Posted: Tuesday, 24 March 2015
In a rather unusual case from Devon, an ambulance driver who had been on the job for four years was sacked by his employer after they had discovered his Irish driving licence was not legitimate. Driver Eoin Crowley had paid to have his standard driving licence illegally upgraded in order to apply for the ambulance position. What makes the case so strange is that Crowley's years with South Western Ambulance Service produced an impeccable record.
Mr Crowley drove for South Western as a paramedic, treating patients and transporting them to the hospital. He was commended in 2008 for his courage and work ethic after being attacked during a call to help an intoxicated person outside a local nightclub. In his entire four-year run with the Trust, Crowley never received even a single complaint. Furthermore, he had successfully passed the internal ambulance test prior to being hired.
It is unfortunate that Mr Crowley felt it necessary to use a forged licence to secure employment and keep working. His ruse was only discovered when his employer requested he convert his Irish driving licence to a UK licence. Had that request not been made, Crowley would still be treating patients and driving the ambulance. The take away here is that you never really know.
Any fleet operator may have a group of committed drivers with impeccable records to rely on day after day. However, there can still be one in their midst who, as with Mr Crowley, is using a forged driving licence. There may be others with excessive points or other issues that present a liability risk in the event of an accident or a traffic violation. Without regular driving licence checks, there is always a possibility that some of your drivers are not being truthful.
Routine driving licence checks require time and effort you may not have. Fleet Licence Check can help by running those checks for you. We have direct access to the DVLA database, so we can check the licences of your drivers in real time; all results are returned directly to you. The service we offer is the fastest, easiest, and most efficient way to keep track of your drivers without having to defer resources needed elsewhere.
Fleet Licence Check has been offering licence checking services for more than 20 years. Our client base includes as many as 50,000 vehicles from companies of all sizes throughout the UK. Every year we undertake approximately 20,000 licence checks and handle 16,000 motor claims.
Unfortunately, Mr Crowley is now suffering the consequences of his actions. Thank goodness that he was never involved in an accident during his four years of employment. Otherwise, South Western Ambulance could have faced serious repercussions of their own.
If nothing else, this story serves as a reminder to routinely check the licences of all your drivers – at the time of hire and regular intervals thereafter.