Author: Pinewood

Driver Distraction, Inattention or Fatigue.

In a second of time and at 30mph a vehicle will cover a distance of around 13 metres. This second can pass without incident or add to the estimated statistic that around 75% of accidents or near accidents are caused by the contribution of distraction, inattention or fatigue.

Most drivers, at some time in their journey, will encounter a situation that requires an immediate response. Looking ahead and evaluating the speed, direction and proximity of the vehicle are all dependent upon how we process the visual and auditory input. Risk, assessment and corresponding required actions in response are expected in all driving situations. Being alert and aware at all times of the ongoing road conditions is mandatory for the avoidance of collisions with other road users.

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Smartphone Licences – A Licence to Share.

The DVLA has revealed plans that will enable the sharing of a driving licence on a smartphone. Another way of being able to enable validation of an entitlement to drive. But with fraudulently obtained or invalid driving licences already being used in the UK, will this new facility be vulnerable to identity thieves and fraudsters?

The DVLA has a dedicated Counter Fraud and Intelligence Team, tasked to identify and reduce any opportunity for fraud and corruption. The threats to businesses and individuals lie in the fact that driving licences are no longer just used to demonstrate an entitlement to drive but are also used as a primary identification document. As stated by the DVLA, this makes the driving licence a valuable asset for criminals to attempt to obtain, usually by providing false information or stealing someone else’s identity.

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Dealership Health Checks

A common practice for most dealerships is to offer a free Vehicle Health Check (VHC) service for customers. A service that checks the essential components and systems of a customer’s vehicle. Any urgent work on the vehicle can be detected and reported back to the customer. Would a similar health check be worth consideration for a dealership?

A VHC carried out on a customer’s vehicle when in the workshop for service, repair or recall is seen as a useful way of determining the condition of tyres, wheels, electrics, suspension and steering for example. A VHC form quite often uses a traffic light system in order to present the status of these components and systems. Red is seen as an urgent action required, amber as cautionary requires monitoring and green as no action required. At a glance, the customer can see the results and recommendations presented in the VHC form.

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New Penalties for Mobile Phone Usage When Driving or Riding.

The penalties for using a hand-held phone whilst driving or riding can be 6 penalty points and a £200 fine, a possible ban, a £1000 or £2500 (LGV/PCV) fine if taken to court, or a loss of licence if caught during 2 years after passing the driving Test. Will this significantly reduce the number of perpetrators?

The phenomenon of mobile devices, in particular, Smart phones, enables the user to participate in all kinds of communication and personal organisation. Connectivity with colleagues, friends and social media can send users into a frenzy of electronic activity of responding to emails, texts, missed calls and social media. A compulsive desire to know and engage in the activity even when there is a risk associated is a similar symptom to other types of dependencies exhibited by individuals with behavioural addictions.

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Drink Driving Trends – Checking Levels.

With the second in the series of offence trends, this time looking at drink driving, it can be graphically shown that December is not the only month in the year that this kind of endorsement spikes. Does this mean annual licence checking may not be sufficient?

Analysing the endorsement data for drink driving offences reveals some unexpected findings. December is typically targeted as a month where expectations for the seasonal holiday celebrations, result in a rise in drivers taking risks when driving whilst over the drink driving limit. The media and police authorities, rightly so, try to increase awareness of the risks associated and the dangers to road users and pedestrians.

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The Human Condition and Conditional Autonomy

Control is at the heart of any endeavour. Mechanical control is designed into components. Autonomous control is programmed into processes, including mechanical control. Human interaction within any control process introduces the possibility of habitual or repeated error.

Technology has advanced autonomous control in ways that were once considered impossible. Early Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) developed into Direct Numerical Control (DNC) and 3D modelling techniques. This has led to automated robotic manufacturing processes with minimal human interaction. Now that new technologies integrate and connect almost anything seems possible.

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Exposure to risk can lead to the downfall of any business or organisation

Limiting risk is the goal of everyone concerned with health and safety. Today’s HR or Fleet Manager is faced with a mountain of legislation for duty of care requirements. With so many laws to follow and demands upon their time, why is it necessary to check driving licences?

It has been stated that by the strict letter of the law, there is no mandatory requirement to do ongoing checks of driving licences. Once employed or contracted it can be left to the driver to ensure that the licence is current and still valid. But this is a high risk approach to take.

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A Treasure Trove of Data – Driving Licence, DQC and Driver Cards

Licence Link, the online licence checking service now provides checks for the validity of Driver Qualification and Tachograph Driver cards. An additional free service to all Licence Link users.

Using the existing Access to Driver Data (ADD) licence checking service provided by the DVLA, Licence Link, can now access additional Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) Driver Qualification Card (DQC) and Tachograph Driver Card details through a simple process of requesting this data through the existing licence checking service, real time or scheduled. All that is required is the consent from the driver through mandate or eConsent.

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A Trio of Checks – Driving Licence, DQC and Driver Cards

Online licence checking is about to change. The exciting prospect of being able to check the validity of a Driver Qualification Card and a Tachograph Driver Card will soon be available from Licence Link.

The professional LGV and PCV driver on the highways of today have requirements to conform to the modern day rules of the road. Not only must they have a valid licence, but must be aware of the hours that they work and attend continuous training courses to prove professional competence. Fleet and HR Managers, tasked with ensuring that the driver is properly qualified with current and valid cards, as part of their duty of care requirements, can hugely benefit from this new service.

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Speeding Trends – Finding the Frequency

It is estimated that 50% of drivers exceed the 30mph speed limit. That LGV (large Goods Vehicle) drivers have been known to ignore the speed limit on single carriageway main roads.
With this tendency to speed being prevalent can analysing endorsement data provide a way of interpreting speeding trends?

Two of the main groups identified for speeding excessively are the company car and LGV drivers. The reasons given for speeding are many and varied, including keeping to schedules and appointments. These two groups fall into the categories of employers risks and liabilities. By taking a look at the known endorsement data and in particular those endorsements for SP30, SP50 and SP10 it can help with the planned duty of care requirements that Fleet and HR Managers are tasked with.

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