Responsibility for maintenance

Responsibility for maintenance

1) Regarding 'O' licensing, the fact that no matter who carries out maintenance work (or under what contractual terms), it is the user (ie 'O' licence holder) who remains responsible in law for the mechanical condition of vehicles/trailers.

The same applies when vehicles are hired (unless complete with driver), borrowed or a driver hitches your tractive unit to somebody else's semi-trailer - the driver's employer (ie the user) remains responsible.

Source: David Lowe. The Dictionary of Transport and Logistics. Kogan Page, 2002. – P.203 (288 p.)