A supplier of Driver Licence validation services, Licence Bureau has highlighted considerable misalignment between incident reporting mechanisms and published data sets which reduce public and corporate awareness of the risks associated with driving for work.

During 2017/2018 more than three times as many people were killed in incidents involving a driver/rider driving for work than those killed in traditional ‘workplace’ industry groups.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics show that 144 workers were killed in 2017/18, with the main cause attributed to falling from height which made up 35 deaths during a 12-month period. Meanwhile the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2017 reported 499 people were killed in incidents involving a driver/rider driving for work. 

“There are clearly some major discrepancies between the two data sets which we feel need to be addressed as they skew easily identifiable business risk profiles,” explained Malcolm Maycock, managing director of Licence Bureau. 

“We believe road traffic incidents should be incorporated within data sets across the board because any vehicle driven for work is a ‘workplace’. 

“The difference in data sets also goes someway to explain why so few convictions have been made associated with driving for work by the HSE in relation to corporate manslaughter. There is clearly a disconnect we believe needs to be explored as driving for work is now very much a part of day-to-day life for many and, as the data suggests, represents the greatest risk.”

Licence Bureau would like to see the HSE and DfT look at how the data sets can be aligned to provide individuals and businesses throughout the UK a clearer picture on risk profiles and support their duty of care obligations. As the data proves, driving for work is a major business risk which needs to be managed correctly.

HSE data includes figures relating to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) which do not require the reporting of general workplace deaths on the road. The only exceptions are construction, demolition, alteration, repair or maintenance activity related on or alongside public roads. The numbers do not include road traffic incidents, as managed by the Police and reported by the DfT.

Maycock continues: “Where risk can be regulated by another appropriate enforcement body, which in the case of road traffic incidents, is the police, the HSE is happy for them to take the lead. Only if a significant health and safety risk is identified would the police contact HSE to discuss the incident and consider their involvement.”

The continued growth in personal leasing and the increased tax burden for some company car users following the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) regulations in September 2018 are further adding to the grey fleet challenge which many companies are struggling to come to terms with.

“The first questions we ask fleets is how many company cars and grey fleet drivers they have. The majority cannot answer the latter part of the question, so we know many companies’ duty of care is out of control,” explains Steve Pinchen, sales director at Licence Bureau.

“Generally, it’s not because the companies are complacent, but because the grey fleet part of their business is changing at such a pace many don’t know where to start to control it on a daily basis to keep compliance at 100%,” he adds.

The growing trend for personal leasing following the change in company car and cash allowance rules which came into force in April 2017 has also given rise to challenges around vehicle maintenance. Industry experts predict fewer vehicles are being maintained in accordance with official manufacturer service schedules as drivers take a more relaxed approach to service schedules and even MOT renewals. From an employer standpoint this creates duty of care challenges.

Licence Bureau also points to WLTP as having a significant impact on grey fleet expansion in recent months, with changing taxation brackets and emissions classifications in some cases increasing company car taxation by 40%.

A disincentive for high mileage company car drivers to choose zero emission cars, despite the lower associated tax, is the practicality during a typical working day including a national charging infrastructure which is struggling to keep pace with demand.

“It is a huge area which continues to grow. We already know that of the estimated 14 million vehicles in business use across the UK, only around one million are company cars and this is forecast to reduce by a further 11% over the coming 12 months.

“What this means is there are a huge amount of grey fleet vehicles in circulation and organisations need to be aware of how this impacts their employee duty of care. It’s a very real situation and there are not many businesses in the country that do not have a grey fleet of some description,” said Pinchen.

Of significance with the growth in grey fleet is the ‘management’ of such vehicles and the resultant increase in risk profile with insurance cover, vehicle condition, suitability for journey and fuel efficiency all outside of an organisation’s control.

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Any outstanding licence check credits will be honoured but then users must migrate their driver permissions and licence checking over to the DVLA portal via the DVLA online form, technically called the D906 Fair Processing Declaration. 

Business fleets adopted the new protocol earlier this year, as a result of DVLA’s review of its General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) procedures.

According to Licence Bureau the time it takes to transfer to the new portal should not be underestimated and authorities, along with all relevant government bodies, are being advised to start immediately to ensure their drivers are compliant to drive on company business.

This, claims Licence Bureau, is particularly relevant to the NHS where tens of thousands of grey fleet drivers use their own vehicles to carry out their vital healthcare roles every day.

The concern, expressed by a southeast Asia driver, was raised during one of Licence Bureau’s new online training courses for fleets – MyUK – designed to help foreign drivers stay safe on UK roads.

"I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing when they asked how we manage snakes and monkeys on the roads here in the UK. It certainly raised a smile and provided some light relief from the more serious side of preparing foreign drivers on how to tackle our UK road network," explained Licence Bureau’s training and sales manager, Martin Starkey.

He continued: "The mention actually highlighted a pertinent analogy relevant to driver training – like the game Snakes and Ladders. The aim being to continuously climb the ladders to keep safety high on the agenda, whilst avoiding the snakes and allowing standards to slip." 

Licence Bureau’s MyUK is an online foreign driver familiarisation course delivered via Cisco WebEx. The online format allows individuals to access the interactive course from the comfort of their PC, in real time, from all corners of the world.

The two-hour course is designed especially for foreign drivers that are either new to driving in the UK or are currently working for a company based abroad and are about to start working (and driving) in the UK. This is particularly relevant to the increasing number of parcel delivery companies who employ foreign drivers to deliver their goods to homes and businesses.

The course covers topics including: road classification; speed limits; driving and the law; driving etiquette; roundabouts, approaches and signalling; re-fuelling, bus lanes, UK weather and much more.

Importantly the course supports companies who have a responsibility for their employees’ duty of care while they are driving a company vehicle. 

Courses cater for up to 12 delegates at one time and are charged at £39 per driver.

For more information on MyUK or Licence Bureau’s portfolio of driver training courses, contact: Martin Starkey on 07938 379101 or email m.starkey@licencebureau.co.uk.

The concern, expressed by a southeast Asia driver, was raised during one of Licence Bureau’s new online training courses for fleets – MyUK – designed to help foreign drivers stay safe on UK roads.

"I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing when they asked how we manage snakes and monkeys on the roads here in the UK. It certainly raised a smile and provided some light relief from the more serious side of preparing foreign drivers on how to tackle our UK road network," explained Licence Bureau’s training and sales manager, Martin Starkey.

He continued: "The mention actually highlighted a pertinent analogy relevant to driver training – like the game Snakes and Ladders. The aim being to continuously climb the ladders to keep safety high on the agenda, whilst avoiding the snakes and allowing standards to slip." 

Licence Bureau’s MyUK is an online foreign driver familiarisation course delivered via Cisco WebEx. The online format allows individuals to access the interactive course from the comfort of their PC, in real time, from all corners of the world.

The two-hour course is designed especially for foreign drivers that are either new to driving in the UK or are currently working for a company based abroad and are about to start working (and driving) in the UK. This is particularly relevant to the increasing number of parcel delivery companies who employ foreign drivers to deliver their goods to homes and businesses.

The course covers topics including: road classification; speed limits; driving and the law; driving etiquette; roundabouts, approaches and signalling; re-fuelling, bus lanes, UK weather and much more.

Importantly the course supports companies who have a responsibility for their employees’ duty of care while they are driving a company vehicle. 

Courses cater for up to 12 delegates at one time and are charged at £39 per driver.

For more information on MyUK or Licence Bureau’s portfolio of driver training courses, contact: Martin Starkey on 07938 379101 or email m.starkey@licencebureau.co.uk.

According to DVLA data Licence Bureau’s volume of licence checks moved from two million to three million checks between June 2016 and February 2018 (20 months). Its previous growth from one to two million checks took 35 months and its first million a decade.

A reduction in licence checking fees, the introduction of convictions online and multi checks per employee have all helped fuel the growth.

The biggest contributor is the imminent arrival of new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation on 25 May. Its requirement to ensure consent, enables employees to access their own data and retention of data means outsourcing this process is much more cost effective.

“A combination of legislation and education has meant compliance is now higher on company agendas of all sizes than ever before,” explained Malcolm Maycock, Licence Bureau’s managing director.

Licence Bureau has also appointed Adele Batsford as its first ever full-time compliance manager who is working with clients to resolve issues around GDPR, as well as helping create new contracts, processes and procedures aligned with its ISO27001 procedures.

Fleets should take a proactive approach to regularly checking the licences of employees, to assess whether they remain suitable to drive on company business and ensure they are adhering to Duty of Care obligations.

With some uncertainty in companies on who uses their car to drive on company business, it’s more vital than ever to check the licences of all employees.

Licence Bureau recommends, in-line with the Traffic Commissioners that licence checks are carried out at three-monthly intervals in order for drivers to remain compliant, allowing employers to build the most up-to-date digital picture of employees. Organisations such as the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme and Freight Transport Association recommend checks every six months and additional checks for high risk drivers.

Companies must remember that it’s not only staff that drive company vehicles as the main part of their job that need to be checked. Other employees who may use their own vehicle to perform any job-related tasks – known as grey fleet drivers – no matter how big or small, must be checked.

There could be serious implications for the company if a driver – who could have convictions, endorsements or a disqualification against their licence – is involved in an incident, and it can be proved they are driving on business.

With HGV and motorcycle drivers holding various entitlements, frequent licence checks are crucial to build a larger overall compliance profile of the driver. This could include any changes to medical conditions that could affect an employee’s ability to drive.

Real-time licence checking also allows fleets to obtain a bigger picture of any points, endorsements or a disqualification that a driver may hold against their licence. With the speed that licences are updated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), it’s vital to know from one day to the next that your driver is still legally able to operate the vehicle on company business, giving complete peace of mind and full compliance with employment contracts and insurance.

Failure to enforce this could result in substantial legal, reputational and financial repercussions should a driver on your fleet be involved in an incident. The process of dealing with those drivers whose licences require urgent attention and the sheer number of drivers operating illegally in the UK should encourage businesses to keep the most up-to-date information available for their drivers.

Frequent licence checking should serve as part of a company’s overall risk assessment, laid out by the Health and Safety Executive. Under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers should be identifying the hazards that a driver could pose, and regularly reviewing their work-related risk assessment.

An employee’s overall driving history needs to be checked, both at the time of employment and frequently throughout their tenure.

When checking an employee’s licence, any system needs to be compliant with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This emphasises the need for thoroughly checking the licences of current staff, and when employing new employees who will be driving on company business.

Should an employer not schedule regular assessments, they have no way of knowing whether their drivers’ have previously committed an offence since the last check, which could compromise the company’s vehicle insurance policy.

This is especially important for those with the most serious convictions that will become spent after five years. These offences typically involve driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or causing death by dangerous driving.

The driving licence is now only a starting point; fleets should ensure drivers are fit and healthy and not impaired by any prescribed drugs or medical conditions, even for a short time.

Licence holders have a legal obligation to notify their employer, and the DVLA of any impediment to their health, that would prevent them from driving, or from carrying out their job to the required standard.

However, relying solely on the driver to notify their employer of such a condition is risky. Regardless of severity of the health issue, this could allow an unfit driver to get behind the wheel and in some cases, operate specialist equipment. This could leave employers liable to prosecution should an incident occur.

Regular checks and encouraging drivers to inform their employers of any changes to their health, that may affect their ability to carry out their duties, is the only way to ensure that risk in this area is mitigated. However, this requires the ability for fitness-to-drive information gathered from third-parties, to be acted on by the DVLA, whether this is from doctors or Police.

The time and resources required for fleets to establish licence checking, especially when carrying out checks internally, is no excuse not to regularly assess the ability for employees to drive on company business.

Although internal checking and re-checking of driving licences can prove initially time consuming, the consequences could prove irreversible should an employee, who has not disclosed all aspects of their driving licence, be involved in an accident.

Held at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole, Malcolm was recognised for his relentless contribution to improving road safety at the Metropolitan Police, Licence Bureau, and as chairman of the Association of Driving Licence Verification (ADLV), not to mention his extensive personal efforts as a Brake volunteer and speaker.

Malcolm formed Licence Bureau in 2003 as the first UK company to provide a B2B solution to driving licence management, following tireless work to establish regular licence checking for employees with the DVLA and Information Commissioner.

Recognising the need to provide an all in one solution, Malcolm has steered Licence Bureau into a full compliance management company, instilling a culture of road safety in businesses that has led to over two million licence checks being carried out since it was established. The fleet compliance company was also nominated in the Road Safety in the Community Award category for the second year running.

Skanska’s Alison Moriarty received the Road Risk Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by Licence Bureau, for the second year running, thanks to her continued efforts to minimise road risk and shape driver behaviour at the construction company.

Malcolm said: “I’m honoured to be recognised by Brake with the Kevin Storey award. I’ve always been passionate about making a difference on the roads throughout my entire adult life; to receive this accolade is truly humbling.” 

The company says this is necessary to assess whether they remain suitable to drive on company business and ensure they are adhering to their Duty of Care obligations.

Malcolm Maycock, managing director at Licence Bureau, said: "With some uncertainty in companies over who uses their car to drive on company business, it’s more vital than ever to check the licences of all employees. Licence Bureau recommends, in line with the Traffic Commissioners, that licence checks are carried out at three-monthly intervals in order for drivers to remain compliant, allowing employers to build the most up-to-date digital picture of employees. Organisations such as the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme and Freight Transport Association recommend checks every six months and additional checks for high-risk drivers.
This enables fleets to continually assess a driver’s overall health at regular intervals, something which was displayed on the paper counterpart driving licence, albeit amended less-frequently."

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The Hemel Hempstead-based compliance management company has rolled out its award-winning Compliance Managed Services (CMS) portal to Meachers’ 130 employees, which operates 65 trucks from depots in Southampton and Derby.
 
The drivers will have their licences checked at pre-determined times throughout the year, allowing Meachers operational managers to monitor whether there are any changes to a driver’s entitlement to drive.
 
This is crucial to ensure drivers safely transport the priceless freight they’ve been entrusted to carry across the country, to customers, national airports and docks for onward movement, while also taking proactive steps to keep other road users safe when operating heavily laden vehicles.
 
Licence Bureau’s CMS system proactively alerts the Meachers management team to critical risk factors such as drivers holding a licence which has recently become invalid, one that has received numerous endorsements or is about to expire, with particular emphasis on their Category C+E entitlement.
 
Using Licence Bureau’s system also allows Meachers to proactively manage their grey fleet drivers by checking the licences of all employees, not only those who directly operate their vehicles.
 
“With drivers operating in all four corners of the country making it difficult for Meachers to ensure that everyone remains compliant, our automated alerts system efficiently manages selected risk parameters for each driver, allowing them to fulfil their Duty of Care obligations,” says Malcolm Maycock, Managing Director of Licence Bureau.
 
“Licence Bureau’s portal is the perfect tool for ensuring all of Meachers’ drivers are safe to operate our heavy goods vehicles and equipment. Market-leading systems and dedicated client support made it an easy choice to work with Licence Bureau, allowing us to concentrate fully on delivering freight to our partners, safely and on time,” added Gary Whittle, Commercial Director of Meachers Global Logistics.