Contractor compliance: Your business and managing third-party risk

There seems to be ongoing uncertainty over what is required under the primary safety duty in any particular circumstance. So, do you have a duty to inspect and confirm the maintenance of vehicles of your contractors? Generally, those that do not own or operate vehicles do not need to start checking under the bonnet or carrying out dipstick tests. However, if you should reasonably notice obvious risks associated with maintenance, or indeed any other Chain of Responsibility (CoR) aspect, you are required to do something about it.

For example, a business operates a facility from which its goods are consigned by truck and observes that the vehicle supplied is obviously (i.e. to a reasonable observer) unroadworthy, and that the driver does not at all restrain the load before departing. It observes the same thing the next day, and the next. Is the business 'ensuring so far as reasonably practicable the safety of its transport activities' including ensuring that