UVV and HU Inspection Duties: Understanding Vehicle Inspections in the Fleet
Two inspection worlds: road-traffic law and occupational safety
Fleets are subject to two separate inspection regimes that are easily confused:
- The Hauptuntersuchung (HU) (main vehicle inspection) - colloquially "TÜV" - is the recurring technical inspection of the vehicle prescribed by road-traffic law and carried out by an officially recognized inspection organization. The intervals depend on the vehicle type and age; the result is documented with the inspection sticker. In Austria, the §57a-Begutachtung ("Pickerl") takes over this role - FMWeb labels the field accordingly there.
- The UVV-Prüfung (accident-prevention inspection) comes from occupational safety: commercially used vehicles are work equipment, and the accident-prevention regulations of the statutory accident insurance (DGUV) oblige employers to have them regularly inspected by a competent person for their operationally safe condition. For vehicles, DGUV Vorschrift 70 (DGUV Regulation 70, "Fahrzeuge" (Vehicles)) is decisive; in business practice an annual cycle has become established for this. The UVV inspection is not a substitute for the HU - and vice versa.
Depending on the fleet, further mandatory dates are added, such as the Sonderprüfung (SP) (special inspection) for trucks, buses and trailers, ATP inspections for refrigerated vehicles, or the gas-system inspection.
What happens if inspections are missed?
Missed dates are more than a cosmetic flaw: during checks, objections and fines threaten; in the event of a claim, insurers and the employers' liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft) may ask uncomfortable questions - up to benefit reductions or recourse if a vehicle was recognizably not inspected. For the fleet management and the management there is also a personal liability risk if it turns out that the inspection organization was lacking in the operation. As with the driving-licence check: what is decisive is the provable organization - plan, remind, carry out and document the dates (see article 135).
How FMWeb keeps the inspection dates under control
FMWeb 10.4.0 bundles all inspection dates in the vehicle record and automates the reminder:
- Dates on the vehicle record: In the Wartung (Maintenance) tab you maintain HU/§57a, UVV Fahrgestell (UVV chassis) and UVV Elektrik (DGUV70) (UVV electrics (DGUV70)) - for electric vehicles the electrical system is kept separately - as well as SP, ATP and gas-system dates and freely definable additional dates. The overview shows a status light per date type (Overdue / Due soon / OK), and overdue dates are flagged by the record with a red banner (article 39).
- Automatic reminders: Once a week, FMWeb checks all vehicles and reminds the assigned driver by e-mail of due HU and UVV dates - with a lead time of 7 to 60 days and a separate e-mail template per date type (article 04). Vehicles without a driver, with a driver block or with a self-driver flag are traceably skipped.
- Proof via logs: Every reminder run leaves an entry in the Protokolle (Logs) journal (type "Hauptuntersuchung" (Main inspection) or "UVV") - so you can prove that your reminder organization worked. For planning workshop visits, the "Werkstatttermine" (Workshop dates) analysis rounds out the overview.
Practical tip: data maintenance is half the inspection duty
The automation is only as good as the maintained dates: after every passed inspection, enter the new due date at the vehicle and assign each vehicle a driver with a valid e-mail address. The operation remains responsible - FMWeb ensures that no date passes unnoticed.
Note: This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice.
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