Posted: Friday, 19 January 2018
We obviously advocate for real-time licence checks among all employers who have drivers on the payroll. Whether you are talking fleet drivers or those whose professional driving is more casual in nature, regular licence checks keep employers abreast of an individual's ability to drive legally on our roads. Unfortunately, licence checks are not very helpful when trying to understand driver health.
Why do we bring this up? Because the DVLA takes the health of drivers very seriously. If there is any doubt, you might want to read an article recently published by the Express detailing all the potential medical problems that can lead to a driving ban. The Express offered an A-Z list of more than 175 problematic medical conditions in the 18 December (2017) post.
Those medical conditions include, but are not limited to:It is also important to note that requirements are different among professional and non-professional drivers. Even within the ranks of professionals, the law is applied differently.
We can divide those who drive as part of their jobs into two categories: casual and primary drivers. A casual driver might be someone like a sales representative who may drive a company car to two or three appointments in any given day. That employee does have to drive for work, but driving is only a small portion of the day's combined activities.
A primary driver is one for whom driving is the main task being performed. This would include bus drivers, taxi drivers, delivery personnel, etc. Depending on the size of the vehicles that primary drivers operate, they may require additional licence entitlements as well.
What you need to know as a business owner is that professionals not requiring commercial driving licence entitlements are subject to the same health requirements as non-professional drivers. Professionals with certain commercial entitlements are required to take a health exam before those entitlements can be acquired. Routine medical exams are mandated on an annual basis thereafter, to continue driving professionally.
Remember, the DVLA takes driver health seriously. In addition to real-time licence checks, pay attention to the health of any employees who drives as part of their jobs. There really is no need to take unnecessary risks that could jeopardise your employees, your business, or the general public.
Source: Express