Stamping out counterfeit driving licenses – Swannells – Warehousing Cambridgeshire

Local Buzz Marketing Uncategorized May 23, 2017 0 Comment

The number of people who have fallen victim to identity theft last year rose 57% from the previous year, according to the most recent figures. The annual cost of fraud in the UK is around £190bn – amounting to nearly £3,000 per person in the UK.

While the UK finance industry is making moved to attempt to stamp out fraud by developing secure verification software such as voice biometrics, other industries have been slower to respond, including the transport industry.

Driving licenses are regularly used as a means of identification and the DVLA could and should be doing more to tackle the growing number of illegal drivers on the roads, some of which hold counterfeit driving licenses. Whilst it is difficult to put a precise number on the problem, as there is no data available on the number of counterfeit driving licenses in circulation. You only have to search Google to find a number of UK and overseas websites who are prepared to sell you fake driving licenses, as well as other ID documents.

A Great Threat – Swannells – Warehousing Cambridgeshire

According to License Check Ltd, counterfeit driving licenses pose a great risk to fleet operators, deliver companies and almost any organisation that requires employees to drive. Managing Director of License Check Ltd, Richard Brown, had this to say: “Ensuring an employee holds a valid driving licence is one of the required checks that organisations should carry out, in order to address their Duty of Care obligation. If such basic checks do not take place, employers (including senior management) may be criminally liable for any deaths or serious injury that occur as a result of a road traffic accident, involving an employee who is driving on company business.

“Whilst many organisations are prioritising driver compliance, some fleet managers with a small number of vehicles, simply take a copy of an employee’s driving licence, without undertaking any further checks. This is worthless, especially when a counterfeit licence can be quickly and easily purchased online.

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Warehousing Cambridgeshire – Swannells

He continued: “The simple answer is for the DVLA to supply third party licence checking providers with more data. For example, each driving licence carries a Unique Identifier (generated by the card manufacturer) which is a unique reference etched into a Driving Licence. If the DVLA made the Unique Identifier available to licence checking providers, an enhanced check could be carried out and lost, stolen or forged cards could easily be flagged up and withdrawn from circulation.

Swannells Transport – Warehousing Cambridgeshire

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Lack of Investment To Blame For Poor Road Conditions – Swannells – Warehousing Huntingdon

Local Buzz Marketing Uncategorized March 2, 2017warehousing huntingdon

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) have displayed their disappointed to the claim from Local Government Association (LGA)’s stating that freight transport is to blame for the poor condition of the roads in the UK. The FTA have instead pointed the blame on the lack of investment that infrastructure in the UK receives. The FTA have called on the government to reverse the downturn in spending on local infrastructure.

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Head of Policy at the FTA, Chris Snelling said:“Freight levels on our roads are still not back to the pre-recession totals of 2006,”

He continued: “so the LGA’s assertion that HGVs are solely responsible for the increased number of potholes on Britain’s roads is incorrect. It also indicates a clear lack of understanding of the impact of freight vehicles. Larger lorries do not cause increased damage to the road surface – in fact, they have more axles which spread payloads more evenly. When combined with road-friendly twin tyres and road-friendly suspension, this reduces the impact of road usage by lorries. Moving to a greater number of smaller vehicles would not ease the problem, but would simply compound the impact on an already weakened infrastructure.

“For the LGA to make this sort of statement, instead of discussing the issue with the freight industry, is simply a cheap attempt to make headlines and pass over responsibility for an issue which sits in their remit. The real issue is the need for increased funding from central government to address the potholes problem nationwide. Local authorities are facing large bills – one-off costs of approximately £69 million* per council – to bring their roads up to a reasonable condition. If local authorities are not able to spend enough to do this now, then FTA wants to work with LGA in securing more support from national government to address the problem.

“The transportation of essential goods on our roads is crucial to the continued health of the economy, and to claim that lorries are the cause of the potholes across the country is simply not true. We call on the government to make a significant investment to ensure that British business can keep moving smoothly, without potholes.”

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Seize Phones Used Illegally By Drivers – Swannells – Haulage Companies in Cambridgeshire

Local Buzz Marketing Uncategorized January 31, 2017haulage comapanies in cambridgeshire

Campaigners say a blunt and brutal measure may be needed after 8,000 people are caught using their mobile phone while driving in one week.

Police could be given the power to take mobile phones away from anyone caught using it illegally on the roads, according to the Police Federation.

Constable Jayne Willetts said the measure could act as a deterrent.

“As technology is rapidly progressing, I fear our legislation is already behind the times,” she said.

“Is the seizure of mobile phones or their Sim cards – along with an education system – the way forward, combined with fines? I don’t know, but it’s a question worth asking.”

The idea comes after figures reveal a record umber of drivers were caught using their phones in a week-long police crackdown on illegal phone use while driving.

Swannells Transport – Haulage Companies in Cambridgeshire

7,966 fixed penalty notices were handed out during the week-long crackdown back in November – the highest figure yet for a week-long crackdown on ‘distraction driving’

The previous three initiatives were in May 2015 were 2,690 fixed penalties were handed out, September 2015 were 2,276 fixed penalties were handed out and May 2016, were 2,323 penalties were handed out. Since then the figure has grown at an alarming rate.

The director of the RAC Foundation, Steve Gooding has called for a ‘blunt and brutal’ measure might be needed in order to tackle the problem.

“It would be a massive step to give police the power to mete out summary justice in this way.

“But with far too many people still flouting the law maybe it will take something as blunt and brutal as ‘you use it, you lose it’, to get the message across.”

Transport Minister, Andrew Jones has said before that he wants to make using a phone while driving just as socially unacceptable as drink-driving.

Swannells Transport – Haulage Companies in Cambridgeshire

Swannells – Haulage Companies in Cambridgeshire

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£1.2bn Funding for Roads – Swannells – Haulage Companies in Huntingdon

Local Buzz Marketing Uncategorized January 18, 2017haulage companies in huntingdon

Andrew Jones, Transport Minister announces funding to improve roads, cut congestion and improve journey times. The funding includes money from the new National Productivity Investment Fund, announced in the Autumn Statement and the Pothole Action Fund.

Swannells Transport – Haulage Companies in Huntingdon

The £1.2bn includes £75m which councils are able to bid for, in order to repair and maintain local infrastructures such as bridges, street lighting and rural roads.

Since the announcement of the funding, the government has also published further information on what it will be spent on – the latest step in the economic plan to stimulate the economy and build a country that works for everyone.

A key part of his is putting in place improves transport links including better roads, to help people access work, school and services.

Transport Minister, Andrew Jones had this to say: “The funding we have allocated today is focused on relieving congestion and providing important upgrades to ensure our roads are fit for the future – helping to build an economy that works for everyone.”

In an attempt to reduce the number of potholes, the Department for Transport will begin a new innovative trail, working together with Thurrock and York Councils which could completely change the way in which potholes are identified and managed.

A pothole-spotter system, mounted to refuse collection vehicles, comprising of high-definition cameras, integrated navigation system and intelligent software will be deployed to help identify any potential road surface problems before they become potholes.

The Department for Transport (DfL) has also announced it will support plans for a new motorway junction on the M11, near Harlow in Essex. This will help ensure the delivery of 15,000 homes and support continued growth in the local economy.

The new junction will be called Junction 7A, and it will sit just to the north of Harlow and should make journeys to Stagnated and Cambridge much easier.

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Supermarket Diesel Cuts Is Good News For Industry

admin Latest news, Uncategorized January 11, 2016FTA

The news that supermarkets have been cutting their prices on petrol has been a relief for everyone, today four of the UK’s leading supermarkets have revealed that they will be reducing the price of diesel as well which has been described as ‘good news for the industry’ by the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

The price of diesel at the pumps will be below £1 a litre for the first time since 2009! Todays cuts reflect the further falls in oil price, which is at its lowest for 11 years, UK Brent crude oil is currently trading at just below $38 (£26) per barrel, which is 35% less than what it was trading at last year.

Why is it good news for the industry?

For major hauling companies running costs of vehicles represents around a third of annual operating costs, therefore if fuel prices continue to fall, so will the operating costs of the company meaning that the net profit of the company can increase profits, allowing the industry to boom. The industry is already growing, a recent report showed that the number of active limited companies in the industry has increased from 21,245 to 28,510, thats a staggering 34% in just 11 months.

FTA’s members have reported that the high price of fuel is their number one concern; being bad for businesses, hauliers and road users, and can have a devastating impact on their customers and ultimately everyone through the prices on the shelves. And the FTA Deputy Chief Executive James Hookham had this to say about the cuts “We need to see the wider fuel market become more responsive to ever lower oil prices. Today’s announcement by leading supermarkets is good news for commercial vehicle operators.”

Who is the real winner?

Mr Hookham added: “Never forget that at £1 per litre – 60p is fuel duty and about 16p will be VAT, so the biggest winner is the Chancellor. We need to see the Government helping businesses at these uncertain times with a further reduction in fuel duty in the Budget this March.”

Members of the FTA can take advantage of the cuts further by using the FTA Fuel Card – designed to allow users to benefit from large cost savings through discounted fuel prices and interest-free credit