With Northern Ireland to become the first part of the UK to introduce graduated driver licensing for young drivers from October, there are calls for the rest of the country to follow suit.
Aimed at reducing the amount of fatal road crashes involving young people, the new rules are being billed as the “most significant reform” to driver licensing in almost 70 years.
New drivers will not be permitted to take their driving test for at least six months after being granted a provisional licence and will be required to complete 14 training modules that will need to be signed off by an approved driving instructor or a supervising driver that could be a parent or guardian.
After passing their test, for the first six months drivers up to the age of 24 will only be permitted to have one passenger aged between 14 and 20 in their car between the hours of 11pm and 6am.
The restriction will not include immediate family members and will not apply if someone is aged 21 or over, who has held a licence for at least three years, is sitting in the front seat.
There will also be an increase, from 12 months to 24 months, requiring new drivers to display an 'R' plate style mark on their vehicles after passing their test - a different colour of 'R' plate will signify a driver in their initial six-month period.
New research, conducted by law firm Slater and Gordon, found that one-in-three respondents from Northern Ireland agreed that there should be longer probation periods before full licence, with almost one-in-four (23%) also stating that young drivers should not be allowed to carry passengers under 25.
Publishing its new road safety strategy last month, the UK Government made no mention of introducing graduated driver licensing for young people.
Further information:
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/-strong-case-for-rest-of-uk-to-introduce-driver-licensing-reforms
Fines slashed to zero for compliant hauliers found to be carrying stowaways in trucks
A major change to the government’s controversial Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme (CECPS) which sees fines imposed on drivers found to be carrying illegal immigrants in their trucks cut from £10,000 for every stowaway to zero, has been welcomed.
Provided the drivers can prove they have fully complied with the requirements under the CECPS, then they will not be subject to a fine, the Home Office has ruled.
The changes to the rules came into force on 1 January this year, after concerted lobbying from the RHA and push back from a number of operators who have successfully challenged their fines in the courts, such as EM Rogers Transport, which was fined £66,000 in March 2024, despite the driver having carried out all the necessary security measures and checks at the border.
A report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in April year, which looked at the CECPS scheme criticised it for being under resourced and for unnecessarily penalising drivers who had taken every action to prevent stowaways.
The government accepted most of the report’s seven recommendations, but set a 12-18 month deadline on implementing the improvements, which RHA strongly rejected at the time, calling for the changes to be brought in by the end of 2025.
Further information: