Van operators have long benefited from a light-touch, self-regulatory regime that leaves them largely free to operate as they wish, without any of the costly regulation with which lorry operators must comply.

The problem is that having been given an inch, van operators appear to be determined to take a mile, according to industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

For example, 63% of the 10,800 vans stopped by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) at the roadside each year have a serious mechanical defect, while 93% are overloaded. You may say that the DVSA’s roadside inspectors are skilled at cherry-picking the most troublesome vans — and perhaps they are — but they really shouldn’t find it this easy to spot non-compliant vehicles.

Van operators’ sloppy and careless attitude extends to maintenance, too: 50% of vans fail their MOT test at the first attempt, compared to just 22% of HGVs, whose operators pay a hefty fee each year for an operating licence, which they can lose if their vehicles incur too many violations.

Currently, goods vehicles under 3.5t are exempt from these operating licence requirements, but if the UK’s 3.2m vans were to be made subject to the same £401 licence issue fee and £275 licence application as HGVs, the cost could run to £2.1bn.

Although there has been no move so far to make Operator Licensing rules apply to vans, the regulations and safety records around light goods vehicles are facing increased scrutiny. Van operators owe it to themselves and to other road users to improve their record in these areas, before the government decides to force them to — perhaps in the wake of a particularly horrific accident caused by an illegally-operated van.