Public Sector Vehicle Forum

When MOT failures become an operational crisis.
An immersive, interactive and practical experience for Public Sector Fleet + Waste
About this Event

When MOT failures become an operational crisis

Public Sector Vehicle Forum
17–18 November 2026 | Leicester Tigers Stadium
Free to attend for a qualified audience

What happens when repeated MOT failures stop being treated as isolated workshop problems and begin to reveal weaknesses across an entire fleet operation?

Public Sector Vehicle Forum brings together public sector fleet, waste, transport, and compliance professionals – alongside the contractors supporting them – for a highly practical examination of vehicle roadworthiness, regulatory accountability, and operational leadership.

At the centre of the event will be a live mock conjoined Public Inquiry and Driver Conduct Hearing, based on a fictional local authority waste and recycling operation facing serious questions over repeated MOT failures, safety-critical defects and its ability to maintain effective control of its fleet.

Take your place in the hearing

The case will follow the escalation from recurring vehicle defects and prohibitions to a DVSA investigation, a referral to the Traffic Commissioner, and scrutiny of the operator, the transport management team, the workshop, and the driver.

Delegates will hear the evidence, consider the responsibilities of those involved and examine how operational pressures, incomplete defect reporting, weak workshop controls and insufficient management oversight can expose an organisation to regulatory action.

You will then be invited to vote on the decision you believe the Traffic Commissioner should make.

The audience vote will be followed by an open discussion exploring the decision-making process, the evidence that carries the greatest weight and the lessons public sector operators should take back to their own organisations.

Why attend?

This is not a theoretical compliance seminar. It is an opportunity to see how an apparently routine maintenance issue can develop into a serious operational, legal and reputational crisis.

Delegates will learn:

• How repeated MOT failures and prohibitions can trigger DVSA scrutiny.
• What investigators examine in maintenance records, defect reports, repair sign-offs and driver walkaround checks.
• What the Traffic Commissioner expects from operators and transport managers.
• How driver conduct may be assessed when visible defects are missed or not reported.
• Where responsibility sits between the operator, workshop, drivers, supervisors, contractors and senior leadership.
• How service pressures, vehicle availability, workshop capacity, agency staff and parts delays can gradually weaken compliance controls.
• How to improve defect escalation, maintenance auditing, first-time MOT pass performance and senior management reporting.
• How to create a stronger compliance culture in which roadworthiness is treated as an organisation-wide responsibility.
• How employees’ mental and physical health can affect judgement, concentration, communication, consistency and the reliability of safety-critical processes.
• What practical action can be taken before roadworthiness concerns escalate to a Public Inquiry or Driver Conduct Hearing.

The afternoon programme will build on the hearing with practical sessions covering vehicle maintenance standards, operational compliance, workforce health and wellbeing, and the wider management responsibilities affecting safe fleet performance.

Who should attend?

The forum is designed for: Local authority and public sector fleet operators | Waste and recycling managers | Heads of service | Transport managers | Fleet and workshop managers | Compliance and road-risk professionals | Health and safety teams | Vehicle maintenance contractors | Waste collection contractors | Senior operational leaders

Network with the sector

The event will also feature an exhibition of vehicles, technology, maintenance services, and safety solutions, providing direct access to suppliers and specialists working across public-sector fleet and waste operations, as well as an outdoor vehicle display.

Organised by Visie Communications and Fleet Vision International, Public Sector Vehicle Forum is supported by leading organisations working across fleet safety, transport engineering, regulatory compliance, road-risk management and the waste sector:

Driving for Better Business | Society of Operations Engineers | Institute of Road Transport Engineers | JMW Solicitors | Road Haulage Association | Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum | Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme | The Handbook Group | Together for Safer Roads

Their combined expertise will help ensure the event delivers practical, relevant learning for public-sector fleet and waste operators, contractors, transport managers, maintenance teams, and senior decision-makers.

Places are limited, and advance registration is essential.

Register now to find out whether your maintenance systems, management controls, and compliance culture would stand up to regulatory scrutiny.

The Public Sector Vehicle Forum is FREE to attend for Fleet and Operations managers in the public waste industry, as well as for their contracting organisations. Commercial organisations interested in selling automotive and safety products that are not exhibiting will be charged a £500 attendance fee plus VAT. If you decide to exhibit at one of our future events, that fee will be deducted from your exhibition costs.

Please contact should you wish to attend as a commercial party or to exhibit or sponsor this event.