The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is urging its members to ensure they are ready for the changes, including the DVLA’s new online Share My Licence service, which it believes will be more onerous for fleet operators.
Ian Gallagher, FTA’s lead on DVLA, said: “Far from reducing the burden, FTA believes this new system will be more cumbersome for employers. FTA members who employ hundreds if not thousands of drivers have complained to us that the proposed system adds time to the licence checking process forcing many to look for a cost alternative.”
The association said it is disappointed that, “despite prolonged dialogue, DVLA has failed to develop a suitable online alternative which would provide an employer with the ability to check driver details in bulk, instead relying on a system which requires the licence holder to go online obtain a PDF or access code and provide that to their employer within 72 hours”.
The FTA added that the DVLA has also failed to recognise that not all employees are domestic drivers. Given the shortage of vocational drivers in GB, many operators employ drivers from Europe. These drivers are encouraged to obtain a counterpart so that points can be attributed to an individual’s licence. From today, licences will not be endorsed with penalty points, therefore the only way an employer is able to check a licence being presented to them is by checking with DVLA and the only facility for this is a telephone service that is only available during working hours.
Gallagher added: “This is completely unacceptable. DVLA has had fair warning of this requirement and will mean that some non-UK drivers reporting for work will be sent home if their licence details can’t be verified, this information must be made available on the proposed checking systems at the earliest opportunity."
The association said it is urging DVLA and the Government to rethink its approach to licence checking and introduce a system that provides an employer with mandated authority from the driver to check licence details as and when required in bulk and free of charge.
However, according to LICENCECHECK, the abolition of the paper counterpart undoubtedly presents a short-term challenge for companies, but in the longer term, will encourage better practices for firms that require access to driving licence data, thereby improving road safety,
Managing director Richard Brown said: “A small minority of drivers who have been using altered or forged counterparts are finally going to be exposed and taken off the road which should improve road safety for other drivers and members of the public.
“Using technology to provide real-time data to employers about entitlement, validity, disqualifications, and endorsements would seem to be just another logical step to tighten the noose around those individuals determined to flout the law.”
He added that, for companies, the abolition of the paper counterpart presents a real opportunity for those charged with the management of vehicles and drivers: “It’s the perfect chance to review their current procedures and ensure they remain fit for purpose and commensurate with the perceived risks to their drivers and other road users.
“In many companies compliance has traditionally been seen as an unwelcome inconvenience to be dealt with at a junior level as cheaply as possible,” observed Brown. “In some organisations this culture will remain unchanged. Our own experience, however, has been that the abolition of the counterpart has actually elevated driver and vehicle compliance to boardroom level – much to the delight of fleet and operations managers.”
