It had widely been predicted and is now confirmed that those people killed or injured on the roads in 2014 make some sad reading with very little good news. In summary reported road traffic accidents in 2014:
road deaths increased by 4% compared with 2013, rising to 1,775
the number of people seriously injured increased by 5% to 22,807 in 2014
there was a total of 194,477 casualties of all severities in reported road traffic accidents during 2014
a total of 146,322 personal-injury road traffic accidents were reported to the police in 2014 – of these accidents, 1,658 resulted in at least 1 fatality
three-quarters of the increase in road deaths were pedestrian casualties
total reported child casualties rose by 6.2% to 16,727, compared with 2013 – there was a similar rise of 5% in the number of seriously injured child casualties and 5 more child deaths in 2014
traffic volumes rose by 2.4% between 2013 and 2014 – this is the highest rate of growth of motor vehicle traffic since 1996
Figures for deaths refer to people who sustained injuries which caused death less than 30 days after the accident. A more comprehensive analysis of 2014 casualty statistics will be published later this year in the ‘Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report’.
FIRST DRIVER IN BRITAIN CONVICTED OF ‘MIDDLE LANE HOGGING’
A motorist has been fined almost £1,000 and hit with five penalty points after becoming the first person in the country to be convicted in court of hogging the middle lane of a motorway. The driver, who was behind the wheel of a Citroen Berlingo van, was stopped by police in West Yorkshire, after persistently refusing to move out of the central lane of the busy M62. Traffic police said six drivers were forced to brake and swerve to overtake the vehicle, which was travelling along the eastbound carriageway near Huddersfield.
Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard that the driver had numerous opportunities to move into the inside lane but failed to do so. Instead he was said to have driven in an “inconsiderate manner” for several miles, causing inconvenience to other road users. The driver failed to turn up to court and was fined £500 in his absence and ordered to pay £400 in costs with a £40 victim surcharge. He was also hit with five penalty points on his licence, sending out a strong message to other road users who flout the law.
It is thought to be the first time a motorist has been convicted in court of a lane hogging offence since the law was changed in 2013. The Government introduced on the spot fines of £100 in an effort to deter drivers from sitting in the middle lane when there was an opportunity to pull into the left hand carriageway.
A poll of more than 2,000 drivers found 43 per cent of hoggers said they drove in the middle lane because it was an “easier way to drive” and “saves me changing lanes”. Direct Line research released last August also disclosed the worst stretches of motorway in England for middle lane hogging.
1 M4 J5-J6 westbound (Slough) 27%
2 M1 J4-J5 southbound (Watford) 26%
3 M4 J7-J8/9 eastbound (Slough) 24%
4 M25 J4-J5 clockwise (Sevenoaks) 22%
5 M25 J12-J13 anti-clockwise (Cheshunt) 21%
6 M4 J2-J3 westbound (Brentford) 19%
7 M25 J18-J19 anti-clockwise (Watford) 19%
8 M25 J16-J17 clockwise (Gerrards Cross) 17%
9 M4 J5-J6 eastbound (Heathrow) 16%
10 M25 J16-J17 anti-clockwise (Gerrards Cross)12%
Source: Association of International Road Safety Officers
Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead on roads policing, is warning motorists that police will be on heightened alert to spot anyone driving under the influence of drink or drugs during the summer months.
During the 2014 summer drink drive campaign, 63,688 breath tests were administered, 4,108 (6.45%) of which were refused, failed or tested positive. While fewer breath tests were administered to under-25s this time last year – 12,829 compared to 50,622 – the percentage failing (7.5%) was higher than for drivers aged over 25 years (5.57%).
The 2015 summer campaign will be the first national campaign that will include figures from the recently introduced drug-testing kits. Chief Constable Suzette Davenport said:
“This summer will be the first campaign with new drug-testing kits in place to detect cannabis and cocaine as well as standard kits for alcohol testing, so we are better equipped than ever to detect and penalise those who take this very dangerous risk and, using intelligence received from the public and on likely areas for offending to occur, we will be ready for action to keep the road network safe, whether it be at night or the morning after. We are also particularly interested in getting our message out to younger drivers, who may be tempted to think that they remain able to stay in control. Our evidence shows they are more likely to take unnecessary risks. I know it is a perennial message that driving while impaired by drink or drugs is not worth the risk, but it is a perennial message for a reason – because it never is worth the risk to yourself, to others, to your future and that of those you could injure or kill.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) was formed on April 1 2015. It replaced the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which previously provided national police coordination and leadership
Updates and advice to motorists on abolition of the counterpart to the photocard driving licence.
From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence will not be valid and will no longer be issued by DVLA. The counterpart was introduced to display driving licence details that could not be included on the photocard. These details include some vehicle categories you are entitled to drive and any endorsement/penalty points.
Please note, this does not affect photocard licences issued by DVA in Northern Ireland.
What this means for you
Customers with existing paper counterparts
If you already hold a paper counterpart, after 8 June 2015 it will no longer have any legal status. You should destroy your paper counterpart after this date but you still need to keep your current photocard driving licence.
Customers with paper driving licences
Paper driving licences issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998 will remain valid and should not be destroyed.
If you need to update your name, address or renew your licence, you will be issued with a photocard only.
Penalty points (endorsements)
From 8 June 2015 new penalty points (endorsements) will only be recorded electronically, and will not be printed or written on either photocard licences or paper driving licences. From this date, if you commit an offence you will still have to pay any applicable fine and submit your licence to the court but the way the court deals with the paperwork will change.
For photocard licences, the court will retain the paper counterpart and only return the photocard to you.
For paper licences, the court will return it to you but they won’t have written or printed the offence details on it.
This means that from 8 June 2015 neither the photocard driving licence nor the paper licence will provide an accurate account of any driving endorsements you may have. Instead, this information will be held on DVLA’s driver record, and can be viewed online, by phone or post.
The courts are unable to respond to queries about the destruction of your paper counterpart. Any concerns about this process should be directed to DVLA.
How to view your driving licence details
Our free View Driving Licence service lets you see what details are on your licence, including what vehicles you can drive and any penalty points you may have.
Taking your theory or driving test
From 8 June 2015, you won’t need to take your paper counterpart with you when you go for your theory or driving test. You must still take your photocard, or your old-style paper licence – your test will be cancelled and you’ll have to pay again if you don’t.
Confirming your driving record to an employer
If you drive for a living and you’re asked to provide evidence of your driving record (entitlements and/or penalty points), you can do this online for free by accessing our Share Driving Licence service. The service should be used by both paper and photocard driving licence holders. You can generate a ‘check code’ to pass to the person or organisation that needs to view your driving licence details.
If you cannot generate a code online then you can call 0300 083 0013 and DVLA will provide you with a code.
Alternatively you can call DVLA on 0300 790 6801 and leave permission for your driving record to be checked verbally by a nominated person/organisation.
We’ve designed a step-by-step guide to help you share your driving licence information.
Check Driving Licence
If your organisation regularly checks the counterpart for entitlements or endorsements, you can use the Check driving Licence service to check the licence using the code provided by the driver. With the driver’s consent you can view the details on a driving licence, eg the vehicle categories they’re entitled to drive and any endorsements or penalty points. This service also gives you the option to print or save a copy of the information.
To help companies or employers who use the new service we’ve created a step by step guide.
You can make a check by phone if you don’t have a check code to use with the online service. You’ll need to ask the driver you’re doing the check on to call DVLA on 0300 790 6801 and leave permission for the check.
You can then call DVLA on 0906 139 3837 (calls cost 51p per minute) to check the driver’s details after they’ve given their permission.
Hiring a vehicle: how to prove your driving record after 8 June 2015
From 8 June 2015, you may wish to check with the hire company what they need to see when you hire a vehicle. If you’re asked for evidence of what vehicles you can drive or confirmation of any penalty points, you can request a unique code from GOV.UK which allows you to share your driving licence details or you can download a summary of your driving licence record. The code lasts for up to 72 hours and will allow the hire companies to make any necessary checks.
If you cannot generate a code online then you can call 0300 083 0013 and DVLA will provide you with a code.
Alternatively, you can call DVLA on 0300 790 6801 and leave permission for your driving record to be checked verbally by a nominated hire company. This also applies if you have a paper licence that was issued before 1998.
Not all vehicle hire companies will ask for this information and we advise that you check with your hire company.
EU lorry and bus drivers registered with DVLA
If you’re a lorry or a bus driver with a licence issued by an EU member state and registered with DVLA, from 8 June you’ll no longer get a counterpart. Instead you’ll get a confirmation of registration document (D91). The D91 form can be used to tell us you’ve moved address by sending it to DVLA, Swansea SA99 1BH.
Aggressive overtaking forcing one in seven drivers to take evasive action
One in seven drivers (14%) have been forced to swerve, pull over or brake to avoid a collision due to risky overtaking from other drivers.
The figures have been revealed in a new survey by Brake and Direct Line, which also found that in the past year:
Four in five drivers (80%) have felt endangered by an overtaking manoeuvre, either of their own, their driver, or another vehicle.
Almost all drivers (94%) have witnessed a risky overtaking manoeuvre, and more than half (53%) see them monthly or more often.
One in five drivers (18%) admit they have themselves overtaken another vehicle when they were not certain if there were any hidden vehicles or hazards they could have hit during the manoeuvre.
When it comes to owning up to risky overtaking, it was most common among male and young drivers, with 21% of men and two in five (39%) 17-24 year olds admitting doing so when they weren’t sure the road ahead was clear. The figures for speeding paint a similar picture, with almost half of male drivers (44%) and more than half of young drivers (17-24; 56%) doing over 60mph on single carriageway country roads, compared with less than a third (31%) of women and two in five drivers (37%) overall. This tallies with the statistical evidence that young male drivers are involved in many more crashes than older and female drivers.
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said: “We’re urging all drivers to avoid overtaking on country roads unless absolutely essential and 100% safe – that doesn’t include if you’re feeling impatient because someone in front is driving a few mph slower than you want to. In those situations, cool-headed and responsible drivers hang back and relax. We’re also urging drivers to stay well within speed limits, and slow right down for villages, bends, brows and bad weather, to protect themselves and others.”
Around 186 300 children under 18 years die from road traffic crashes annually, and rates of road traffic death are three times higher in developing countries than in developed countries. The Third UN Global Road Safety Week – #SaveKidsLives – seeks to highlight the plight of children on the world’s roads and generate action to better ensure their safety. The Week features hundreds of events hosted by governments, international agencies, civil society organizations, and private companies, including the delivery of the “Child Declaration for Road Safety” to policy-makers. These events highlight WHO’s package of ten key strategies for keeping children safe on the road.
you’re unfit to do so because you’re on legal or illegal drugs
you have certain levels of illegal drugs in your blood (even if they haven’t affected your driving)
Legal drugs are prescription or over-the-counter medicines. If you’re taking them and not sure if you should drive, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or healthcare professional.
The police can stop you and make you do a ‘field impairment assessment’ if they think you’re on drugs. This is a series of tests, eg asking you to walk in a straight line. They can also use a roadside drug kit to screen for cannabis and cocaine.
If they think you’re unfit to drive because of taking drugs, you’ll be arrested and will have to take a blood or urine test at a police station.
You could be charged with a crime if the test shows you’ve taken drugs.
Prescription medicines
It’s illegal in England and Wales to drive with legal drugs in your body if it impairs your driving.
It’s an offence to drive if you have over the specified limits of certain drugs in your blood and you haven’t been prescribed them.
Talk to your doctor about whether you should drive if you’ve been prescribed any of the following drugs:
clonazepam
diazepam
flunitrazepam
lorazepam
methadone
morphine or opiate and opioid-based drugs
oxazepam
temazepam
You can drive after taking these drugs if:
you’ve been prescribed them and followed advice on how to take them by a healthcare professional
they aren’t causing you to be unfit to drive even if you’re above the specified limits
You could be prosecuted if you drive with certain levels of these drugs in your body and you haven’t been prescribed them.
The law doesn’t cover Northern Ireland and Scotland but you could still be arrested if you’re unfit to drive.
Penalties for drug driving
If you’re convicted of drug driving you’ll get:
a minimum 1 year driving ban
an unlimited fine
up to 6 months in prison
a criminal record
Your driving licence will also show you’ve been convicted for drug driving. This will last for 11 years.
The penalty for causing death by dangerous driving under the influence of drugs is a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Other problems you could face
A conviction for drug driving also means:
your car insurance costs will increase significantly
if you drive for work, your employer will see your conviction on your licence
you may have trouble travelling to countries like the USA
This complements the decision that the government has already announced to raise the national speed limit for HGVs over 7.5 tonnes on single carriageway roads, and is part of a wider package of associated measures that the government is bringing forward to continue to increase economic efficiency and remove outdated restrictions.
The national speed limit increase on dual carriageways will modernise an outdated regulation dating from the 1980s, better reflecting the capabilities of modern HGVs. It will help to free professional hauliers from unnecessary regulation.
The change will ensure that HGV speed limits are proportionate and better aligned with the limits for HGVs on motorways and single carriageways, and with other vehicles such as coaches and cars towing caravans. Our evidence indicates that actual average speeds are unlikely to change in response to the change in national speed limit. Our impact assessment, which has been scrutinised by independent experts, concludes that there is not expected to be an adverse effect on road safety, but we will be monitoring the impacts closely.
The speed limit increases for HGVs will be implemented via a change in the law to be put to Parliament during the next few months, with implementation scheduled for 6 April 2015. The existing limits continue to apply until the change has been put into effect. The amended speed limit will cover dual carriageway roads in England and Wales, unless specific lower local or urban speed limits are in effect.
Organisations and businesses that check the driving licence counterpart
DVLA is developing new digital enquiry services for launch later this year that will allow organisations and businesses (such as employers and car hire companies) to view information they can currently see on the driving licence counterpart.
These new services will be offered in addition to the existing services, but are designed for those who have a business need for real-time access to the information, and may not wish to call DVLA or be in a position to use an intermediary.
Driving licence information via these services will only be made available to those who have a right to see it, and with the knowledge of the driving licence holder.
DVLA stakeholders and commercial customers can keep up to date with developments of these services through following DVLA blog on GOV.UK.
Why is the counterpart being abolished?
The decision to abolish the counterpart was as a result of the government’s Red Tape Challenge consultation on road transportation. It also aligns to DVLA’s Strategic Plan which includes commitment to simplifying our services.
The counterpart (or D740) was introduced in 1998 as part of the photocard driving licence to display information that could not be included on the photocard. This includes provisional driving entitlement categories and current endorsements/penalty points.
