customers were the Road Haulage and Public Service Vehicle (PSV) industries, trade associations, vehicle manufacturers, MOT garages, and offenders and defendants. Powers to stop vehicles Under the Police Reform Act 2002, section 41 and Schedule 5, Chief Constables could grant powers (under a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme) to VOSA officers to stop vehicles, for checks on vehicle and driver compliance without the need for police support (later expanded to stop any vehicle, although mainly goods and passenger carrying vehicles). At that time, only police officers had the power to stop vehicles and therefore had to be present. The powers were piloted in 2003 and brought more widely into force in 2004. Following a consultation in July 2010, the law was overhauled in 2011 to grant VOSA officers the power to stop vehicles without relying on police approval through Community Safety Accreditation Schemes as above. This also allowed VOSA officers to stop vehicles in Scotland, as well as in England and Wales as previously. The amendment, which was made by the Road Vehicles (Powers to Stop) Regulations 2011, allows "stopping officers" approved by the Department for Transport to stop vehicles for certain reasons. To be appointed as a stopping officer, a person must: be a suitable person to exercise the powers of a stopping officer, be capable of effectively exercising their powers, and have received adequate training for the exercise of their powers. Officers must be in uniform to stop vehicles. Impersonating or obstructing stopping officers is an offence. VOSA vehicles VOSA employ a fleet of Ford Galaxy vehicles in black and yellow battenburg livery and clearly marked with "VOSA" on the rear. These are fitted with amber lightbars on the roof. This is a similar livery to that of the Highways Agency (HA) traffic officer service in England and the Welsh Assembly Government Traffic Officer Service in Wales. See also Weighbridge TransXChange format for UK electronic bus schedule registration Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an American government agency responsible for regulating that country's trucking industry References External links Road transport in the United Kingdom Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government National law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 2003 Government agencies disestablished in 2014 Organisations based in Bristol 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom Department for Transport 2014 disestablishments in the United Kingdom