Vehicle Registration

Before driving your personal vehicle for a Union activity, you must register yourself and your vehicle with us, and make sure that you are abiding by our vehicle regulations documented below.

You can register yourself by filling in our Vehicle Registration Form, which can be downloaded below, and returning it to the Info Point in University House.

Download Vehicle Registration Form

Vehicle Regulations

Duties of Drivers

  • All staff and students / volunteers who drive vehicles in connection with Union business must familiarise themselves with this policy and the local transport arrangements for the Union.
  • If you are required to drive for union related activities, you are required to ensure that your car is safe and roadworthy. It is your legal responsibility to ensure you have a valid driving licence, current business insurance and an MOT for cars over 3 years old. If you fail to do so and drive for Union related activities, you will be held responsible. For this reason, you will be asked to provide proof of the above at regular intervals to the Students' Union.
  • Drivers must attend relevant training sessions required by the Students' Union in accordance with this policy.
  • Drivers MUST inform the Students' Union of any changes to licence conditions, any endorsements or any health problems which may affect their ability to drive (‘fitness’ to drive also includes being free from the after effects of consuming intoxicating substances, even where this has taken place on the previous day).

Follow sensible precautions:

  • Don’t drive whilst tired and don’t drive for continuous periods of more than 2 hours without a 15 minute break
  • Where possible use public transport to avoid the need to drive
  • Plan for delays and allow plenty time for your journey and don’t plan long journeys if the weather forecast is for bad weather
  • Always obey speed limits and don’t drive faster than conditions allow
  • Don’t use any phone whilst driving
  • If you have been drinking alcohol or taking drugs, prescription or recreational, don’t drive your vehicle and don’t forget it you can still be over the legal limit for alcohol the morning after
  • If you are ill, overtired, have eyesight problems or any other condition which may impair your driving, don’t – you must seek medical advice first

Following an Accident

All accidents whilst driving on Union business and Union related activities must be reported in accordance with the University’s procedure for reporting and recording accidents.

  • Exchange insurance details with all other drivers involved in the accident. Note: If nobody is injured it is not a legal requirement to notify the police but it is advisable to do so to avoid a possible charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
  • Remove the vehicle from the carriageway if both safe and practical to do so. Note: that if people have been injured in the accident the vehicle must not be moved until instructed to do so by the police
  • Contact the appropriate breakdown recovery service
  • Report the accident to the Students' Union as soon as possible

Theft of or from Vehicles

If a theft of, or from, a vehicle occurs whilst driving on Union business or union related activities, the driver should report the theft to the police and obtain a crime number, and then report the theft to the Students' Union as soon as possible.

Breakdowns

If the vehicle breaks down whilst driving on Union business or Union related activities the driver should:

  • Remove the vehicle from the carriageway if both safe and practical to do so
  • Contact the appropriate breakdown recovery service
  • Report the breakdown to a member of staff at the Students' Union as soon as possible

Eco-Friendly Driving Tips

Please see below proven eco-driving advice which you can use to reduced energy (fuel consumption), CO2 emission and pollution:

  • CHECK TYRE PRESSURES – make sure tyres are properly inflated to prevent increased rolling resistance. Under-inflated tyres can cause fuel consumption to increase by as much as 6%. Check tyre pressures before setting off, when the tyres are ‘cold’ (i.e. when the vehicle has not been driven for at least three hours or for more than 2km). Please check tyre pressures before setting off. Note any tyre that is underinflated and then drive to the nearest petrol station to add air. Check tyre pressures again at the station and inflate the low tyres to the same level as the others (these will likely have higher pressure than they did when parked, since the tyres have heated up). The tyre pressures for the Students’Union’s commercial vehicle are 47 front and 67 rear).
  • LIMIT YOUR VEHICLE’S WEIGHT – clutter in the boot is extra weight for your engine to carry around. By removing it, you could reduce your engine’s workload, which will burn less fuel and cut CO2 emissions. So unload any items you don’t need for your journey before setting out.
  • KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR SPEED – staying at or within the speed increases driver safety. It also reduces CO2 emissions and saves money on your petrol costs. At 70mph you could be using up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% fuel than at 50mph.
  • SWITCH OFF YOUR ENGINE – sitting stationary for long periods of time, say when stuck in a traffic jam, wastes large amounts of fuel. Turn off the engine whenever it is safe to do so.
  • SELECT THE RIGHT GEAR – change up through the gears and into top gear as soon as possible without accelerating harder than necessary. Driving in a lower gear than you need wastes fuel as does letting the engine labour in top gear on hills and corners.
  • KEEP YOUR CAR WELL SERVICED – a well maintained vehicle keeps fuel efficiency high. Even a clogged air filter can increase the amount of fuel you use and increase your CO2 emissions. (The Students’ Union is responsible for ensuring that the commercial vehicle is well maintained and serviced).