Posted: Friday, 10 November 2017
Yet another case demonstrating the need for driver licence checks has arisen in Northern Ireland. In this case, a foreign-born driver now residing in the province was stopped by police in mid-October. Through legal proceedings it was discovered that the man possessed multiple driving licences, none of which was a full UK licence.
The Tyrone Times reported on 24 October that 27-year-old Mindaugas Kucinskas was stopped on October 12 in Dungannon. Kucinskas told police that he had no insurance because he had purchased the car with the intent to sell it. Police instructed him to submit his driving licence to the local station within a week. Upon doing so, it was discovered Kucinskas had licences from multiple jurisdictions, including Lithuania. He also had a provisional licence from Northern Ireland. He did not have a UK licence, which is required for legal residents. Kucinskas has been living in the UK since 2007.
It was revealed in court that Kucinskas had a previous conviction for driving without insurance. According to the defending solicitor, he is also unemployed and receiving job seekers allowance. The court took all of this into consideration when issuing a pre-sentence report in anticipation of a November 15th hearing.
It is fortunate that this case did not end in some sort of tragic situation. Even so, it does provide further proof that employers have to know exactly who it is they have driving their vehicles. Had the defendant in this case managed to get a job involving any measure of driving, he would have been driving illegally.
Remember that the defendant has been in the UK for a decade. His Lithuanian driving licence is no longer valid here because he is a legal resident. Furthermore, his Northern Ireland provisional licence is not valid either. He would not be legally eligible to drive any vehicle, let alone driving for professional reasons.
A driver licence check of all new employees guarantees an employer does not hire a driver without a valid licence. Routine checks following employment make it possible for employers to stay abreast of the status of employee driving licences.
The reality is that people get behind the wheel when they are not legally allowed to do so. The electronic driver licence check is meant to protect employers against such scenarios.
Source: Tyrone Times