Truck dealers are becoming increasingly frustrated with VOSA over annual test failures attributed to headlamp misalignment.The issue will be "high on the agenda" at the meeting of the Retail Motor Industry Federation's truck council this month, says chairman David Grant. "There is deep frustration. It is costing us money whichever way we turn," said Grant, who is managing director of Mercedes-Benz dealer Orwell Trucks.
Failure rates are worst on air-sprung headlight units, which make up the majority in heavy trucks. VOSA is too busy to offer pre-test assessments.
The RMI wants changes, for example for the headlight test to be done first. The service director of another truck manufacturer recently told leading fleet operators that, bizarrely, first-time failures had gone up among dealers using the same equipment as VOSA.
The issue has become more acute because most dealers have been making strenuous efforts to improve their first-time pass rate, in response to pressure 
on their customers from VOSA. A number of truck manufacturers have started giving financial incentives to their dealers, and some dealers have started giving bonuses to their employees on a group basis, to encourage peer pressure. But headlight alignment seems to have defeated the best efforts of many workshops.