Licence loss review
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THE PROBLEM of heavy goods vehicle drivers losing their licences for private motoring offences is part of a road traffic law review to which individuals and official bodies are being urged to give their opinions by the end of November.
The review was set up last January by Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley and Home Secretary Leon Brittan, and is the first major one since 1930.
It wants advice on how to make traffic law in England, Scotland and Wales simpler, more effective and acceptable to all raod users, including the road transport industry.
The review is looking at a problem specific to haulage — that is the problem of hgv drivers who are convicted of offences related to their private driving and disqualified from driving, and who then mostly lose their hgv licences too. Review committee chairman and principal of Jesus College, Oxford, Dr Peter North said there were three main areas of interest for the review to consider.
These were the penalties fir road traffic offences, careless and reckless driving and offences relating to driving licences and construction and use of traffic signs.
At present there were no proposals for the Government to study, but consultation with road users was most important, he said. He said that the review has been given no scope for recommending to change the driving tests, but it could look at whether convicted drivers could be compelled to retrain or retake their tests.
Some of the other issues raised for comment include whether there is a greater scope for the use of warnings Or cautions rather than prose cutions; should car and lorry drivers be able to show a repaired noisy exhaust, for example, later at a police station rather than face immediate prosecution; and should there be changes in the penalty points system.