Posted: Friday 22 May 2015
The pending demise of the paper driving licence has given us plenty of reasons to step back and look at how UK roads are evolving. Among the most profound changes is a gradually rising number of elderly drivers still operating vehicles. According to statistics cited by Motoring Research, there are now more than 230 drivers in the UK over the age of 100. That number is expected to double within the next two decades.
Posted: Tuesday 12 May 2015
Some drivers will know that car insurance companies consider employment when calculating premiums. One's employment is not a major contributor to premium calculations, but it is a factor nonetheless. Insurance underwriters consider employment in light of statistics that show certain professions tend to have riskier drivers.
Posted: Thursday 07 May 2015
UK businesses with company vehicles can take comfort in knowing that the vast majority of their drivers will work their entire careers without making questionable decisions behind the wheel. However, employers can never take that for granted. Drivers do all sorts of strange things when they find themselves facing potential penalties and fines. Their actions can be even more bizarre when faced with losing a driving licence. A good case in point is that of a Lincolnshire man who claimed his car had been cloned.
Posted: Tuesday 05 May 2015
Companies with fleets of vehicles on the road have an obligation to make sure their drivers are correctly licensed and safe at all times. However, they also have an added responsibility to make sure their drivers understand the HMRC rules about mileage and reporting. There are very specific legal requirements for tracking company car use in the UK.
Posted: Friday 01 May 2015
With the scrapping of the old paper driving licence counterpart now just two months away, we are starting to realise some of the additional benefits the new system will afford. For example, drivers will no longer have to produce both a plastic licence and its paper counterpart when dealing with police. On a better note, they will also not have to produce the paper counterpart when attempting to hire a car.
Posted: Friday 24 April 2015
Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) recently briefed a number of government agencies on new standards applying to professional driving permits issued to some drivers in the emirate. The standards ensure that drivers of lorries, buses, taxis and private chauffeur vehicles possess the appropriate level of medical fitness. RTA officials say certified drivers will have undergone a series of medical tests proving their physical fitness to drive commercially. Moreover, either directly or indirectly, it appears as though the UK has influenced the driving licence requirements implemented by the RTA.
Posted: Wednesday 15 April 2015
In the run-up to the abolishing of the paper driving licence in June (2015), the Government is preparing an online system whereby employers can check the driving licences of all their workers in real time. This has been a cause for concern among a number of fleet operators who were recently reassured by the Government that no data breaches would take place because of the checks.
Posted: Friday 10 April 2015
Company owners and transport managers send drivers out with a reasonable expectation that those individuals have a fundamental understanding of safety issues. However, when it comes to something as common as the windscreen, such assumptions may not be warranted. According to a recently released study from Autoglass, there is a lot of driver ignorance where windscreens are concerned.
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.
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.