The daily walkaround check is a legal obligation for operators of goods vehicles and PSVs in the UK. This page explains the legal basis, what the check must cover, and provides the full DVSA walkaround checklist inline. free to use and adapt.
The Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence to use, cause, or permit to be used a motor vehicle on a road in a dangerous condition. Operators holding a standard or restricted operator licence have a specific obligation under their licence conditions to maintain their vehicles in a fit and serviceable condition.
The DVSA's Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness sets out how operators are expected to discharge this obligation. It requires a systematic daily check of every vehicle before it is used on the road. The check must be carried out by the driver or a competent person. The driver is responsible for reporting any defects found. The operator is responsible for ensuring the vehicle is roadworthy and for maintaining records of checks and rectifications.
The Traffic Commissioner can review an operator's compliance record when deciding whether to grant, renew, or revoke an operator licence. A pattern of missed checks, defects that were driven on, or incomplete records is significant evidence of poor compliance management.
The driver's responsibility is to carry out the check before the vehicle is used, to report any defects found, and not to drive a vehicle with a safety-critical defect. The driver cannot be required to use a vehicle they know to be dangerous. If a driver is pressured to use a vehicle in a known defective condition, the operator carries the liability.
The operator's responsibility is broader. The operator must put in place a system that makes the daily check happen, ensure defects are rectified before the vehicle returns to service, and maintain records. The check sheet is the operator's evidence that their system works. Without records, the operator cannot demonstrate compliance to the Traffic Commissioner.
Quickler sends the walkaround checklist to the driver's WhatsApp at the start of each shift. The driver works through each item: typing yes/no or sending a photo of a defect. Any defect flagged goes straight to the fleet manager's dashboard in red. The fleet manager sees the defect before the driver has left the yard.
The check takes the same time as a paper check. The record is timestamped and tied to the vehicle and driver. Defects are photographed at the point of identification rather than described in writing. At the end of the month, the operator has a complete, exportable record of every check carried out, by which driver, on which vehicle, on which date.
Firms running paper checks and filing the sheets in a folder are generating the record; the problem is retrieval. Finding the check sheet for a specific vehicle on a specific date six months ago requires a manual search. The digital record is searchable immediately.
Yes. Operators holding a standard or restricted goods vehicle or PSV operator licence have a statutory obligation to ensure their vehicles are not used on the road in a dangerous condition. The DVSA's Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness requires drivers to carry out a daily walkaround check. Failure to maintain records of these checks is a factor the Traffic Commissioner will consider when reviewing an operator licence.
DVSA guidance requires walkaround check records to be retained for at least 15 months. Records should be available for inspection at the operating centre. Electronic records are acceptable provided they are tamper-evident and can be produced on request.
Any defect found during a walkaround check must be reported immediately to the operator or transport manager. If the defect affects roadworthiness, brake performance, steering, tyres, lights, the vehicle must not be used until the defect is rectified. The driver should record the defect on the check sheet and the operator must record the rectification action and date.
Yes. DVSA accepts electronic walkaround check records provided the system creates a tamper-evident audit trail and records are retained for the required period. Systems that deliver the check via a mobile app or WhatsApp and generate a timestamped PDF record satisfy these requirements.
Paste this as your first workflow description when you sign up:
DVSA walkaround check — driver answers each DVSA-required item in sequence, photos attached, timestamped record produced.
Quickler builds the WhatsApp flow from your description. Engineers go live within a week.
Set up DVSA checks →Quickler works on any phone with WhatsApp. No driver app install. Setup in under a week.