– By Marc Sibbald –
Recently I was surprised to learn that a friend of mine had been driving on a probation licence for the last 12 months. He lost his licence by going through the same 50 km/h zone three times in a month.
So while already being on a reduced number of dermit points these offences drained his balance. The issue was he didn’t realise the speed limit was a 50 km/h. It was a local road that he assumed it was as a 60 km/h zone. He isn’t required to drive for work but spent the last 12 months driving like Miss Daisy to keep his licence.
So it made me think – how many fleet drivers still have a licence?
If your job depends on it there’s a higher chance you won’t tell your employer when the notice of suspension comes in the mail so the numbers are probably high.
According to a report from NSW Bureau of Crime Research and Statistics in March 2015, driving while disqualified (DWD) is highly prevalent in NSW. More than 12,000 people are charged with DWD and appear in the NSW Local Courts annually. It was the third most common offence in NSW during 2013.
Considering how many fleet vehicles are on the road, and how many people drive their own vehicles (grey fleet) for work purposes, there’s a good chance some drivers in your fleet don’t have a valid driver’s licence.
What should you do? Best practice says fleet managers should request a copy of an employee’s driver licence, or a driving history report from the state authority, annually. If it’s part of the employment contract there won’t be any HR issues.
Of the 12,000 people charged with driving while disqualified in NSW, these are only the people that were caught. So start licence checks today.
