Institute of Transport Administration

Next-gen eCall warning issued by DfT

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The Department for Transport (DfT) has issued guidance on next generation emergency call (eCall) on new cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs).

The system is designed to automatically summon assistance in the event of a serious collision by notifying the emergency services.

Further information:

Great Britain's commercial road transport and the European Union's Entry/Exit System

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Research on road transport between Great Britain and the Schengen area under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), a digital border system for recording non-EU nationals’ entry and exit.

The study

The study has 2 parts:

Part 1 – methodology

Sets out an approach for monitoring and evaluating EES impacts on GB goods and passenger transport operators, covering:
- It also proposes proportionate data collection for future analysis as EES is implemented.
  Part 2 – operator expectations
  
  Presents survey and interview findings on operators’ exposure, awareness, preparedness, compliance with the Schengen 90/180-day rule, and expected operational and workforce impacts.
  - further information:

Freight modelling: methodology think pieces

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

A series of think pieces that consider key methodological areas supporting the development of a new national freight transport model.

Independent experts provided the studies, which examine:

The findings are intended to inform future model development and specification.

Further information:

Guidance on the required standards for vehicle safety, construction and use.
Change in guidance for next generation eCall on cars and light commercial vehicles added.

Further information:

A new feature is being rolled out on the MOT testing service from 3 August 2026, allowing testers to take and upload a photo of the vehicle being tested.

Around 2,500 garages across Great Britain will get access to the feature during this first phase of the rollout.

The new feature will allow MOT testers to take and upload a photo of a vehicle at the time of its test using a smartphone, tablet or other compatible mobile device.

Further information:

The national bus fare cap in England outside London for participating services will be reduced to £2 for 12 months from 1 January 2027.
A drop from the current £3 where operators choose to take part is an early policy point from new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Until the end of 2026, the national bus fare cap in England will remain at £3.
Graham Vidler CPT CEO notes that as the fare cap in England enters its fifth year, it is vital for ministers to work with the bus industry “to place [the cap] on a sustainable footing, with a long-term strategy and a fair reimbursement model for every operator choosing to take part.
Transport safety has traditionally focused on preventing accidents through stability systems, driver-assistance technology, collision mitigation and operational controls.

As public transport becomes more complex, regulators and manufacturers are placing greater emphasis on survivability when systems fail.
UNECE Regulation No.

The regulation recognises that emergency systems must remain usable during realistic crises such as smoke, panic, electrical disruption or infrastructure failure, making evacuation capability an operational survivability outcome rather than a passive compliance feature.

For operators and manufacturers, the priority is clear: safety systems must work under worst-case conditions, with emergency escape systems serving as a critical final layer in transport resilience.

Operators must address school phone ban before September

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

ShuttleID’s founder is urging school transport operators to discuss local phone-ban policies with schools now, as app-based ticketing could be affected when pupils board services.

Department for Education guidance published on 29 June requires schools in England to become mobile phone-free by default from 1 September.

Schools must restrict phone and smart-device access throughout the day, though headteachers can decide how policies are implemented and should consider pupils’ journeys to and from school.

Even less restrictive policies may disrupt smartphone ticketing if devices are confiscated, leaving pupils without QR codes or phone tickets.

Restrictions may also limit pupils’ access to live tracking and service alerts, although parent-focused systems should retain boarding notifications and safeguarding functions.

Impounded foreign coach illustrates care needed on overseas work

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Coach operators running occasional international trips to or from the UK are being urged to follow the rules carefully after DVSA impounded a foreign-registered coach for alleged breaches.

DVSA says this is not a PSV “cabotage” offence but non-UK vehicles carrying out domestic carriage.

This is DVSA’s first seizure of this kind.

DVSA’s powers are otherwise limited, as it cannot report the operator to the Traffic Commissioner, though other offences may lead to fixed penalties or prohibition.

A coach may be impounded if it repeats illegal domestic carriage after a previous penalty, because the operator should know the requirements.

James Backhouse advises operators unsure about Interbus rules to seek advice before departure.

Operation Brock has returned to the M20 in Kent, ahead of the summer getaway.

The contraflow system will be in place on the M20 coastbound between Maidstone and Ashford for around 6 weeks, until 24 August 26, to mitigate widespread disruption caused by high summer holiday traffic volumes and potential delays from the incoming EU Entry/Exit System (EES) biometric border checks.

It means there will be a reduced speed limit between Junctions 8 and 9, with dedicated lanes for HGVs to queue.

Rules for HGVs when Operation Brock is active:

Decisions made by Traffic Commissioners on hearings around Large Goods Vehicle and Passenger Carrying Vehicle driving entitlement.

The regulatory decisions include:

Further information:

Transport Committee inquiry into women and girls’ safety

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The Transport Committee has opened an inquiry into how effectively the government is helping to keep women and girls safe when they travel.

The inquiry will also seek to establish how meaningfully the Department for Transport (DfT) is contributing to the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls.

Helping to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) is an imperative for the bus industry.

Further information:

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander spoke with European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas about supporting holidaymakers through the EU’s enhanced Entry/Exit System (EES) checks this summer.

Alexander raised concerns about potential disruption for travellers, and both sides agreed to work together to keep border crossings as smooth as possible through the summer and autumn.

The talks follow a government pledge of 20 million GBP to expand passport check booths at the Port of Dover, alongside 10.

The new funding is also intended to increase vehicle processing capacity, reduce waiting times and ease congestion in future years.

Further information:

HSE continues to support Farm Safety Week, as 2025/26 figures show children and older workers remain disproportionately at risk on Britain’s farms, the sector with the highest rate of work-related fatalities.
Provisional data shows 29 deaths in agriculture, forestry and fishing in 2025/26, including seven members of the public, three of them children.
The sector has averaged 28 work-related deaths a year over the last five years, with a fatal injury rate five times higher than construction and 21 times the all-industry average.
Free guidance, including , including Network Rail has announced that work has begun on retrofitting Barking Eurohub, turning it into a modern international rail freight hub.

The 40-acre site located in east London will be redeveloped into a fully operational international intermodal freight facility.

Once complete, the site will act as a significant hub for freight travelling to and from major continental European markets including France, Germany, Italy and Spain via the Channel Tunnel.

Work on the project will involve removing old sidings that currently restrict parts of the site, freeing up more than five acres of land and creating new berthing sidings for continental freight trains.
This will improve the flow of trains through the terminal and support more efficient freight operations, Network Rail stated.

The connecting freight tracks and intermodal terminal sidings will be remodelled to handle continental freight trains up to 700 metres long, compared with the current operational limit of around 350 to 400 metres.

Further information:

Current trailer under-run protection ‘inadequate’

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Truck operators are being strongly encouraged by vehicle safety rating specialist Euro NCAP to request retrofit under-run protection solutions from trailer makers, after testing found that current European-mandated systems were ineffective in protecting passenger car occupants whose vehicles run into the rear of trailers.
Such collisions could account for around 400 road deaths a year across the EU and UK, the organisation said following the crash tests, which were initiated by National Highways – the body responsible for operating and maintaining England’s motorways and major A-roads – in partnership with Euro NCAP and other European road safety organisations.

Rear-end shunts accounted for 39 per cent of all HGV collisions in 2024, says National Highways, and were the most common type.

In the tests, two different commonly used trailers were selected, both fitted with European-regulation UN ECE R58.

Compounding the problem, separate tests conducted by Euro NCAP revealed that some older passenger car Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) were not as good as detecting real HGV rears – such as curtainsider and skeletal trailers, as well as the impact protection vehicles used to shield personnel on live roadworks – as they were in lab tests.

Further information:

Work to remove the masts from the SS Richard Montgomery will begin in early September, marking a significant milestone in the long-term management of the historic wreck, the government was confirmed on 14 July 2026.

The operation will involve constructing an underwater platform to allow specialist maritime engineers to cut the 3 masts over the course of several weeks.

The wreck contains around 1,400 tonnes of wartime explosives, which is why every aspect of the operation has been developed under rigorous safety and engineering standards.

Once removed, the masts will be sent to The Historic Dockyard Chatham – which is home to specialist restoration facilities – where they can be properly preserved.

The iconic shipwreck, which lies in the Thames Estuary 1.

Independent expert advice has confirmed the planned operation can be carried out safely without increasing the risk posed by the explosives remaining onboard.

The existing exclusion zone around the wreck will remain following the mast removal and work could be completed by the end of September.

Further information:

Commission confirms Smart Tachograph Version 2 mandatory software update

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The European Commission has confirmed, via the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the mandatory software update requirements for certain Smart Tachograph Version 2 models.

VDO DTCO 4. Devices running software version 4126 must be updated to 4141 with immediate effect.

Stoneridge SE5000-8. From 1 September 2026, units running software versions 1214 or 1619 (1XXX series) must be updated to software versions 2424, 2425, 2525, or 2626 (2XXX series).

These mandatory updates must be carried out no later than the next periodic inspection or at the first installation, whichever occurs first.

Operators, fleet managers and workshops should review their installed units now to ensure compliance and avoid any potential operational or regulatory issues.

Further information:

Recreational Boating - Are you wearing a PFD and adhering to safe limits?

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Safety lessons to the recreational boating community highlighting the need to wear personal flotation devices.

Safety flyer issued with the investigation report into the allision of the rigid inflatable boat Peaky Blinder with a navigation beacon in Portsmouth Harbour, England, resulting in two fatalities on 14 August 2025.
The document summarises the circumstances of the accident and provides multiple safety considerations for members of the recreational boating community.

Further information:

Important updates to the M2 and M3 IVA inspection manual

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:16:37 +0000

From 27 July 2026, some changes will take effect in the M2 and M3 IVA Inspection manual.
The updated manual has been published on the GOV.

To help identify which parts have been updated there is a page of revisions with a brief summary at the start of the updated manual.

Section No.
- Foreword 01 Noise 18 Statutory Plates 19 Seat Belt Anchorages 20 Installation of Lights 21 Retro Reflectors 22 End Outline, Position(side), Stop, Side Marker & Daytime Running Lamps 25 Headlamps 28 Rear Fog Lamps 29 Reversing Lamps 31 Seat belts 36 Heating Systems 46 Tyres 48 Masses & Dimensions 52H Number & Location of Exits 52P Passenger Seats & Space 69 Electrical Safety - Glossary of Terms

Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the changes in the