NTDA makes ‘Licence to Fit’ mandatory for members

The NTDA (National Tyre Distributors Association) has opted to make its “Licence to Fit” roadside technician accreditation scheme a requirement of membership.

The decision forms of the culmination of a process that began with the deaths of six vehicle recovery operators who were killed on Britain's motorways and hard shoulders in 1998. This prompted the AA and the RAC to fund the establishment of SURVIVE in March 1999. SURVIVE stands for Safe Use of Roadside Verges In Vehicular Emergencies and the purpose of the group was to promote the safety of people working or stopping on motorway hard shoulders and high-speed dual carriageways. The SURVIVE Group is a partnership between the Highways Agency, ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers), the breakdown/recovery industry and other service providers.

The mandate for compulsory attainment of a Licence to Fit (LTF) for members carrying out roadside tyre maintenance came from the NTDA’s recent council meetings. In short, this means that every association member working at the side of the road will have undergone thorough training in safety and the correct procedures to adopt. In addition, for the first time, LTF-accredited fitters will have a card to prove that they have received proper training.

The LTF programme is currently being developed by a group of members and the NTDA directorate and will include a requirement that fitters attending truck tyre breakdowns on the roadside will be suitably trained, through a variety of qualifications, to work safely in the dangerous environment of a roadside breakdown.

Among the qualifications are City & Guilds in Roadside Breakdowns, IMI QAA award in road and site safety, Vehicle Fitting VRQ unit RA03 (Roadside Assistance) and Level 2 Apprenticeship in Vehicle Fitting (to include unit RA03/V72). In addition to these, some larger companies in the tyre industry have their own existing schemes in place which would qualify under LTF.
The NTDA already publishes recommendations and guidelines for dealing with roadside tyre servicing covering all aspects, including where and how to park and lay out traffic cones, a list of equipment, including safety clothing and reflective jacket and the correct procedure to adopt before, during and after the breakdown, including which authorities and organisations to contact. The working group involved in the development of the LTF programme will also be studying these recommendations to see which are still relevant to LTF and what amendments need to be made to ensure that they comply with the new standard.

At present, the LTF scheme is still under development and should be ready to roll out to the membership in the coming months, but it is likely that LTF would require five-yearly reassessments and a five-year licence would cost £50 to help with administration costs.

It is proposed that the LTF scheme has its own dedicated section of the NTDA website, with some pages open to all, carrying links to training providers and other relevant organisations, such as SURVIVE, Highways Agency and City & Guilds. Other pages would be restricted to LTF holders and password protected so they could print off details and make corrections and amendments, where necessary.

At the council meeting, the NTDA stressed the importance of re-establishing its relationship with the Highways Agency to discuss the introduction of the LTF scheme and that the best route would be through SURVIVE. To this end, the association will approach SURVIVE to discuss the status of LTF and future relations between the two organisations.