Posted: Tuesday, 23 September 2014
In an attempt to streamline the issuing and tracking of driving licences, the DVLA announced changes to the paper document portion of the driving licence that will take effect from January 1 (2015). UK drivers need to know how those changes affect them, both now and in the future. Businesses with company owned vehicles should also pay attention to the changes. These will affect everything from licence checks to determining whether a worker is still eligible to drive a company vehicle or not.
From January 1, the Government intends to do away with the paper portion of the licence in favour of digitised records. Those with paper licences earned prior to 1998 can continue using those documents legally, until age 70 or some sort of change is made to their personal information. For example, a change of address requires a licence renewal, which would result in the issue of a photo card. Drivers age 70 and older must renew their licences every three years, also necessitating the issue of a new card.
Drivers earning their licences after 1998 will be issued new photo cards at their next renewal. Renewals are currently scheduled for every 10 years under normal circumstances. If a driver needs a new licence because of a change in circumstances, a paper document will be replaced with a photo card.
Companies with workers who drive as part of their jobs need to be aware of the fact that photo cards do not include a paper record of driving offences. Where fleet managers may have checked paper documents for offences in the past, this will no longer be possible under the new system. Instead, licences will have to be checked through the DVLA.
The government agency promises a new and streamlined process that makes licence checking easier than it has been. However, it still may not be worth the time and money for companies to check licences on their own. A better option might be to work with Fleet Licence Check. We take all the hassle out of licence checking by collecting the information we need from you, running the check, and having the results delivered right to your e-mail account.
Why is licence checking important for UK companies? Because a business is required by law to have everything necessary to provide a safe environment for both workers and the general public. Allowing an unqualified driver to operate company vehicles is in direct opposition to that obligation, exposing a company to liability in the event of an accident.
Fleet Licence Check is here to help you reduce your reliability by providing you with fast and effective routine licence checking. We currently run approximately 20,000 licence checks every year from motoring companies, fleet operators and other businesses throughout the UK. We are also able to handle your claims processing as well. We are proud to provide our industry-leading services on a one-off basis or as part of a comprehensive fleet management programme for companies of all sizes. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.
Source: The Telegraph