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All Aboard!, Issue #007 -- Changes to driving licences in January November 01, 2012 |
All Aboard! - eNewsThe latest on everything in the passenger transport industry: changes in legislation, tips for road safety, CPC training dates,... Table of Contents
News1. Changes to driving licences in January 2013 DVLA and DSA announced the changes that will take effect on 19 January 2013 to comply with the EU's third Directive, which aims to
The Directive will also introduce a single driving licence model across Europe which will in turn
A revised driving licence card is already being issued, but there will be further changes once the current stock of 70 million (!) cards runs out. The most notable change - apart from the date format - will be the introduction of a table containing all European categories on the reverse side. DSA also stressed that CPC periodic training is not valid and cannot be uploaded to the DSA database if it takes place more than 5 years before the expiry date of the Driver's Qualification Card.
For the majority of drivers this poses no problems. For those who obtained entitlements in both PCV and LGV categories at different times however, the dual expiry dates could be a potential minefield! In issue #004 of All Aboard we reported on the difficulties breathalyser manufacturers are having to keep up with demand for NF approved kits. Due tot the shortage in supply, the French government has now pushed back the enforcement date of the €11 fine for non-compliance from 1 November 2012 to 1 March 2013. The delay in enforcement will also be used to "evaluate the usefulness of the law" since it has been widely criticised by many road safety campaigners for not actually stopping people from drunk driving.
To be continued in March... Tips1. Beware of White-Van-Man?Statistics show that van drivers pick up twice as many convictions as car drivers. Research from AA Insurance has revealed that on average 15.5% of van drivers carry endorsements on their licences compared to only 7.4% of car drivers. The regional breakdown shows a pretty uniform pattern across the country, with the South East and Scotland having the highest conviction ratio for van drivers and the North West and East Midlands the highest ratio for car drivers. The biggest offense? Van drivers are 6 times more likely to have been caught with a hand-held mobile phone, resulting in a £60 fine and 3 points on the licence, which stay there for 4 years and result in a higher insurance premium.
Insurers consider the mobile phone use a worse offence than speeding and even though both carry the same penalty, a 18.5% rise in premium for mobile phone offences compared to a 9.3% rise for a single speeding offence illustrates the wider impact.
When reaching the roundabout you should:
Remember to indicate at the right moment to alert other road users to your intentions. Driver CPC CoursesLess than 45 weeks to go before the deadline! Still need to get started on the 35 hours but can't take a whole week off to get it done? Join our monthly scheduled sessions over the winter and have your Driver CPC completed before the next season starts.
Wednesday 14 November 2012:
Tuesday 11 December 2012:
Tuesday 15 January 2013:
Tuesday 12 March 2013:
Tuesday 9 April 2013: Pre-book your seat for the entire series and receive a discount. Bespoke training for company bookings on-site or at a location of your choice. For enquiries and bookings: info@driver-cpc-coach.co.uk or click here for an enquiry form. That's it for now! Drive safely, |
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