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Posts Tagged ‘Law’

Hundreds of drink drivers evading bans

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011

As the Government promises to punish law breaking motorists more severely, figures are emerging that make Government annunciations on crackdowns on motoring offences appear slightly ludicrous.

Drug driving laws should be tightened up

Only last week Prime Minister David Cameron assured Parliament that the Transport Ministry would look into ways of catching more drug influenced drivers and to provide Police Officers with similar testing equipment that they use to detect alcohol infringements. The issue was brought up in Parliament by an MP who highlighted the case of a teenager killed by a drugged driver who served only four months in prison.

Driving ban evaded by some who depend on transport for work

It would seem from research carried out by road safety organisations, the lenient sentence mentioned above is far from a one off case. Last year in the UK over 55,000 motorists were convicted of drink driving with a considerable amount of those being working drivers whose vehicles were covered by commercial vehicle insurance. Incredibly 1,500 of the law breakers did not receive a driving ban! Although the concept of the UK public is that a drink driving offence automatically means a loss of licence, this is far from the truth. Magistrates are allowed to use their discretion in sentencing and therefore a driver who is dependent on his licence for a living may just get away without a ban, the fact he has business van insurance rather than direct van insurance could be the deciding factor. The same applies to people who serve the public; doctors have been known to get away without a ban because it would adversely affect their patients.

Calls for a mandatory ban

The investigation showed there was a distinct difference in various regions of the country. Drink drivers in the South East, especially those in London, have the best chance of evading a ban, while motorists in the Midlands and the North West find that magistrates are not so understanding. The findings of the report has led to road safety charities lobbying MPs to force through a change in the law that ensures the offence of drink driving, the biggest reason for road deaths in the UK, in future meets with a mandatory driving ban. The pressure groups should get plenty of support in Parliament as well as from the general public whose perception of drink driving is one of total abhorrence.

Tags: commercial vehicle insurance, Crime, direct van insurance, drink drivers, Government, Law
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Ignorance no excuse

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Van drivers across the UK are being asked to check their commercial van insurance policies this week as a number of recent court cases have proved that ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.

Drivers unaware they are not insured

Many van drivers routinely lose their driving licences every year for driving without being insured but usually the culprits are completely aware that they are breaking the law. Recent cases have shown that some drivers are not aware that they are in fact driving without insurance.

Differences in cars and vans

The problem stems from the differences in a conventional car insurance policy and a van insurance policy. A conventional car driver’s policy will allow the driver to get behind the wheel of any other car and drive it. He will be covered by third party vehicle insurance and it is something that thousands of British motorists have done over the years.

Expensive mistake

A conventional commercial vehicle insurance policy does not offer the same amount of cover and this has caught several drivers out in recent weeks. It is a particular problem for new entrants into small businesses who are not familiar with the difference in policies. The problem for any driver caught in this way is that local magistrates will have no way of distinguishing a genuine mistake from those reckless criminals that blight the roads of the UK. It is almost certain that a driving ban will accompany a fine, which will in turn probably mean the hapless driver is also out of a job.

It is of course just a simple matter of reading your insurance policy and making sure that it offers the cover that you require, cheap van insurance is readily available, but is not cheap at all if it doesn’t offer the protection you are looking for.

Companies also warned

The onus in this does not always fall on the individual driver, in one case the driver worked for a company with several vehicles and presumed he was covered to drive each and every one; he wasn’t, and as a result lost his licence. An employer should always know exactly which employees are covered to drive which vehicles and once again ignorance of the law will not prevent a hefty fine. It is really a case of common business sense.

Tags: commercial van insurance, commercial vehicle insurance, Law, van law
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Grieving mothers look for van ban

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

It seems that a catalogue of accidents involving 15 seater vans could bring about a ban on their use for college and school students.

At the moment there is big debate going on in North America about their suitability and even their roadworthiness as several accidents have resulted in loss of life. The story can be traced back to 2008 when two students in Canada lost their lives in separate accidents.

Isobel Haines and Stella Gurr, both lost sons in the 2008 crashes and ever since have been campaigning for the 15 seaters to be banned from transporting students. Because of their size the vans have been ideal for transporting student sports teams including hockey, soccer and basketball. After a private members bill in the Canadian Parliament sought the banning of the vehicles for transporting students the federal government launched its own investigation of the vans.

A decision on the review, which is said to have determined that the vans are three times more likely to ‘roll over’ in accidents than other vehicles will be announced this autumn, but already three Canadian states, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec, have pre-empted the announcement and already stopped using the vehicles to transport children engaged in school activities.

Over the border in the USA, the National Transportation Safety Board figures show that in a ten year period over 1100 people died in accidents where the said vans rolled over. The vans in question include the highly successful Ford Econoline model that has been sold to millions of van drivers across the world and, as Ford have been quick to point out, has passed all necessary safety standards.

Critics claim the vans are more suited to the kind of work where commercial vehicle insurance is required such as carrying cargo rather than human beings, as the vehicles do appear to tend the roll over in accidents more easily than a conventional school bus would.

When Canadian Transportation minister, Chuck Strahl, releases the findings of the review he will have the attention of van drivers and transportation companies not only in Canada but around the world. The two mothers say they will carry on the campaign until they get the complete ban that they are seeking.

Tags: Law, North America, Safety, school minibuses, Van Insurance, Van Safety
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Clampers on the way out

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

In what must be one of the best pieces of news for urban van drivers in some time, it appears that at long last, wheel clamping on private land is to be outlawed.

For many years delivery drivers, tradesman and removal van drivers to name but a few, have been plagued by the actions of unofficial clamping firms blatantly abusing their powers to harass motorists. Fines of up to £400 have been commonly administered on hapless motorists unaware that they were contravening parking restrictions, as signs informing the public that clamping was carried out in the area were not easily seen.

In one high profile case a couple of months ago, a lady in Kent was actually blocked in her car by clampers eager to tow her vehicle away and impose a penalty. She had in fact only been turning her car round on a piece of what she thought was spare land and had never left the vehicle.

Vans and cars have also been damaged by clampers towing vehicles away. This had led to court cases and frustrated van drivers having to make claims on their commercial vehicle insurance.

Case studies like this should now be a thing of the past as Lynn Featherstone, a Home Office minister, is understood to be preparing a statement in which she will announce that the laws in England in Wales on wheel clamping on private land will be rewritten to mirror those in Scotland. Wheel clamping on private land was banned in Scotland a short time ago.

Landowners will now have to rethink their policy on how to protect their private property, but fencing the land off is always an alternative and few would object if landowners turned spare land into official car parks that were charged and administered fairly.

The aptly named ‘cowboy’ clamping firms who will now be outlawed, are going to be out of pocket to the tune of £1 billion according to some experts. It is doubtful they will be missed by anyone.

Tags: Advice, commercial vehicle insurance, Fines, Law, Van Insurance, Wheel Clamping
Posted in Advice, Law, Van Insurance, Wheel Clamping, commercial vehicle insurance | No Comments »