compliance – GB Tachopak Ltd: Blog

The End of the Paper Driving License – where to go from here

From June 2015, the paper part of your drivers licence is no longer valid.

Essential information was held on the paper license, including points, bans etc.

This information is vital to the Transport Manager, to be able to know who is entitled to drive the company’s vehicles.

All employers have a duty of care to ensure any employee that is required to drive on behalf of the company is correctly licensed and entitled to drive.

MORE? » SmartLicence is a licence checking system that runs with SmartAnalysis.

A visual driving licence check once a year is not enough. Things can change very quickly and licence details should be verified with DVLA at least twice a year.

On high risk drivers, you can have an update every month.

According to statistics from DVLA:

22% of drivers are using out of date documents
1 million drivers in the UK are just 3 points away from a disqualification
Around 250,000 drivers are disqualified every year.

SmartLicence is a comprehensive online tool for managing driving licences and verifying the licence details with the DVLA. SmartLicence allows you to assess the risk of licensed drivers and conduct regular checks with the DVLA in accordance with that risk. SmartLicence provides a historical log of checks and any changes to the licence details demonstrating to the authorities that you have systems and processes in place to ensure staff are licensed to drive. As with Smartanalysis your data is secure, managed in accordance with ISO27001, backed up and always available wherever you have internet access.

Once set up the licence checks happen in the background. You will receive a report indicating which licences are due for a check and an opportunity to remove them so that you do not pay for drivers that no longer work for your organisation. SmartLicence also uses SmartAlerts to send you an automatic email alerts for issues that you may wish to take immediate action on.

For more information speak to our technical team at: 01472 210102

Digital Tacho Simulator

Demo: Digital Tachograph Simulator:

We recently stumbled on this simulator (click image) for various Digital Tacho systems. We cannot vouch for how good or up-to-date it is but it looks the best we have seen so far. However, it should give anyone new to digital tachos a reasonable idea of how they operate.

Audio Visual Interactive Guide

This audio/visual guide offers Lorry or Bus tuition in the various modes. And shows the Actia, Siemens and Stoneridge models. Have a look here… Digital Tacho Simulator

NEED MORE HELP with Digital Tachgraphs?

If you need more help with tachographs or need to purchase tacho’ charts / accessories such as a card reader or SmartAnalysis services please call us or visit our main website or call our GB Tachopak experts TEL: 01472 210102.

» Website: GB Tachopak for Digital Tachograph Accessories

RHA Support for a Custodial Sentences

Recently a driver was jailed after falsifying his hours records 79 times. The RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning expressed his support for the custodial sentence of eight months handed to the truck driver who pleaded guilty to 79 offenses of creating false driving hours records.

Ipswich Crown Court had heard from VOSA that Jasvinder Arora, from Feltham, driving for Ocean Xpress Logistics, had driven for 24 hours without taking proper rest. VOSA had already warned the driver.

RHA Policy for “Safer operation and fairer competition in road haulage”

The RHA had previously called for mandatory prison sentences for those found guilty of falsifying their tachograph records as part of a broader compliance strategy paper, Safer operation and fairer competition in road haulage:

» Download 2012 RHA.Policy Document (PDF)

» More about the Working Time Directive (Drivers Hours)

Driver CPC – the Traffic Commission’s View

Driver CPC requires all professional bus, coach and lorry drivers to complete a minimum of 35 hours periodic training every five years for as long as they wish to continue to drive professionally.

In a recent article in the transport press, the senior Traffic Commissioner (TC) Beverly Bell stated that employers as well as employees, will find themselves before the TC , if drivers are not compliant with the CPC by Sept 2014 (2013 for passenger vehicle drivers). Bell went on to say “driver training is essentially about investing in your staff”.

Mailshot: The TC expects that operators should be able to show the steps they have taken relating to driver licencing and DCPC qualification. In conjunction with VOSA, there will be a mailshot to an estimated 80,000 operators reminding them of their responsibilities, with a second mailshot in 2014, and dependent upon your action or inaction, you may be called before the TC for an explanation.

Fines: Current levels of fines for failing to comply have been set at up to £1000, if a driver is driving professionally without a DQC (Post Sept 2014), this applies to both operator and driver alike.

Qualification: Some would argue that the DCPC is a driver qualification and is therefore the responsibility of the driver to ensure they hold the DQC qualification. But with the TC’s and VOSA out to ensure that all vocational drivers are qualified, can operators afford not to comply?

» Get the DCPC Guide
» Register for Driver CPC