What’s changing in 2026
DVSA’s enforcement model has shifted decisively towards data and remote detection. The 2024-25 DVSA Annual Report shows the agency carried out 31,824 risk-based targeted checks in the year, up from 30,307 the previous year — and well above its target of 28,000. These are not blanket roadside stops. They are checks aimed at operators whose records suggest something is off.
DVSA is also expanding what it calls “enforcement from the record” — using ANPR data and remote sensing of Second Generation Smart Tachographs to identify non-compliance without ever stopping a vehicle. Drivers’ hours offences and speed limiter breaches can now be flagged remotely, with operator follow-up reviewed via Desk-Based Assessment.
The test is moving from “do you have the data?” to “can you prove every infringement was discussed with the driver and resolved?” That is a fundamentally different question. For an operator facing a Desk-Based Assessment, an operator visit or — in the worst case — a Public Inquiry, having the data is no longer enough. Traffic Commissioners want to see a clean, traceable record of how each infringement was handled.
A second shift is approaching at the same time. From 1 July 2026, the tachograph obligation extends to vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes used in international transport. For many operators running vans on cross-border work, this is a completely new compliance regime — technically and organisationally. They will need a follow-up process from day one, without years of muscle memory to fall back on.
The new test: can you prove follow-up on what happened?
Detecting an infringement is the easy part. Any modern tachograph platform can flag breaches of Regulation (EC) 561/2006 and the Working Time Directive within minutes. The hard part, and the part DVSA is increasingly focused on; is what happens next.
Did the driver receive feedback? When? What was said? Is it documented in a way you can produce during a Desk-Based Assessment? In most fleets, the honest answer is: sometimes, by someone, in a way that may or may not be findable when it matters.
Manual follow-up is a quiet drain on transport managers and compliance officers. It is also, almost by definition, inconsistent. Drivers on different shifts, in different vehicles, with different infringements all need to be reached, debriefed and recorded. And the moment workload spikes, follow-up is the first thing to slip.
A first for UK road haulage: AI-driven driver follow-up
This is the problem Dutch company Roadsoft set out to solve. Already used by over 4,000 transport companies across continental Europe, Roadsoft is now bringing its Digital Assistant to the UK market: the first AI solution to automate the entire driver follow-up workflow for UK operators, from detected infringement to documented debrief.
The Digital Assistant works fully automatically. The day after an infringement is detected, it reaches out to the driver, either by phone with an interactive AI-driven conversation, or via WhatsApp with a personal message and an explanatory video. The driver can respond, ask questions and acknowledge the issue in the channel they are most comfortable with. Every interaction is captured and stored in a structured compliance file.
For the transport manager, that means three concrete things:
- Follow-up happens on time, every time — not when the calendar permits
- The record builds itself — every conversation, message and response is logged in an audit-ready file
- Inspection-readiness becomes the default state — not something to scramble for when DVSA comes knocking
Built for fleets of every size
For smaller operators, where compliance has to fit in around daily operations, the Digital Assistant offers certainty that follow-up happens on time without anyone having to remember to do it. For larger fleets, it frees transport managers and compliance officers from routine follow-up so they can focus on coaching, training and the harder cases — exactly the kind of systematic approach that supports a stronger OCRS band and helps protect Earned Recognition status.
For the new wave of operators coming into scope on 1 July 2026; hauliers running 2.5-tonne vans on international work, it offers a starting point that does not require building an internal follow-up process from scratch.
See it in action
The simplest way to understand what AI-driven driver follow-up means for your fleet is to see how it works. Roadsoft’s Digital WhatsApp Assistant page shows the full process — from infringement detection to documented driver conversation, all logged in an inspection-ready file.
See the Digital WhatsApp Assistant →
Roadsoft is a European software company specialising in tachograph compliance for the road haulage sector, used by over 4,000 transport operators across continental Europe and now expanding into the UK market. With the Digital Assistant, Roadsoft adds an AI-powered layer that automates the entire driver follow-up process to their existing tachograph compliance platform.
