Compliance with FORS, CLOCS, and the Direct Vision Standard

Overview of Safety Compliance Frameworks

Compliance with FORS, CLOCS, and the Direct Vision Standard represents one of the most significant and ongoing administrative burdens for commercial fleet operators working in and around London and on major construction logistics contracts. These schemes exist for genuine road safety reasons, the vulnerability of cyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists to heavy vehicles in urban environments is well documented, and the requirements imposed by FORS, CLOCS, and DVS are designed to ensure that operators take systematic steps to reduce the risk their vehicles present to other road users. For fleet operators, the challenge is translating the intent of these schemes into practical, evidenced compliance across a fleet of vehicles, drivers, and operational days.

The Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS)

FORS, the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme, is a voluntary but commercially influential accreditation that requires operators to demonstrate systematic management of safety, fuel, and environment performance, as well as driver training and vehicle compliance. Achieving and maintaining a FORS Bronze, Silver, or Gold accreditation requires operators to produce evidence across a comprehensive set of criteria: driver licence checking, driver training records, vehicle inspection records, near-miss and incident records, safety event data, fuel consumption monitoring, and more. FORS assessors look for systematic management backed by documentation, not ad hoc practice. Fleet operators who rely on manual records, spreadsheets, and paper-based systems find the evidence-gathering requirements of FORS assessment time-consuming and difficult to sustain.

Support for FORS Evidence and Documentation

Fleet Focus supports FORS compliance by providing the documented, systematic evidence that assessors require across multiple areas. Our platform maintains comprehensive driver behaviour records, safety event logs, coaching records, and training progression, that demonstrate active management of driver risk. Vehicle inspection and fault data from CANbus monitoring supports the vehicle maintenance evidence requirement. Fuel consumption data from CANbus provides the reporting that underpins FORS environmental performance criteria. The audit trail that our platform generates automatically across all of these areas significantly reduces the administrative burden of FORS evidence-gathering and makes the case for accreditation substantially stronger.

Construction Logistics and Community Safety (CLOCS)

CLOCS, Construction Logistics and Community Safety, applies specifically to construction supply chain vehicles and requires participating contractors and hauliers to demonstrate that their fleet operations meet standards designed to reduce the risk of fatal and serious accidents involving construction vehicles in urban environments. CLOCS requirements focus specifically on the risk posed by large vehicles to vulnerable road users, and the evidential requirements include camera system coverage, driver training on vulnerable road user awareness, vehicle specification standards, and incident reporting. Fleet Focus multi-camera systems provide the coverage evidence that CLOCS requires, and our platform’s safety event recording and coaching records support the driver training and performance management evidence requirements.

The Direct Vision Standard (DVS)

The Direct Vision Standard, DVS, is the most technically specific of the three frameworks and requires that trucks operating in Greater London meet minimum standards for direct driver vision of vulnerable road users, through the physical field of view from the cab. Trucks that cannot achieve the required direct vision star rating must be equipped with a Progressive Safe System, a specified combination of sensors, cameras, and warning systems, to compensate for the visibility limitations of the vehicle design. Since the progressive requirements came into force, operators have faced a compliance obligation with very significant financial consequences for non-compliance: trucks that do not meet the standard cannot operate in Greater London.

Technical Implementation of Progressive Safe Systems

Fleet Focus provides a complete DVS compliance solution, including supply and installation of Progressive Safe System camera and sensor packages, the documentation required to submit each vehicle for a DVS certificate, and a structured implementation programme to bring entire fleets into compliance in an organised and cost-effective way. The Fleet Focus DVS system is designed to meet the technical requirements of the current DVS specification, and all systems come with a lifetime workmanship warranty and two-year parts warranty, providing operators with long-term security of compliance. Fleet Focus has equipped hundreds of trucks with Progressive Safe Systems and has extensive experience navigating the documentation and submission process with Transport for London.

Ongoing Compliance Management and Centralised Evidence

For operators seeking to maintain FORS, CLOCS, or DVS compliance on an ongoing basis, our platform provides a continuous source of the compliance evidence these schemes require, safety event records, driver behaviour data, coaching records, vehicle health data, and camera evidence, without requiring separate record-keeping systems for each scheme. The integration of all compliance-relevant data in a single platform reduces administrative overhead and ensures that the evidence needed for renewal audits, contract compliance checks, and regulatory inspections is available and current. The operational value of this centralised compliance evidence extends beyond the audit event itself. Fleet managers who maintain a current, accessible compliance record are not scrambling to compile evidence in the weeks before a FORS renewal. Transport managers who can produce coaching records, safety event logs, and driver training documentation on demand are in a fundamentally stronger position when a principal contractor asks for compliance evidence as a condition of ongoing contract. The Fleet Focus platform makes compliance evidence-gathering a continuous background process rather than a periodic emergency.

Accreditation Support and Pre-Assessment Guidance

For new operators seeking initial FORS or CLOCS accreditation, Fleet Focus can support the pre-assessment process by providing guidance on the camera and monitoring specifications that assessors will expect and by helping to structure the evidence portfolio that the assessment requires.

To discuss FORS, CLOCS and DVS compliance for your fleet with Fleet Focus, call 0800 009 3006 or request a call back.

The Bottom Line

FORS, CLOCS, and DVS compliance are not administrative burdens to be managed at audit time, they are ongoing operational standards that require continuous, documented evidence to maintain credibly. Fleet Focus provides the systematic evidence base that turns compliance from a periodic exercise into a natural by-product of how the fleet operates day to day. For operators working in or around London, or seeking FORS accreditation for commercial advantage, Fleet Focus is the most comprehensive compliance support platform available.

References

• Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) – FORS Standard Version 6.1. Available at: https://www.fors-online.org.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FORS_TermsandConditions_v6.1_Aug24.pdf
• Construction Logistics and Community Safety (CLOCS) – CLOCS Standard for Construction Logistics, Version 5. Available at: https://www.clocs.org.uk/the-clocs-standard
• Transport for London – Direct Vision Standard and HGV Safety Permit. Available at: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/deliveries-in-london/delivering-safely/direct-vision-in-heavy-goods-vehicles
• DVSA – Commercial Vehicle Operator Compliance. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-standards-agency
• Fleet Focus – FORS, CLOCS and DVS Compliance Documentation Guide, 2024.