Posted: Tuesday, 17 March 2015
Most of us are probably pragmatic enough to realise that there are people willing to drive without holding a valid licence. The question is one of how serious the problem is. Unfortunately, it may be more serious than many of us know – if one man from South London is any indication. Not only does this man not possess a driving licence, but he has also racked up enough violations over the years to incur 40 licence points.
According to a report from the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), the driver from South London has never had a provisional licence, let alone a standard one. He continues to drive despite being caught for driving without insurance, speeding, and other violations. His is the story that forces one to wonder whether motoring laws in the UK are effective. Unfortunately, this man is not the worst offender.
The IAM says that this title goes to a Liverpool man who has incurred 45 penalty points. He is only a slightly lesser risk than the South London man is because he at least has a licence. Nonetheless, his offences include speeding and five instances of being unable to provide driver identification. He continues to drive as well.
IAM chief executive Sarah Sillers told The Express that we need to be able to punish offenders in order to get them to stop breaking the law. Apparently, the current punishments are not severe enough, as evidenced by the fact that some drivers continue to drive without licences regardless of how many times they are caught. How severe punishments should be remains in the air.
One Part of the Equation
As IAM points out, we all have to share the roads with drivers that have no business being on them. Such drivers have proven themselves inherently unsafe through their willingness to break the law. By extension, this means that the rest of us have to be ever diligent to watch out for dangerous drivers capable of putting each of us in potentially risky situations.
Where your company is concerned, do not assume your fleet of drivers are always forthright with you regarding the licences they hold. Make a point of checking their licences on a regular basis. Fleet Licence Check can help by way of our licence checking service that directly accesses government records and returns the results directly to you. We perform about 20,000 annual licence checks for companies across the UK.
Source: The Express