Driver Hire Launches Online Licence Checks
Checking driving licences is a legal obligation for all businesses that require employees to drive as part of their job. For transport managers it’s doubly important. Under European legislation, employees driving without a valid licence is one of the Most Serious Infringements (MSIs) operators can be convicted of, putting their ‘O’ licence at risk and seriously affecting future career opportunities.
However, checking the paper counterpart licence is time-consuming and open to failures through fraud and human error. Who’s to say that the photocopy you’ve just checked is the genuine, most up to date article? It’s costly too. If you confirm details with the DVLA from a BT standard landline, it will cost you £1.53 a minute. And it’s all set to become even more complicated as the paper counterpart is due to be phased out by 2015.
All of which makes the arrival of Driver Hire’s ‘dh licence check’ perfectly timed. Using Driver Hire’s ‘at a glance’ online system gets rid of all this hassle, saves both time and money, removes human error and provides a fully reportable audit trail, should this be required. The service automatically provides a comprehensive update including information on licence categories, restrictions, endorsements, expiry dates, conviction dates, disqualifications and much more. It can also be configured to align with a company’s policies and procedures including frequency of checks and how infringements are classified.
“I am very excited about dh licence check. It’s going to be a ‘must have’ for transport managers,” says Sophie Mason, Driver Hire’s eservices Commercial Development Manager. “We ‘soft’ launched the product at a recent road transport industry event and the response was fantastic, with a number of operators signing up on the spot.”
To meet increasing demand, Driver Hire offers a growing portfolio of online services through its Driver Hire Dashboard. They include risk management which makes record keeping easier and helps to alert employers when renewals are due. It monitors and tracks driver training, provides access to online skills’ assessments and tracks accident records.
