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42 days left till we (finally) wave the paper counterpart goodbye

On June 8th the DVLA will no longer issue paper counterparts for new and replacement driving licences, with existing counterparts no longer having any legal status.

Not only is the DVLA scrapping an antiquated system of recording endorsements, but are also helping to force the issue of fleet management responsibility.
 

Abolishment and why it is needed

With this abolishment we will say a final farewell to inaccuracy and the exposure that comes with it. For too long counterparts have been wrongly perceived as a reliable source of the current state of a driver’s endorsements – that whatever is printed is accurate. It simply isn’t the case.

Although it might not come as a surprised to many, some fleets are still unaware that the paper counterpart system could be tricked. For example, a driver expectant of an endorsement coming through (such as a speed camera flashing for excessive speed) could request a replacement counterpart for a lost licence before their endorsement registered with the local authorities and the DVLA. By doing this, they had two copies of their counterpart. One would be used to accept the endorsements and pay their fine; the other would be used as a false representation of a lower total endorsement tally. Clearly an unacceptable practice whatever the endorsement level, but carrying a greater risk the higher the points – potentially a difference between being able to drive or not.

Employers have duties under health and safety law for on-the-road work activities, and these include risk-related responsibilities such as the on going screening of driver validity – “is this driver ok to drive for our company”. Failure to do so leaves the company at risk for legal proceedings and imposed fines, as could the individual fleet management team who could, in some cases, face imprisonment. Despite these serve repercussions of neglecting responsibilities too few fleets have adopted a robust and accurate way of licence checking compliancy.

Breathe a sigh of relief…

By removing the counterpart as being used as an ‘indicator’ of possible endorsements it raises the conversation of how to achieve compliancy – something we welcome. There are a number of choices available that will improve accuracy – such as phoning the DVLA or using our online service to automatically check directly with the DVLA – all of which deliver a higher level of quality checking.

In its first instance the removal of counterparts will result in fleets rechecking whether their drivers are valid to drive or not, taking banned drivers off the road, and reducing the risk to company and every other road user. Sigh of relief all around.

Next step, business continuity

Your fleet has been checked – everyone is valid to drive. This is great news as the risk to your business and the individuals you are responsible for is much lower. The next step is managing these drivers to reduce the possibility of invalidity.

Split your fleet by risk. High-risk drivers should be checked more routinely than low-risk drivers – e.g. 6 points v 0 points. When a licence changes, be it positively or negatively, this should trigger a management process of evaluation. Such as:

  • Should I switch delivery runs between drivers to spread the risk of points across a number of drivers and maintain a lower average?
  • My Sales Rep has two traffic light offences in city centres – are they lacking urban confidence, and can we help them improve their skill set?
  • We seem to have a high concentration of speeding related endorsements – are we providing too high spec vehicles to relatively inexperienced drivers?

These questions can only be asked, let alone answered, when a fleet management team understand the state of their fleet. If you know what is happening you raise the health of your fleet’s licences – and potentially avoid having to make individuals redundant.

Less time checking, more time optimising

Online licence checking automates a lot of the compliancy process, from routinely checking in the background, to creating a fully auditable (and searchable) environment. The larger your fleet the greater the benefit online checking will have on freeing you from administrative tasks, giving you the opportunity to explore fleet-related optimisations such as:

  • Are Advanced Driving Courses making a positive impact on minimising endorsements?
  • Are our delivery drivers under too much pressure to complete routes in too little time? Do we need more drivers?
  • Could we spend less time on the road and use more of online tools to help our customers and prospects?
Smarter fleet setups

Abolishment of the counterpart should result in not only more responsible licence checking, but also greater management and optimisation of fleet operations. With the right tools companies should have a smarter fleet setup and reduce waste and cost.

 

June 8th is a new era – much more than paper being removed, but an opportunity to approach fleet management in a new way. Enjoy the journey, and good luck.

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