AG Reference (146/2006) judgment 14/2/07:

The Court of Appeal has left untouched the 2 1/2 year sentence for death by dangerous driving imposed on Yvan Vandermeulen, a Belgian driver, who fell asleep at his wheel on motorway, drifted onto a hard shoulder and killed a young mother, injuring her 4 year old son on the M2 on 7th September last year. The driver had driven 38 out of 47 duty hours in the previous 3 days and had had inadequate rest.

An Attorney General's reference was brought - this is where unduly lenient sentences can be reviewed in serious cases. Here the Court of Appeal declined to overturn the sentence but commented that a sentence of 3 years (discounted from a starting point of 5 years for pleading guilty) could originally have been applied. The Court will only alter the sentence if there is undue leniency.

As a holder of a Goods Vehicle Licence does my business have to continually demonstrate that it has sufficient funds to comply with the “financial standing” requirement on the licence? Can details of the business’ finances be requested at any time and what happens if my business has insufficient funds? Is the licence at risk or are there ways of getting around it?

Businesses need to plan well in advance if they are considering making an application for additional vehicles or say an additional licence in another traffic area. During 2006 more and more operators were unable to prove the financial requirements in the first instance and their applications were determined at public inquiries. Ultimately, failure to prove finance can result in failures of applications, a reduction in fleet size and in some cases revocation of the licence. All instances could be commercially devastating. The Traffic Commissioners have no discretion to allow a licence to continue if there are insufficient funds.

S26 Road Safety Act 2006 to be exact - which says you cannot use a hand-held mobile whilst driving and nor may you supervise someone driving whilst using a mobile. Further, you cannot cause/ permit the driving of a vehicle by someone using a telephone or similar device.
The real change is that the penalty increases in that it becomes an offence with a fixed penalty of £60 and 3 penalty points will be endorsed if a fixed penalty is accepted. If a driver declines a fixed penalty and is prosecuted then, on pleading guilty/ being found guilty, 3 points may be endorsed or, worse, the court has the discretion to disqualify a driver for a period of the court's choosing. ( Max £1000 fine for £2500 or HGV/ PSV drivers).
Section 26 also introduces a like offence for driving a vehicle which does not give proper control or a full view of the road and traffic ahead ( e.g. obstruction on the dashboard?), or causing or permitting driving by another person in such a position.

Had an unsatisfactory visit from VOSA? Being called to an Inquiry? The main thing to do is act now!