by Nicky Clarke • The Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency is
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inviting compensation claims from drivers whose WV licences it revoked after wrongly interpreting the law governing eyesight standards.
The move follows a barrage of criticism from the Parliamentary Ombudsman William Reid, who said in a report published last week that the DVLA's inaction was "totally unacceptable".
The report, Loss of employment caused by mistaken revocation of a licence to drive a heavy goods vehicle, calls on the agency to review how its staff apply new regulations without those instructions having been checked for their legal correctness.
The Ombudsman investigated the DVLA's interpretation of eyesight regulations after an WV driver lost his job, which he had held for 25 years, because his licence was wrongly revoked.
Reid recommends the DVLA write to all drivers who wrongly had their licences revoked in 1991 and invite them to claim compensation. Compensation levels will be based on loss of earnings, length of employment and pension rights.
When drafting new regulations in 1989, the DVLA mistakenly used the word "and" instead of "or", and so the legal eyesight requirements for getting a licence became less stringent.
The agency then refused a number of licence applications and revoked some existing licences on the basis of its interpretation of the law. In all 231 drivers lost their licences.
Mike Rossell, group manager of driver licensing policy, says the DVLA "deeply regrets that it made the mistake" and that it intends to make fair and equitable payments to drivers, along industrial tribunal guidelines.