PAS 43 Explained: Requirements, Equipment Checklist and Certification

If you run breakdown or recovery vehicles in the UK, PAS 43 will come up sooner or later. A contract asks for it, a motoring organisation won’t work with you without it, or a customer wants to know you work safely at the roadside.

The trouble is that most guides tell you PAS 43 exists and stop there. This one walks through what the specification actually covers, what equipment your vehicles need to carry, which standards your PPE has to meet, and what the certification process looks like in practice.

Who PAS 43 applies to

PAS 43 applies to the operator, not the kit. The specification defines a road recovery operator as any organisation, company or sole trader providing roadside assistance, repair, removal or recovery at or from the roadside. So whether you run one truck or a fleet of fifty, the same requirements apply.

PAS 43 was developed and is sponsored by SURVIVE, a partnership between government, the police, motoring organisations and the recovery industry. It’s designed to be read alongside the SURVIVE Best Practice Guidelines, which you can download free from the SURVIVE website.

What PAS 43 covers

PAS 43 is a management system specification. In plain terms, it looks at how your whole operation is run, not just what’s on the back of the truck. The main areas are:

PAS 43 uses “shall” for requirements and “should” or “may” for recommendations. The “shalls” are what an auditor will check.

Your vehicles

Clause 6 covers the vehicles themselves. The key requirements are:

• Vehicles must be fit for their intended use, including adequate payload and weight distribution.
• Every recovery or removal vehicle needs a current MOT or DVSA Certificate of Roadworthiness.
• Safety inspections must be planned in advance and carried out by competent people, based on mileage or expected wear.
• You need a system for reporting and recording defects. Inspection, servicing and maintenance records must be kept and available for at least fifteen months, or as directed by the Traffic Commissioner.
• Any vehicle that isn’t roadworthy must not start or continue a shift.
• Every seat needs a working seat belt, and every vehicle needs an advisory seat belt notice.
• Vehicles must have work lamps to light the work area.
• Vehicles need at least two high-level amber warning beacons, independent of the normal lighting and visible through 360 degrees without being blocked by other equipment. Motorcycles used for breakdown work need one.
• Your trading name and contact details must be shown on the vehicle, unless a contract says otherwise.
• Vehicles, trailers and lifting equipment must be liveried for maximum visibility.
• The towing hitch must be suitable for all types of trailer, including caravans and boat trailers, and for towing with a tow pole, A-frame or dolly. For caravans fitted with a stabiliser, an extended neck (60mm) tow ball is needed.

The PAS 43 equipment checklist

Clause 7 says your vehicles must carry the tools and safety equipment needed for the work they do, and Annex B sets out the minimum. You also need to keep an up-to-date inventory of the kit on each vehicle.

PAS 43 also suggests carrying axle supports, a trailer board if you tow with a pole, A-frame or dolly, spill mats or absorbent granules, insulated tools, and a shovel and broom with antistatic bristles. Jump leads should be long enough to reach from the rear of the casualty vehicle but generally no longer than 7.5 metres.

A shovel and antistatic broom are recommended here too. If your vehicle is also used to get a casualty vehicle going again at the roadside, the breakdown list in Table B.1 applies to it as well.

Police and incident work (Table B.3)

Table B.3 is an example of good practice for operators on police removal contracts in England and Wales, and many contracts use it as their kit list. It goes into much more detail, with requirements depending on the vehicle type (4×4, spectacle lift, slide bed, lorry loader crane, heavy underlift, low loader or incident support vehicle). Highlights include:

• A beacon bar or strobes, two work lights and two ATEX-rated torches.
• Fire extinguishers sized by vehicle weight, based on ADR recommendations: 4kg in total up to 3.5 tonnes, 8kg from 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes, and 12kg over 7.5 tonnes, always with 2kg in the cab and the rest accessible from the work area.
• A jump pack, which is preferred over slave leads.
• A spillage control kit, an ADR/Hazchem chart, a brush, shovel and bolt croppers.
• Six cones, either 450mm or 750mm minimum depending on vehicle type.
• Polythene sheeting and tape for covering vehicles to preserve forensic evidence.
• A trolley or bottle jack (1.5 tonnes minimum for light, 8 tonnes for heavy), a 1 metre crowbar, a sledgehammer, a soft-faced mallet, a bushman saw and packing timber.
• At least four bed straps on flatbeds, cranes and heavy underlifts, plus spec lift straps or securing chains.
• Snatch blocks, two per winch, with a minimum 2 tonne rating and compatible with the winch rope.
• Pairs of shackles rated from 2 tonnes up to 12 tonnes, depending on the vehicle.
• Grade 80 and Grade 60 chains in specified sizes, including 2 metre 7mm G80 chains with grab hooks at each end.
• Dolly wheels or skates, a motorcycle adaptor, and a centre-pull brother or double leg chain.

Looking after your equipment

Carrying the right kit is only half of it. PAS 43 also requires that:

• Equipment is examined and inspected by a competent person at intervals set in your procedures, in line with the manufacturer’s instructions, and records are kept.
• The safe working load (SWL) or working load limit (WLL) is marked on lifting equipment and winch casings, and test certificates are available for inspection.
• Defects are reported and fixed promptly, and anything unfit for use is taken out of service.
• Technicians only use equipment they’re trained and competent to use.

Buying from a supplier that provides clear ratings and test certificates where they apply makes this part of the audit much easier.

PPE: what to wear and which standards to look for

Clause 8 sets out a minimum that every technician must wear at all times while working:

• High-visibility clothing (except while driving or working indoors). Your risk assessment should decide whether hi-vis trousers are needed on motorways and high-speed dual carriageways.
• Safety footwear.
• A uniform or overall showing your company’s identity (unless a contract says otherwise).

Your risk assessment then decides what else is needed, such as eye protection, gloves, a hard hat or bump cap, ear defenders, and traffic cones, warning triangles and divert arrows.

Whatever you supply must meet these standards as a minimum:

Hi-vis must be kept clean enough to stay reflective and washed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and anything damaged must be replaced straight away. When you’re buying, check the label for the standard and class, not just the colour.

Your people: training, licences and ID

PAS 43 puts a lot of weight on competence. The main requirements are:

• Every technician must be competent for the work they do, and must carry a photo ID card issued by your business or an approved scheme such as the National Training Scheme.
• When you recruit, check every element of the driving licence and confirm they hold a Driver Qualification Card where needed. Licence checks must be repeated at least once a year. (DVSA recommends every six months for anyone driving for work.)
• Training must be traceable to the National Occupational Standards and delivered by a competent trainer.
• Every technician needs induction training covering health and safety, customer service, working at the roadside, vehicle and equipment checks, PPE, hazardous substances and first aid, relevant legislation, communication systems and your procedures.
• Competence must be reassessed periodically, at least every five years, with refresher training where needed and records kept.
• You need a system for recording near misses, accidents and incidents.
• Technicians must be equipped with, and trained to use, a communication system that works from the vehicle or at the roadside. This can be a radio system or mobile phones. Using them while driving is strongly discouraged.

Training routes (Annex C)

Annex C gives examples of suitable training. The National Training and Assessment Scheme works in stages:

1. Core modulesVR01 Basic Health and Safety, VR02 Customer Service and VR03 Assess the Roadside Situation.
2. Red Registration CardCompleting the three core modules qualifies a technician for a Red Registration Card.
3. Blue Registration CardAdding the relevant light, motorcycle or heavy recovery modules leads to a Blue Registration Card.

Further modules cover emergency first aid at work and electric and hybrid vehicle awareness. Details are available from the Institute of Vehicle Recovery.

Procedures, premises and paperwork

Behind everything above sit your standard operating procedures. Clause 5 says they must cover, as a minimum: induction, competence assessment and refresher training; ID cards; the equipment carried on each vehicle; inspection and maintenance of vehicles and equipment; vehicle cleanliness; PPE use and replacement; any agreements with the police, highways authorities or public bodies; customer service; and how you look after disabled and vulnerable customers.

You’ll also need:

• Insurance covering premises, vehicles, customers’ vehicles and property, personal injury, public and employers’ liability, and contractual responsibilities.
• Measures to reduce environmental impact, including fuel-efficient driving, proper handling of waste, and procedures and equipment for dealing with roadside spillages. Shop spill kits
• Suitable premises showing your trading name. Where customers visit, you need secure parking or storage for their vehicles and belongings, a waiting area, a phone they can use, a drinks facility, clean toilets, and a clearly displayed complaints procedure.
• Procedures for identifying and protecting vulnerable customers, and for situations involving children, pets or livestock.
• A complaints procedure that customers at the roadside are made aware of.

Self-declared or certified: your options

Clause 13 sets out three ways to claim you meet PAS 43:

If you go for independent certification, Annex E gives you two routes:

Either way, expect a report after each visit setting out anything that needs fixing, and be aware that PAS 43 requires you to allow unannounced audits of your premises, vehicles and equipment. Certification and inspection bodies also publish lists of the operators they’ve certified, so contract holders can check.

Getting certified

PAS 43 requires you to choose a certification or inspection body accredited by UKAS (the United Kingdom Accreditation Service) or an equivalent national body. You can check any body’s accreditation on UKAS CertCheck.

NHSS 17 and 17B

If you’re looking at highways or police work, you’ll also come across the National Highways Sector Schemes:

Both build on PAS 43, so getting PAS 43 in place is the natural first step.

FAQs