March 6, 2010
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 4:32 am
A Livingston man claims that he was given a fine for driving uninsured in a city that he has never been to that was meant for someone who has the same birthday and identical name.
The man, David Lee aged 45, received post from the DVLA on Friday that stated he had received six penalty points and an additional £50 fine for driving without insurance in the town of Southampton.
However, Lee who is registered as disabled, claims that he has never operated a motor vehicle in that town and that this is the second instance in which he was mistaken for a Reading man who has identical credentials.
Previously Lee had his disability benefits temporally stopped in 1993 because the other man with his details was claiming benefits as well as they had the same national insurance number.
According to bosses of social security the mix up was one in a million but now Lee is in the same position only with a different agency.
The DVLA told Lee that his licence will be suspended if he does not pay the fine, even though he has already told the police and the DVLA about the dilemma.
Lee stated that he is frustrated with the situation and that he is scared to stay in his own home because the police may appear to arrest him for something that the other man has done.
A DVLA spokesman stated that they could not comment on the case but admitted that the court may have received the wrong information.
February 22, 2010
Filed under: DVLA, Drivers — admin @ 12:16 pm
If you haven’t replaced your paper driving licence with a photocard then here is a step by step guide on how to do it online. One nice feature of this is that if you have a recent passport then they can use the photograph stored for that so no new photos to send in.
February 12, 2010
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 6:32 am
In the past four years thousands of vehicles were stolen using blank documents that were obtained from the DVLA illegally.
Police were able to recover about ten faked log books every week, but there are around 130,000 blank books that were taken in 2006 missing.
The Association of Chief Police Officers stated that over 11,000 cars that were valued at over £13m have been faked so that stolen cars can be sold as in their place as legitimate vehicles.
Mark Hooper, the Detective Chief Inspector from the APCO crime intelligence service said that they are working along with the DVLA to get to the bottom of the theft of the vehicle registration documents.
Hooper continued to say that the victims are innocent motorists, but there are a few simple steps that the public can take so that they are protected.
The DVLA website has published a list of serial numbers that were within the stolen log books so that the public can be on guard and check the blank registration certificate numbers when they purchase a vehicle.
January 25, 2010
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 7:31 am
The Institute for Advanced Motorists is now asking that a new licence class be created for older drivers that allows them to stay mobile and independent, but protects them from high risk roads.
The IAM’s director of policy, Neil Greig, stated that the licence class would not ban older drivers from the road, but instead be created in align with medical studies that show older motorists may be a risk to others, as well as themselves, on roads with high speed limits.
Greig continued to say that this is a positive way to keep older drivers behind the wheel by allowing them to continue to drive on roads that they are familiar with instead of taking away their licence. He also stated that the new licence would not be centred around a certain age limit, but instead be the result of medical advice on a case by case basis.
The push for the new licence group follows a study that looked at police crash data over the last seven years. It showed that older drivers were often much safer drivers than youngsters on local roads, but in areas where traffic was moving at a faster rate they were a higher risk.
At the present, a driving licence stays valid until age 70, after which it must be renewed every three years, with the applicant answering a questionnaire to prove they are still capable of driving.
Any announcement about the matter is expected before the election; with the news that now all drivers need to recertify their ability to drive every ten years.
November 4, 2009
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 6:10 am
AA Insurance is asking authorities to take it easy on drivers who may have documents that are delayed due to the postal strike.
Director of AA insurance, Simon Douglas, stated that many of Britain’s 30 million drivers and still depend heavily on the post when it comes to paperwork that deals with motoring.
Thus, the postal strike can cause difficulties for many drivers that are trying to take care of their car tax or renew their license through the mail.
Douglas did make it a point however, that paper records should still only be used as a back up to information that should be loaded on national databases already. According to Douglas, most motorists should not have a problem proving they have stayed current, even without the documents due to the Motor Insurance Database.
At the same time, he cautioned that those who wait until the last moment to renew their license, only to find that the database is not updated quickly enough to prevent being stopped by the police.
He also stated that due to legislative delay in making electronic license certificates recognizable many drivers are unable to produce new documents in a timely manner. At the core of the matter is the delay in getting the amendment to make sure documentation legal, even though it was first drafted back in November of 2007.
Douglas also added that electronic delivery of such documents is also a positive way to conserve energy, making the amendment approval of even higher value.
November 3, 2009
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 8:07 am
To help make it simpler to renew car tax you can now use the new 24 hour road tax telephone number set up by the DVLA that is as simple to remember as 1,2,3,4 literally.
The new Vehicle Tax line number is 0300 1234 321.
By calling the hotline people can renew their road tax without having to make a trip to the Post Office.
The hot line service works by verifying you have insurance on your vehicle using the MOT and insurance databases automatically, so that you do not have to make a separate trip out of your home simply to show these papers to anyone physically.
For those who would rather take care of the task in person, the Post Office service will still be offered. Additionally, there is an online alternative that also allows you to check your road tax at http://direct.gov.uk/taxdisc.
Since September of this year over half of all vehicle tax renewals have been carried out online or over the phone.
October 20, 2009
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 9:00 am
Derek Lyon was in court yesterday fighting the loss of his job under unusual circumstances, by blaming the DVLA, police, and the Aberdeen sheriff clerk’s office.
Lyon contends that due to the fact his identity was mistaken, and his car was crushed, he was unable to get to work.
The problems begin a few months ago in Dundee when officers at a routine police checkpoint told him that he was not allowed to be driving due to a drink-driving offence in Aberdeen.
Lyons insisted he had never been to court in Aberdeen, but his claims were met with disinterest, and his car was seized, and then crushed after he was unable to pay the garaging fees.
However, at the Dundee Sheriff’s Court yesterday the Crown accepted that he was not guilty of drink driving, or driving without insurance under ban, because he was confused with another driver from Aberdeen that had the same name.
Lyons plans to sue now because after four hours in a holding cell his £1500 Honda Civic was crushed when he could not make the payment to the garage. He stated that he had been working on a farm, but was forced to move back to his home city after he lost his transportation causing him to lose his job.
The Tayside Police did not comment on the case of the unusual circumstances, stating only that the Police Department. does not comment on any matters that may be the subject of a court hearing.
October 8, 2009
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 1:18 am
For the first time a at a DVLA auction, personalized number plates had to be taken off of sale, after they drew complaints from those in attendance.
The two license plates that were taken off of the auction were D1 KES and F4 GOT due to the fact they are similar in appearance to several obscene terms.
Each of the plates were set at reserve prices of £900 and were part of a large group of items set to be auctioned off ,which was held this Wednesday at a hotel located in Broadway, Worcestershire.
Stonewall, a gay rights charity, saw the items in a catalogue and objected to their sale since the plates were possibly insulting to members of the audience, although the lots are still in the catalogue they will not be offered at the auction.
Representative of Stonewall James Lawrence, stated that it was unfortunate that even though the licenses are obviously offensive it was regrettable that the DVLA was still willing to sell them. According to Lawrence any public body should have recognized the threat due to their clearly offensive nature.
There is a list at the DVLA of number plates that are considered offensive by the organization which include combinations that are not allowed due to resemblances to Bin Laden’s name such as HE28OLA (HEZBOLLAH), MA56ACA (MASSACRE), and BU58OMB (BUSBOMB).
Also on the list are license plate titles that use common combinations such as 666 which is a symbol of Satanism.
September 18, 2009
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 9:09 am
While many residents on a Shrewsbury estate have already watched their vehicles get towed after the cares were clamped by the DVLA, one man, David Evans, has his own plan to prevent a tow truck from taking his beloved Commer Van.
Evans made a visit to the DVLA in Harlescott to discuss the fact that he felt his vehicle should be exempt from the tax due to the fact it was built in 1973 and is now a historical vehicle.
At the meeting he was told that he needed to register it by January 1st by calling a number in order to be exempt.
However, he was told that it was not registered until October so it is not exempt and subject to be towed, a move he plans to confront by spending the night in his van so that it cannot be towed away. This will be his second night sleeping in the van.
The first day in the camper van was actually Evans’s birthday, but he spent it in the Camper Van and deflated the tires to discourage towers from taking the vehicle away.
The reason for the clamp is parking an untaxed vehicle on the public highway which Evans and several neighbours say is not valid because they believe the front of their properties and the small patch of land the vehicles were parked on is part of their driveway.
Two cars were towed from the street at 7:20am and slowed as they passed by Evan’s camper van but stopped to come take a look when they realized he was sitting inside the van.
Evans stated that the towing guys came over and after he was informed it was a tax exempt vehicle took a picture and left. He says that all he wants to do is hear the DVLA apologize and take the clamp off.
September 14, 2009
Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 5:07 am
According to the latest annual report from the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) the government organisation has made major changes to the way it secures its information.
The organisation now has information on well over 40 million drivers and nearly 35 million individual vehicles and makes nearly 112 million transactions annually.
A few weeks ago a national newspaper was able to obtain personal information about several actors apparently from DVLA records. Journalists had noted down the registration numbers of several actors vehicles and were able to obtain information that should not be available to the public.
The DVLA admitted that there had been “widespread” abuse by the media with regard to obtaining personal information from the DVLA illegally.
According to the new report a whole set of new strict controls are now employed in order to enhance not only electronic data security but also physical security of items such as memory sticks.
They have now introduced encrypted laptop’s and any kind of external data storage device such as a USB memory stick are totally banned and this is reinforced by technical assistance to physically stop their use.
In addition any information that is offered on CD is now strongly encrypted. All information which needs to be passed from one computer to another is now performed by an electronic link rather than any kind of portable data device.
They have also made considerable changes and increases to the physical security of their headquarters in Swansea.
