Posted: Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Despite the fact most organisations, including those with vocational fleets, currently carry out driver licence checks on an annual or bi-annual basis, the Association for Driving Licence Verification (ADLV) is calling for fleet managers to perform this duty more regularly.
It believes that by establishing industry standards based on driver risk profiles, fleets will be able to more quickly identify high-risk groups. But what benefits can quarterly license checks afford? And why should your fleet adopt this timetable?
It might sound counter-productive to check vehicle licences more regularly, but if you establish a timetable for verification with the help of Fleet Licence Check, you can concentrate on other more important areas of fleet management, safe in the knowledge that should any employee have incurred any penalty points, you will know as soon as possible.
By law, any fleet operator that allows someone to drive one of its vehicles must ensure that person has the correct licence and qualifications to do so. Several pieces of legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and Section 87 of the Road Traffic Act (1988), can come into force if an employer does not check the credentials of an individual's license and they are caught or involved in an accident.
With up-to-date information about penalty points and endorsements, fleet managers can arrange and schedule driver training or safety awareness courses accordingly. Along with improving driver proficiency, training also enables fleet operators to fulfill their duty of care for members of staff, clients and customers, as well as the general public.
With quarterly licence checks that prove employees are fully qualified to drive and won't be speeding or taking unnecessary risks, fleet managers will increase road safety for all members of the public. Some drivers might be reluctant to tell you about mobile phone misuse or other offences, but quarterly checks enable fleet operators to prioritise safety.
In addition to benefiting from lower insurance premiums, quarterly vehicle checks can also reduce the risk of uninsured losses or even fines in the event of an accident. Then there is the cost saving benefits relating to repairs, third party compensation, downtime caused by vehicles being in the garage and lawsuits from failing to comply with legislation.
To discover more about quarterly licence checks, get in touch with Fleet Licence Check today.