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Business car managers are facing yet another Government-induced admin hurdle as the first people who were issued a photo-card driving licence are forced to renew.
Photo-licences are only valid for 10 years and the first cards were issued a decade ago this July. Drivers failing to renew will be driving illegally.
Although the DVLA will send drivers a reminder two months before a licence expires, many drivers will not be expecting the update, which costs £17.50, and may ignore it thinking it doesn't apply to them.
More than 27 million photo-card licences have been issued in the past 10 years, and driver training and fleet safety firm DriveTech believes fleet managers would be wise to alert their business car drivers to the issue.
"The very least that employers should be doing with regards to driver risk management is ensuring those who drive on business on their behalf are legally entitled to do so," said a DriveTech spokesman. "There has never been a more compulsive reason to implement a proper DVLA licence check. Just glancing at the plastic photo-card during the annual appraisal is just not adequate."
At present there is nothing on the DVLA or the motoring section of the DirectGov websites to inform drivers of how to renew their license or how much it costs. Failure to renew not only means employees will be driving illegally, but it is a criminal offence to fail to surrender the old licence and supply a fresh photograph for the replacement one. If convicted, drivers face a £1000 fine.
A DVLA spokesman said it will begin to issue reminders to drivers whose photograph is about to expire in May 2008.
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