The Department for Transport (DfT) have stated that there are approximately 472,000 unlicenced drivers on the UK’s roads (Source: DfT Research into unlicenced driving – final report road safety research report 48).  Of this total, 17,200 drivers had been banned under totting up but continued to drive without a valid licence.

To ensure compliance with Section 87 (2) of the Road Traffic Act, AA DriveTech offers a Driving Licence Verification Service that checks an individual's entitlement to drive with the Driver Vehicle and Licencing Agency (DVLA).

The only paperwork AA DriveTech requires is a completed and signed Data Protection Mandate from each driver, valid for 3 years from date of signature. Once the employee and/or their nominated driver has completed and signed the mandate, AA DriveTech can undertake up to four checks a year over the three-year life of the mandate, without further recourse to the driver.

Our solution provides a speedy, efficient and accurate service supported by web-based management reports, enabling AA DriveTech clients to securely access their driver information on-line.

The AA DriveTech Driving Licence Verification Service immediately identifies high-risk drivers, reducing the exposure to risk of both the employee and the employer.

Driving licence checks conducted by AA DriveTech have revealed:

• Employees who did not have a licence
• Employees who only had provisional entitlement to drive
• Employees whose provisional entitlement to drive had expired
• Employees who had 12 points on their licence and were on the verge of being banned
• Employees who had been disqualified under totting up
• Employees with live drink/driving offences
• Employees with recent periods of disqualification
• Employees who had failed to inform their employer of a serious, live motoring offence at the time of recruitment
• Non-UK licence holders who had not complied with the rules of driving in the GB as a resident/temporary visitor

As well as providing a driving licence verification service, AA DriveTech offers appropriate training solutions to drivers it considers high-risk, such as speed recognition on-road training and/or speed awareness e-learning.

Through the combined use of the AA DriveTech's DATA driver assessment tool and a suitable driver declaration form, AA DriveTech is able to gain a valuable insight into a driver's history and attitude towards the driving task, including:

• number of accidents in a given period
• number of live points
• periods of disqualification
• type and severity of offence codes
• eyesight

This valuable information combines to give a snapshot of a driver's risk profile and their likelihood of being involved in an accident.