Operator Compliance Risk Score - OCRS

A vehicle operator should be aware that their drivers might be stopped at the roadside by the police or the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for vehicle inspections.

The DVSA use the Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) system to decide which vehicles should be inspected.

The OCRS is used to calculate the risk of an operator not following the rules on roadworthiness i.e. the condition of its vehicles, and traffic, e.g. drivers’ hours, weighing checks.

It is more likely that vehicles will be inspected if the OCRS is high.

How the system works

The 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.

Scores are split into 2 categories, and a combined score.

Category	Where the data comes from
Roadworthiness	Vehicle tests (first tests, subsequent annual tests); ‘vehicle encounters’ (fleet check inspections at operator premises, roadside inspections)
Traffic	Roadside inspections and prosecutions (for example, for drivers’ hours and tachograph offences, weighing checks)

An operator is awarded points when a test or inspection finds a defect or infringement of the rules. The more serious the defect or infringement, the more points are awarded.

Scores will be shown as:

R = (red - highest risk),
A = (amber - medium risk)
G = (green - lowest risk).

The guidance on the OCRS system explains how the scores are worked out.

There may be no score if the DVSA does not hold any data for an operator from the past 3 years.

Operators outside Great Britain

The DVSA has a non-GB OCRS system for operators based outside Great Britain. It is based on data captured at the roadside as there is no annual test or prosecution data available.

How a score can change

As the Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) is calculated over a 3-year rolling period, it can change after any inspections, tests or prosecutions are issued against the operator.

The DVSA calls these ‘encounters’. A score could change if an operator:

commits a new offence or has a defect recorded against them at inspection. This has a negative effect on the score.
has a ‘clear encounter’ e.g. an inspection is passed without any problems. This has a positive effect on the score.

If an operator is prosecuted by the DVSA, points are issued from the date of prosecution, not the date of the offence.

The lower the OCRS is, the better.

Old Encounters

The score also changes as old encounters that previously counted towards the score no longer count once they are not in the OCRS calculation period.

If clear encounters were included in the score and these are now outside the calculation period, the score may go up. If negative encounters were included and these no longer count, the score might go down.

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, the score stays the same. After 12 months it falls by a quarter and then in the final 12 months, it is halved.

Other Changes

There are a number of ‘parameters’ that feed into the OCRS. The DVSA sets these and can change them at any time, and will impact the 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