1. Overview
If you’re a vehicle operator, your drivers might be stopped at the roadside by the police or the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for vehicle inspections.
DVSA use the Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system to decide which vehicles should be inspected.
OCRS is used to calculate the risk of an operator not following the rules on roadworthiness (the condition of its vehicles) and traffic, eg drivers’ hours, weighing checks.
It’s more likely that your vehicles will be inspected if your OCRS is high.
2. How the system works
The Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system is based on data collected by DVSA over a 3-year rolling period.
Data is taken from annual tests, roadside inspections and inspections at operators’ premises.
Scoring is split into 2 areas:
Roadworthiness: Data comes from vehicle tests (first tests, subsequent annual tests); ‘vehicle encounters’ (fleet check inspections at operator premises, roadside inspections)
Traffic Roadside: Data is collected from inspections and prosecutions (eg for drivers’ hours and tachograph offences, weighing checks)
As an operator you get points when a test or inspection finds a defect or infringement of the rules. The more serious the defect or infringement, the more points.
You’ll be given a score, which will be shown as R (red – highest risk), A (amber – medium risk) or G (green – lowest risk).
The guidance on the OCRS system explains how the scores are worked out.
You might have no score if DVSA doesn’t have any data for you from the past 3 years.
You can check your OCRS score, view test histories and roadside check reports online.
Operators outside Great Britain
DVSA has a non-GB OCRS system for operators based outside Great Britain. It’s based on data captured at the roadside – this is because there is no annual test or prosecution data available.
3. How your score can change
Because your Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) is calculated over a 3-year rolling period, it can change after inspections, tests or prosecutions against you.
DVSA calls these ‘encounters’. Your score could change if you:
- commit a new offence or have a defect recorded against you at inspection (this has a negative effect on your score)
- have a ‘clear encounter’ – eg you pass an inspection without any problems (this has a positive effect on your score)
If you’re prosecuted by DVSA you’ll get points from the date of prosecution, not the date of the offence.
The lower your OCRS is, the better.
Old encounters
Your score also changes as old encounters that previously counted towards your score no longer count once they’re not in the OCRS calculation period.
If you had clear encounters included in your score and these are now outside the calculation period, this might mean your score goes up. But if you had negative encounters included and these no longer count, your score might go down.
Trigger events
These are serious problems that will send you straight into the red score band for a set period of time.
Once this time is up, your score returns to whatever your base score is at the time. Your base score is your OCRS without the trigger taken into account.
There’s a list of offences that can send your score straight to red in the guidance on the OCRS system.
Year weightings
The impact of an offence or defect decreases over the 3-year time period.
For the first 12 months after the offence or defect, its score stays the same. After 12 months it falls by a quarter and then it’s halved in the final 12 months.
Other changes
There are a number of ‘parameters’ that feed into your OCRS. DVSA sets these and can change them at any time – this has an impact on your score.
The parameters are:
- points for offences and defects
- points for prosecutions
- time weightings
- band thresholds (these determine whether you’re in the red, amber or green band)
- trigger events and time periods
The values for all parameters are available in the guidance on the OCRS system.