AA chief calls for more employers to undertake DVLA licence checks

More employers should ensure that they carry out DVLA driving licence checks on employees who drive for business, according to AA president Edmund King.

Speaking at the Association of Chief Police Officers/Police Federation National Roads Policing Conference during a debate on medical standards for drivers today (Wednesday, January 20), he said that 19% of AA members knew someone who had driven while suffering from a medical condition knowing they should not have driven.

During his speech he highlighted that a recent DVLA check carried out by AA DriveTech for a ‘high profile blue-chip company’ flushed out drivers who did not hold a valid driving licence. He said that only a small proportion of employees were checked in the pilot programme but it had uncovered:

• Five drivers that had their licence revoked (one medical reasons, others for not notifying the DVLA of a change of address)

• One driver who had a live drink/drive offence

• One employee who had been driving illegally since early March 2006.

Mr King said: “Employees need to be more vigilant in checking driving licences and carrying out DVLA checks on staff that may have had licences revoked for medical reasons or they might be liable.”

The AA survey of more than 20,000 members indicated, according to Mr King, that up to six million drivers may drive when they know they shouldn’t for medical reasons. Drivers, he said, needed to be aware of the risks that they were taking and the consequences of getting caught.

He added that recent Government research indicated more needed to be done by the healthcare profession in terms of advising patients correctly when they should not drive. (AA: January 20).

Consumers more confident about buying cars in 2010

Drivers are more confident about car buying during 2010 than a year ago, but are planning to spend less, according to the latest Car Purchase Index (CPI) published by AA Financial Services.

A fifth (20%) of 13,489 respondents in the AA/Populus study of AA members say they expect to change their car over the coming year, compared with 18% a year ago.
Just over a fifth (21%) say their next car will be brand new regardless of when they buy it, up 3% over the past year.

Mark Huggins, director of AA Financial Services, said: “This suggests that metal is moving off forecourts and the slow recovery should gather momentum.

“I have no doubt the extension of the car scrappage scheme to the end of February 2010 is helping – but if this isn’t extended again new car sales could slow down again.

“In fact, the CPI found that over a quarter of those with a car aged 10 years or more could take advantage of the scheme: 22% saying they are thinking about it and 4% definitely planning to. A further 4% said they have already bought a new car through the scheme.”

However, despite more people saying they are going to buy a car, they expect to spend less on their new one.

Although the most popular price-band in the CPI is still £5,000-£10,000, with 32% saying they will spend this much, this is a fall of 3% compared to last year. More people are planning to spend under £5,000 (23% compared with 19% last year). (AM-Online: January 20).

DVLA sells drivers’ details to wheel clampers for £2.50

Millions of motorists’ personal details have been sold to parking firms and rogue wheel clampers by the DVLA in a trade generating £43.9 million so far.

More than 18m names and addresses have been passed to the private sector in the past five years by the DVLA so drivers can be issued with fines.

The trade in drivers’ details is said to underpin a parking ‘enforcement’ industry on private land worth an estimated £1 billion a year.

Private parking companies can obtain a driver’s name and address by submitting the vehicle registration number and filling in a form confirming that they are pursuing an alleged parking offence.

The DVLA charges £2.50 to provide details from its database of 38m drivers. Then drivers can be pursued by parking enforcement organisations for fines and fees often in excess of £500.

Income from the trade has risen every year from £4.7m in 2004-5 to £9.2m for 2009-10. (Daily Mail: January 20).

Government signals financial support for Vauxhall

The UK Government is prepared to make a ‘major investment’ in Vauxhall, according to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.

The Government has consistently said financial assistance depended on a commitment from parent company General Motors that recognised ‘the commercial logic of maintaining long-term production’ in the UK. GM has yet to present a final plan.

However, Lord Mandelson signalled support was likely, saying: “We have already said that we would be prepared to support Vauxhall to underwrite the new financial arrangements going forward.”

He added that the Government had funds for a major investment.

Meanwhile, reports are circulating that GM is to close its Opel plant in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, slamming the door on hopes to save the jobs of the site’s 2,300 staff.

GM has warned for weeks that the plant’s future was in jeopardy as it moved to axe more than 8,000 jobs and cut European capacity by a fifth. (Just-auto.com/news agencies: January 20).

Vehicle spot checks drive new load safety campaign

Spot checks on hundreds of vehicles will take place in the coming weeks in support of a new drive to ensure that loads are being transported securely.

The Health and Safety Executive’s new load safety campaign is focused on reducing the number of death and injuries linked to workplace transport.

Loading and unloading accounts for one in five workplace transport incidents – many resulting from loads not being properly restrained. Unsafe loads on vehicles injure more than 1,200 people a year and cost UK businesses millions of pounds in damaged goods.

There will be eight days of spot checks at locations across the North West, with officers from the HSE and the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA) inspecting the loads of vehicles that have been pulled over at random.

Similar spot checks took place in April last year with close to 80% of loads found not to be sufficiently restrained.

Drivers/businesses who are found to have unsafe loads face fines or risk having their vehicle ordered off the road.

As part of the wider nine-week campaign, hauliers and transport managers will be mailed with guidance and top tips on loading and unloading safely and radio and trade press adverts will invite workers to visit www.hse.gov.uk/loadsafety for more information.

Peter Brown from the HSE said: “There is absolutely no excuse for unsafe loads. We hear from drivers that they were only ‘going down the road’ or ‘they were running late’ but these just won’t wash, not when people’s health or lives are at risk.

“Vehicles are at risk of overturning if a load moves and makes them unstable. Load shifts can also put those workers who are unloading the van or lorry at the other end at risk.

“Materials falling from vehicles pose a danger to other road users as well as causing annoying traffic disruption. Apart from this, there is the cost to business of a lost or damaged load.

“Take those few extra minutes to secure your loads or at best you could face a fine or, at worst, risk death or injury to your self or others.” (HSE: January 20).