A doubling of the penalties for motorists being caught using a handheld mobile phone while on the move makes it ever-more critical that employers introduce robust procedures to validate driving licences.
The fixed penalty for using a handheld mobile phone while driving increased from £100 to £200 and penalty points from three to six on March 1. That increase raises the risk of employees being banned from driving for repeat offences quicker.
What’s more new drivers caught using a handheld mobile phone at the wheel within two years of passing their test would lose their licence and have to retake both the theory and practical test under current rules – a licence is revoked if six points or more are collected within two years of obtaining a full licence.
However, Jaama’s driver licence validation service enables instant verification of up-to-date information provided via a direct and secure web-based interface with the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA).
The service includes:
•Full auditable checking history
•Simple pay per check charging
•Individual or batch checking
•Provides alerts to fleet decision-makers of licence issues uncovered from the DVLA check.
The only way a business can be absolutely certain an employee is licenced to drive a certain vehicle type and the number of endorsement points they have on the licence, is to carry out regular checks against the DVLA database. Licence checking helps employers meet their duty of care responsibilities under Health and Safety Executive guidelines.