Credential Checking

A well-managed system requires that all vehicles, drivers and operators have the correct licences, training and certificates. This is becoming significantly easier because of the combination of e-documents which can be accessed remotely using cloud based computing. Roadside enforcement officials can access all the very latest documents relating to a vehicle and deal with any infringement of regulations immediately. This capability mean that relevant information can be accessed at spot checks – for example information on roadworthiness tests (the MOT in UK, ITV in Spain, APK in the Netherlands or TÜV in Germany).

The easy availability of ITS technologies such as those described reinforces the importance of operators and drivers “playing by the rules”. Those who cut corners by illegally cutting costs distort competition and undermine legitimate operations to the detriment of the entire freight logistics market.

Building on the work from eManifest and other sources (such as safety information exchange, border clearance and weight screening) it has become possible for law enforcement officials within some countries to have access to large amounts of data at the roadside. This facilitates targeted enforcement. Vehicles from operators with poor records of compliance can be targeted, whilst those from firms with better records can be left to continue without delay to their destination. In the UK, an Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system is used whereby operators ranked as low risk (“green”) are less likely to have their vehicles stopped than vehicles from operators ranked “red”. There is also an “amber” score in the middle. This score is created through a combination of roadworthiness checks and traffic enforcement compliance (drivers’ hours, weighing checks and the outcome of roadside inspections). Any discrepancies with the details recorded and accessible from the cloud - for operators, drivers or vehicles - can be checked and acted upon.

The names of credential compliance systems vary from country to country (for example, TAN21 in the United Kingdom, CVISN in the United States) but operate on a similar basis. The authorities for operators, vehicle licensing and enforcement can all upload the relevant information about the vehicle and driver where it is available in a central system that can access these databases. The system itself is accessed by roadside enforcement officials.