Posted: Friday 08 December 2017

It is not necessarily a given that earning one's driving licence will mean uninterrupted driving for a lifetime. In fact, a new study conducted by ALA reveals that thousands of new drivers in the UK lose their licences within a year of obtaining them. The study's results offer yet another reason for employers to take advantage of regular licence checks on all employees who drive for work.

Posted: Friday 24 November 2017

Real-time licence checks, like those we perform for our clients, would quickly tell a school in Northern Ireland whether select teachers had D1 minibus driving licences. Up until now, such a need has never arisen. But that may change thanks to new guidance just issued by the Department for Infrastructure to the Education Authority.

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.

Posted: Friday 20 October 2017

We are now less than two months away from the most significant driving test changes we have seen in decades. Beginning in December, the driving test that learners must pass to get a car licence will be more attuned to real-world driving than it has been in the past. Lots of changes are in store for new drivers. Some things will not change though, including things that can result in the loss of a licence and the electronic licence checks employers use to keep track of such things.

Posted: Friday 13 October 2017

A group of select employees from the DVLA spent this past September testing the prototype of a smartphone app that will allow drivers to keep a digital representation of their driving licences on their phones. The government has said that their goal is to have the app ready for mass distribution by early 2018. Exactly how beneficial it will be to drivers remains to be seen.

Posted: Friday 15 September 2017

Imagine sending in for your driving licence to be returned, only to find it never arrives in the post. Not only would you have to apply for a replacement, but there would also be a nagging concern that the original card wound up in the hands of someone who would use the personal information it contains to steal your identity. Unfortunately, such a scenario is not made up. It is all too real for thousands of British motorists.

Posted: Friday 25 August 2017

The average driver fears a violation that could result in points being added to his or her driving licence. That's the way it should be. The point system is supposed to be a deterrent against the kinds of behaviours we deem unsafe. A driver who accumulates multiple points has demonstrated that he or she cannot be trusted. Yet there is a problem: thousands of drivers are still being allowed to drive even after accumulating more than 12 points.

Posted: Friday 11 August 2017

To take the news media at their word would be to assume that the era of driverless cars is at the doorstep. It's not, as explained by a July story from the BBC. Still, there is that bothersome issue of driving licences at such time as driverless cars and trucks do become the norm. Will we still need licences? If so, what purpose will these serve?

Posted: Friday 28 July 2017

If you need yet another reason to be concerned about the fitness of those who drive your company vehicles, look no further than eyesight. That's right; new research just released by Vision Express suggests that millions of British drivers could be getting behind the wheel despite having inadequate eyesight. If correct, the research also suggests that those drivers are endangering others needlessly.

Posted: Friday 14 July 2017

How many of us have waxed lyrical about what it was like to get a driving licence back in the 'good old days'? It seems many of us have forgotten the pressure we faced as we sat next to the tester hoping and praying we did not make a critical mistake that would send us home without that coveted licence. So much so, in fact, that drivers responding to a recent survey are in favour of even tougher tests for learners.