New driving licence service

The DVLA is shortly due to stop issuing the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence. As of the 8th June 2015 it will be no more.

If as a business or organisation you need to check someone’s driving record you can do so using Share Driving Licence.

There are 2 steps to this new service.

1. The driver licence holder will need to log on to the View Driving Licence service and click on Share Driving Licence. This will generate a unique one-time use access code that the driver will need to share with you, along with the last 8 digits of their driving licence number. Here the driving licence holder will also have the option to download a summary of their driving licence information and access code.
2. Once in receipt of the access code you may use this in conjunction with the last 8 digits of the driving licence number to view the latest driving licence information from the DVLA. This free, 24/7 service will be available at www.gov.uk.

Drivers with old style paper driving licences issued before 1998 can also use the Share Driving Licence service.

For more information on these changes and the abolition of the counterpart visit www.gov.uk/dvla/nomorecounterpart.

Bad driving in Europe could be punished in UK courts

British motorists caught speeding in their own vehicles on the Continent could have fines sent to their home addresses and be pursued in UK courts, under new plans to let European Union states access our motoring records for the first time.

Currently, British motorists who commit driving offences in other EU countries can be fined only if stopped by a police officer at the roadside. Those whose offences in their own vehicles are caught on camera tend to escape without punishment, while drivers of hire cars are often traced through their rental companies.

But this week the European Parliament will vote on a range of measures that will give national police forces the power to send out fines across Europe – and pursue offenders through the courts of their home countries.

Under the new rules, If a driver commits an offence in another country, that state may use their car’s registration number to access their personal data to send out a letter in the driver’s own language, demanding payment and threatening court action if they do not pay the fine.

The new Bill will be the first time that all 28 EU countries take part in cross-border information exchanges. Under the law, British police will also be able to pursue foreign motorists for traffic and speeding fines if they have left the UK.

An earlier law, which Britain had opted out of, was struck down by the European Court of Justice on an administrative technicality. However, the new directive, which was proposed by the European Commission in May, does not allow for Britain to use its opt-out.

Read the Full story by the Independent here

Driver caught speeding at 95mph on M6 toll road 'was late for speed awareness course'

A driver caught travelling at nearly 100mph Last Wednesday told police he was late... for his speed awareness course.

The man was stopped by officers who were conducting speed checks on the M6 Toll between Lichfield and Burntwood in Staffordshire after clocked him doing nearly 95mph in his Nissan Pathfinder 

The man in his 50s has been reported for summons. Another driver was also stopped who was clocking up nearly 128mph. 

Speed awareness courses are offered as an alternative to a speeding fine and penalty points.

The course, usually of four hours duration, aims to help drivers to gain a fuller understanding of why people drive above the speed limit and the potential consequences of speeding.

Retractable-Stud Winter Tire

When it comes to transforming a vehicle into a winter-weather warrior, nothing could be better or more convenient than this concept tyre designed by Finnish tire manufacturer Nokian.  The tyres have retractable studs.The idea is to provide the capability of studded tires without the need to swap them out every time the sun shines, and the concept tire deploys—and retracts—the studs at the punch of a button. As pointed out by Jalopnik, the idea of tires with retractable studs will be familiar to James Bond fans, the technology debuting in Timothy Dalton’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante in 1987’s The Living Daylights.

Nokian was the first maker to market with a winter tire, and the announcement of the retractable studded rubber is at least in part meant to celebrate its 80-year history in the winter tire game. If Nokian can actually produce this concept at a reasonable price, we’re sure the residents of wintery climes would stand in line to purchase a set.

Source

Ways We'll Interact With Tomorrow's Self-Driving Cars

At the 2015 International CES, automotive tech provider Valeo demonsted two new ways that we'll interact with the self-driving cars of the future: with its Mobius adaptive information display and InBlue smartphone and smartwatch virtual-key tech.

Valeo's InBlue tech virtual key system will allow drivers to ditch their car keys and bulky key fobs and use a smartphone or smartwatch to unlock and start the vehicle.

Valeo envisions that this tech, which will be available in the next few years, will also put remote monitoring of the vehicle's fuel level, tire pressure, mileage and service intervals, GPS location and more right on the driver's wrist. "There will be no more looking for your keys and no more looking for your car," says Jean-Francois Tarabbia, Valeo senior vice president of Research, Development and Product Marketing, also pointing out that our smart devices are always with us and that InBlue-enabled cars will be GPS-connected.

Looking a bit ahead, Valeo hopes that drivers will be able to simply walk out of the front door and automatically summon their Valet Park4U self-driving car from a nearby parking deck simply by checking their wrist. The supplier also thinks that smartphone virtual-key technology will help with the spread of car-sharing services, which it claims 4 out of 10 European drivers are interested in.

Mobius, on the other hand, is much more conceptual. This dashboard is designed as a demonstration of how autonomous cars could display different information depending on whether they're under manual or machine control.

The concept starts with the now-familiar fully digital instrument cluster and adds a pair of small touchscreens to the steering wheel. When the driver is in command of the vehicle, this trio of screens displays a simplified interface, providing low-distraction infotainment. When the driver activates the autonomous driving mode, the displays change to a more smartphone-like interface, giving access to media, apps, and smartphone and tablet mirroring via HDMI or wireless display standards such as Miracast, Chromecast or AirPlay.

In Valeo's vision, the driver will be able to watch videos or answer email while the car is negotiating stop-and-go traffic or handling a mundane freeway cruise.

 Source

Police Officer Jailed for Trying to Dodge Speeding Ticket - by Swapping Car Number Plates

Anthony Rees-Thompson a police officer, who tried to dodge a speeding ticket faces being sacked and losing more than £100,000 in pension rights.

The cheating police officer has been jailed for three months for swapping his car number plates in order to dodge a £60 speeding ticket. He also faces being sacked and losing more than £100,000 in pension rights.

A court heard the undercover detective fitted the new registration plates to avoid a fine and three points on his license.
Rees-Thompson then wrote to the speed camera unit saying there had been a technical error or another similar car was using the same registration number.

The father-of-four sent in photographs of his silver Vauxhall Corsa with new plates, bought for £21 online.

Speed camera officials compared the photographs and noticed the plates had the same digits but the new ones had been customised with a blue GB sign and the Welsh flag.

But the court heard Rees-Thompson forgot that his car was being filmed every day as he drove it into police headquarters in Bridgend – and his force’s own HQ CCTV was used to catch him.

Prosecutor Meirion Davies said: “He chose to cheat the legal process with a deliberate deception.
“He fitted different plates and took photographs to deliberately mislead those who were investigating the speeding offence.”

Rees-Thompson had denied perverting the course of justice claiming he changed the plates because they were damaged. If he had paid the fixed penalty notice after being caught on a speed camera doing 35mph in a 30mph zone it would have cost him just £60.

Jonathan Elystan Rees, defending, asked for him to receive a suspended prison sentence to avoid being attacked in prison.  “He has served 11 years as a police officer of an impeccable record. As a former serving police officer he can be expected to be a risk in all sorts of ways while serving in custody – threats to his mental and also his physical wellbeing.”

Jailing him for three months at Newport Crown Court, Judge David Wynn Morgan told Rees-Thompson: “This type of offence strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system. The purpose of the points system is those who drive badly get punished and it discourages bad driving. The system depends on the honest completion of the relevant forms and the dishonest completion of forms is all to easy to do.

“Yours wasn’t a panic reaction – it was a carefully considered and thought out course of action. The alteration of this vehicles appearance and correspondence that went with it was a calculated demonstration of your bare-faced dishonesty and arrogant belief that you could get away with it. Nevertheless, this is a tragedy. You have lost your employment, your reputation and because your self esteem is evidently based on your occupation and profession you obviously have suffered a huge blow.”

He will now lose his job in the covert management department of South Wales Police and his pension rights.

As he was taken down, Judge Morgan told the prison officers: “Police officers are not to escape offences of this nature.

“But I do ask that all appropriate precautions are taken for his safety in custody.”
Anthony-Rees Thompson will now face a “fast track” disciplinary hearing.

Speaking after the case, Tim Jones, Head of Professional Standards at South Wales Police, said: “We note the sentencing of Detective Constable Anthony Rees-Thompson and the decision of the court today.

“DC Rees-Thompson will now be subject to a fast track gross misconduct process chaired by the Chief Constable.

“South Wales Police Anti-Corruption unit fully investigated the fraudulent activities of DC Rees-Thompson which led to his conviction.

“We expect the highest standards of professional conduct from all members of staff, and will not tolerate individuals who undermine the committed public service of their professional colleagues.”

1000s Of Drivers Could Have Speeding Prosecutions Reversed

Thousands of motorists may have their speeding tickets revoked as a result of incorrectly spaced road markings. The markings form part of the process that enables some speed cameras to measure the speed of a vehicle.

David Erasmus received a speeding ticket and noticed that the white road markings relating to the camera which caught him looked too close together.

When he went and measured their distance apart he discovered that they were in fact three inches shorter than they should be, this meant that the speed camera would have clocked him going faster than he actually was. It was alleged that he was speeding at 36mph through a 30mph area.

Erasmus, a former engineer from Hendy in west Wales challenged the markings at Llanelli Magistrates' Court - they formally dismissed the case.

GoSafe, who are responsible for speed camera enforcement in Wales, commented: "The camera and secondary check marks on the A4138 has been fully type approved by the Home Office and the secondary check marks in particular, meet the required tolerance. The outcome of the case is a matter for the Magistrates Courts, however, we are keen to understand the circumstances and will review the case in due course."

The court's decision will of course give the opportunity to those who have been prosecuted, maybe even banned, as a result of the camera in question, to have their cases reopened.

It will also most probably open the floodgates to thousands of others who have been caught by speed cameras across the UK.

I can imagine whole armies of people taking to the roads this weekend to measure the road markings of a camera that caught them - ironically an action that may prove to be a lot more dangerous than speeding past the camera.