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When Islanders think of Driver and Vehicle Standards, better known as DVS, chances are they picture a driving examiner with a clipboard or someone sorting a vehicle logbook in the office.
While that is a valuable part of DVS, there is also a highly skilled, tight-knit team of traffic officers whose work ranges from inspecting vehicles to overseeing the safe movement of oversized items through Jersey’s lanes.
Traffic officers, Chris Mackay and Luis Firmino talk about some of the unseen work that helps ensure vehicles on the Island’s roads keep running safely.
A day in the life of a traffic officer
Chris explains: “So as a traffic officer, we undertake all different aspects of work that happen at DVS. We inspect heavy goods vehicles, medium goods vehicles, taxis, any public service vehicles, and buses as well.”
Luis adds: “We carry out integrity checks of any pre-registered vehicles being imported into Jersey. That can include a 40-year-old car, 50-year-old car, a brand-new car. Anything ranging from between that really.”
While the public face of DVS might be driving tests and number plates, the stats tell a much bigger story. Every year, the team conducts around:
- 6,000 vehicle inspection checks
- 500 public service vehicle inspections
- 1,500 motorcycle inspections
- 30 vehicle road checks across the Island
- 100 police reports which can include attending court cases or assessing vehicles involved in accidents.
Inside the Pit
Step inside the DVS Vehicle Test Station at La Collette to find the ‘Pit’, a sunken inspection lane used for checking underneath vehicles.
Chris said: “The pit allows us to go underneath and inspect all the different bits, whether that be steering, suspension, engines, gearboxes, chassis, we can assess them quite well from underneath.”
But no two days are ever the same.
Luis said: “One minute, you could be doing an integrity check. The next minute, you could be out on-site. We also do a lot of logistic work with oversized loads. For example, we get an awful lot of swimming pools – people don’t realise how wide they are.
“All the oversized stuff gets delivered overnight between 7:30pm and 7:30am, to minimise disruption. There’s a lot of work that goes into making sure the Island can still function while we sort out the logistics of these deliveries.”
That work includes specialist movements, such as the recent delivery of new turf for Springfield.
Chris said: “All the P30s, which is an exemption from the law that allows specialist loads and vehicles to manoeuvre legally, they all go through us. Each one of those cases is treated individually. Each is assessed and adjusted in accordance with what’s needed for that particular delivery or job.”
Luis adds: “It’s not a five-minute job, it can take three to four days to organise logistics sometimes.”
Alongside inspections, logistics, and site visits, the traffic officers also support the Honorary Police and the States of Jersey Police.
One of the most challenging parts of the job? Police reports.
Chris explains: “You don’t really know what you’re going to encounter. Some of them are very simple, some of them obviously aren’t, and sometimes we can end up in court with them. So we have to be very precise and very accurate in what we’re looking at and what we’re doing.”
Despite the pressure, it’s the variety that both officers enjoy most.
“You never know what you’re going to get in the mornings. You’re always working a little bit on the hop. It’s a skill we’ve all got down here, to be able to just react to what’s needed.”
Cars and camaraderie
Luis said: “In our team, we’ve got five traffic officers and a vehicle examiner, so we’re close-knit. We all get along really well, there’s a bit of banter that always goes on. It’s great fun. We all look out for each other.”
And there are perks, such as inspecting the occasional dream car.
Chris said: “We’ve got cars that are valued in excess of the millions. Some of them are very understated, and you really wouldn’t think they’re worth anything at all.”
“Aston Martin has got to be one of my personal favourites.” Luis grins.
Chris adds: “My favourite vehicle has probably been a Lamborghini Miura… a seventies or eighties car. That was a lovely, lovely car to be involved with.”
“We’re not here to scare anyone”
Above all, both Chris and Luis want Islanders to know that DVS is here to help.
Luis said: “We are approachable. We’re not here to scare anyone, we don’t bite, and yes, we do smile, even during paperwork.”
Chris agrees: “We’re always here to help, we’re not here to cause problems.”
From inspecting a million-pound supercar to ensuring a swimming pool arrives safely in someone’s garden before sunrise, DVS do far more than most Islanders may realise.
Whether you’re calling a taxi, sending your children on the school bus, or ordering an oversized delivery, the unseen work of people like Chris and Luis plays a vital role in Keeping the Island Running.
