced by dealers in an effort to make new trucks look more enticing.

What is the alternative?

Regardless of whether a business is looking for a new or used truck, there’s likely to be an element of credit involved in the purchase, resulting in monthly payments or a set repayment date.

Selena McDade-Smith, from Mac’s Truck Rental (sister-company of Macs Trucks Sales), explained that many businesses have utilised the company’s contract hire service because of the reduction in cost and flexibility in contract length:

“We often have to explain why contract hire benefits our potential customers, and the reason is that their monthly payments only cover the depreciation of the truck over the time they need it. Which, of course, results in much lower prices.

We’ve also seen more and more customers converting from outright purchases to rental because of the demands on efficiency. While Euro 6 has been in force for a while now, with DAF and other manufacturers developing electric vehicles, we’re expecting further efficiency regulations to come into force in the not-too-distant future, which naturally disrupts the industry.

As the average rental customer has their truck between 2-3 years, compared to those who own a truck outright where this figure doubles to 6-7 years, renting offers businesses the option of adhering to the latest efficiency standards, therefore benefiting from any incentives or cost reductions from the Government.

It certainly feels like contract hire and rental is the logical choice, particularly in this period of uncertainty”.

For more information on truck rental and contract hire, click through to our trucks page, or get in touch.