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+ 16/12/2009 : More driving test fraudsters jailed – UPDATE
More driving test fraudsters jailed – UPDATE
It transpires that the pair of fraudsters jailed for taking driving tests for other people had an abysmal success rate.
Ali Abdullah and Muqtar Nuren took 27 practical tests and 16 theory tests for 35 different candidates on a “no pass, no fee” basis. In almost two years the pair only managed to pass seven practical and three theory tests between them.
Suspicions were raised because they looked nothing like the people pictured on the provisional licences they were using. Staff at the centres challenged Nuren a number of times. The pair were arrested after being linked to the cheat tests by CCTV.
Both were found to have two licences each and are believed to have been part of a ring of crooks. Abdullah was sentenced to three years in jail, and Nuren for a year, for conspiracy to defraud the DSA.
Speaking of the “spectacularly unsophisticated” fraud, Joe Boyd, representing Abdullah, said the success rate was abysmal. “It was an enormous amount of effort for very little reward. The benefit is minuscule,” he added.
+ 16/12/2009 : UK’s top 10 stolen vehicles
UK’s top 10 stolen vehicles
Your car may be more eye-catching to criminals than you think. According to the Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS), the Ford Transit van is the vehicle most targeted by thieves.
Hot on its heels is the Ford Fiesta, closely followed by the Vauxhall Astra and Vauxhall Corsa, which represent some of the most popular vehicles on the road.
“Due to the sheer number of these vehicles and the huge market for stolen parts, these cars are very popular with criminals,” said Detective Chief Inspector Mark Hooper, Head of AVCIS. “We are finding that vehicles registered in the late 1990s and early 2000s are among those most desired. The vehicles are stripped for parts, which are sold on the internet before the larger components are sold as scrap metal.”
Regionally, you are even more likely to be a victim of car crime if you live in Chislehurst (south-east London), Wingate (Durham), Redbridge (east London) or Hatfield (Doncaster), which were named as the UK’s top four car crime hotspots.
Across the UK, an astonishing 40% of UK drivers have been a victim of car crime, and with only a 51% chance of recovering a stolen vehicle, drivers need to know whether they are at high risk and how to protect their property.
AVCIS, which was formed to tackle vehicle-enabled crime, has already recovered more than £32.5 million worth of assets. “Nearly all serious crime involves a vehicle in some way, whether it is used as transportation, as a weapon, as collateral, or as the main target of the crime itself,” continued DCI Hooper. “Looking at the 10 most frequently stolen cars last year, you realise that anyone can be a target, and it’s important to know how to reduce your vulnerability.”
AVCIS advises that motorists follow the guidelines below to help prevent vehicles from being targeted:
• Secure your home by locking downstairs doors and windows. Also ensure that conservatories and garages are locked as well as any connecting doors to the house. Side gates and access to the back garden should also be secured.
• Burglaries do not only occur when the occupants are asleep or away from home; opportunist thieves will strike while doors are left open, for example while you are unloading your car. Do not leave your keys in your vehicle, in the door or in a place that is immediately visible upon entry to the house.
• Consider whether the existing locks on your windows and doors are resistant to being opened with force. If not, seek out more secure replacements.
• Offenders sometimes ‘fish’ keys through letterboxes and windows using the so-called ‘hook and cane’ method so keep your keys out of sight, away from windows and letterboxes. Also ensure your spare keys are concealed.
• Criminals will patrol housing estates to select cars within the district which they deem suitable to steal. If you think you are being followed or if you see a car acting suspiciously, take down the registration number and any details of the vehicle before reporting to your local police.
• If you have a garage, use it to store your car whenever possible.
In exceptional cases, intruders will use force, or threaten to use force in order to obtain your property. In such cases, do not challenge the offenders, it is safer to let them take your keys and to get them out of your house quickly. If you are a victim of burglary of any kind, call 999 immediately.
The top 10 most stolen vehicles of 2008 are:
1. Ford Transit
2. Ford Fiesta
3. Vauxhall Astra
4. Vauxhall Corsa
5. Volkswagen Golf
6. BMW 3-Series
7. Ford Escort
8. Ford Focus
9. Ford Mondeo
10. Vauxhall Vectra
Further information
It is recognised that ‘traditional’ vehicle crime, such as theft of or from vehicles, is no longer regarded as a policing priority by most forces. Therefore, under the guidance of the Association of Police Officers (ACPO) portfolio lead for Vehicle Crime matters, the ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS) was launched on 15 December 2006 and is based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, within the NIPA (National Policing Improvements Agency) site. The unit was initially funded by the Home Office, through the ACPO Acquisitive Crime Board and answers to Deputy Chief Constable David Ainsworth, of Wiltshire.
AVCIS does not exist in isolation, but operates within a complex and dynamic environment where national priorities are changing and high-level strategies require constant interpretation and reinterpretation. AVCIS works with partner agencies and all stakeholders within the trade and associated businesses to provide the most effective response. AVCIS speaks for the UK policing in respect of vehicle enabled crime matters.
AVCIS incorporates a number of specialist functions including TruckPol, the national freight crime intelligence service, and the Vehicle Fraud Unit who investigate organised finance fraud.
AVCIS offers the UK Police Service:
• A single point of contact for advice in relation to vehicle crime.
• A team committed to tackling vehicle enabled crime.
• An opportunity to work free from the barriers and constraints of a single police force.
• No draw on resources for other operational matters.
• A credible voice for the service within the industry.
• A new concept with the full backing of the ACPO and therefore definition of all police forces in the UK.
AVCIS – the facts
• AVCIS have recovered in excess of 1,450 vehicles.
• The total value of recovered assets exceeds £32.5 million.
• AVCIS have made 200 arrests.
+ 16/12/2009 : Slough is the riskiest place in the UK for road accidents
Slough is the riskiest place in the UK for road accidents
Slough has been named the riskiest place in the UK for motor accidents.
Endsleigh Insurance Services have analysed motor claims over the last three years from the hundreds of thousands of their policyholders in the UK and identified the ten safest and riskiest UK towns and cities for accidents.
The top three towns and cities for motor accidents are Slough, followed by Ilford in east London and Birmingham.
The safest place for accidents was Belfast, followed by Swansea and Aberdeen.
Endsleigh spokesperson Rhiannon Harris said: “Drivers need to be even more vigilant leading up to Christmas when there are usually a greater number of vehicles on the roads and when weather conditions can be extremely hazardous.
“Our report highlights that some towns and cities represent a greater risk for motorists than others. However it is important that motorists throughout the country are extra vigilant at this time of year.”
+ 16/12/2009 : Government to allow 20mph schemes without speed humps
Government to allow 20mph schemes without speed humps
New proposals to allow councils to put in place 20mph schemes over groups of streets without the need for traffic calming measures such as speed humps were announced today by Road Safety Minister Paul Clark.
The Government is encouraging local councils to introduce 20mph schemes into residential streets and other roads where cycle and pedestrian traffic is high, such as around schools, shops and parks.
In the past, councils wanting to implement 20mph schemes on groups of roads have had to do so in ‘zones’ which require traffic calming measures such as speed humps. 20mph limits without traffic calming were only recommended on individual roads.
However, following a successful city-wide trial in Portsmouth which suggested it is possible to significantly reduce speeds on residential streets without speed humps or other traffic calming measures, the Department for Transport plans to allow 20mph limits to be used across more streets where traffic speeds are already low without the need for such measures.
Paul Clark said: “The number of people killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads has fallen by 40% since the mid-1990s and Britain now has the joint safest roads in the world. But too many pedestrians and cyclists – including many children – are still being killed or hurt on the roads around their homes and schools.
“We have seen that 20mph zones with traffic calming measures can make a real difference to the safety of local roads. But we’ve also looked at the latest research and listened to councils and residents who want to introduce 20mph limits on a series of roads where physical traffic calming measures aren’t possible or practical.
“Allowing councils to put in place 20mph speed limits on more streets without speed humps or chicanes will mean that they can introduce them at a lower cost and with less inconvenience to local residents.”
Last week a report published in the British Medical Journal found that 20mph zones in London had led to a dramatic reduction in the number of accidents in those areas and called for more 20mph zones and limits to be put in place.
The Government is also reiterating its call for councils to carry out speed limit reviews of their rural roads by 2011, focusing on National Speed Limit single carriageway ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads where 41% of fatalities occur. They say local authorities should consider reducing the limit on the most dangerous roads where this will have a significant impact on casualties. These decisions remain entirely for local authorities to make based on their knowledge of local roads.
The Department for Transport is seeking the views of local councils on these proposals in order to allow new guidance to be published at the earliest available opportunity.
Further information
1. There are currently two ways of introducing 20mph schemes: 20mph zones, which require traffic calming measures at regular intervals as well as specific terminal signs at the start and end of the zone; and 20mph limits which are signed with terminal and regular repeater signs, but which do not require traffic calming measures. Under current Department for Transport guidance 20mph limits without traffic calming are only recommended for individual streets. The proposed amended guidance would remove this restriction so that 20mph limits – without traffic calming measures – could be used across more streets.
2. Portsmouth City Council has installed signed-only 20mph limits on 255 miles (94%) of its 272-mile road network. Portsmouth is a densely built-up urban area and many of the roads treated had average speeds of about 20mph when the limits were installed. On the minority of roads where average speeds were more than 24mph, reductions in speed averaging 7mph have occurred. Early indications are that casualties are 15% less than before the speed limits were introduced, and appear to indicate likely casualty benefits above the national trend.
3. The British Medical Journal published research into the effect of introducing 20mph zones on casualties within those zones and in adjacent areas. This research was based on police data on road casualties between 1986 and 2006 and adjusted for the underlying downward trend in traffic casualties. The introduction of 20mph zones was associated with a 41.9% reduction in road casualties, after adjustment for underlying time trends. There was no evidence of casualty migration to areas adjacent to 20mph zones, where casualties also fell slightly by an average of 8.0%.
+ 16/12/2009 : ‘Postcode lottery’ over speeding fines
‘Postcode lottery’ over speeding fines
Motorists in some regions of Britain are twelve times more likely to be given speeding fines and points on their licence than in other areas, according to new research which highlights a “postcode lottery” of motoring prosecutions.
The Daily Telegraph reports that one in eight drivers in North Wales have been caught speeding and received licence points compared to one in 100 in Durham.
Motorists in Northamptonshire face the toughest crackdown on all offences – with one in six of cars in the region being caught speeding, running red lights, using a mobile phone or driving uninsured.
The figures, obtained by Auto Express magazine, show huge disparities in the way police forces enforce road laws.
The total of 14,856 fixed speed cameras and mobile speed gun sites are spread unevenly across England and Wales, with 844 in Lancashire, compared to just 29 in neighbouring North Yorkshire.
North Wales topped the list of speeding prosecutions in England and Wales in 2007, largely due to the controversial campaigns of police chief Richard Brunstrom. He called for the number of speed cameras to be trebled and ordering officers to hide in horse boxes with speed guns to catch motorists.
A spokesman for the AA said that the figures “clearly demonstrate that police strategies vary enormously. It is unfair that what you’re doing in one place might not get you a penalty, whereas it might in another. But it’s never been consistent. It means drivers are a bit cynical about what goes on, because it clearly is a lottery.”
The Auto Express figures compared the total number of endorsable offences handed out in each police region across the UK. They revealed that proportionate to the number of cars in their regions, Nottinghamshire caught the most red-light jumpers and Hertfordshire has prosecuted the most motorists for driving without insurance.
There are also huge disparities with the enforcement of driving with a handheld mobile phone. Merseyside police were the most vigilant, where one per cent of all drivers received points on their licence for the offence. This compares to Leicestershire, where just one in every 500 motorists have been caught.
Earlier this year The Daily Telegraph disclosed that speeding tickets earn the Treasury £250,000 every day and the number issued each year has doubled under Labour. The Government has been accused of “milking’’ motorists to raise £88 million a year with little improvement in road safety.
Meanwhile, the number of speed cameras across Britain is about to rise. At least six new models, which will take digital pictures and link to a control centre, are set to be approved by the Home Office.
Overall, drivers have been fined almost £1 billion for speeding offences in the past decade, and there has been a thirteen-fold increase in the number of tickets issued by some police forces.
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/6818838/Motorists-postcode-lottery-over-speeding-fines.html
+ 16/12/2009 : Four out of ten taxis had serious faults
Four out of ten taxis had serious faults
Twenty-eight taxis have been taken off the road in Milton Keynes after spot checks across the town revealed they had serious faults.
A total of 68 private hire and hackney carriages were stopped last Wednesday night in a crackdown, according to BBC news. The drivers of 30 taxis are being asked to attend licensing workshops.
“Police will continue to monitor taxi and private hire vehicles to ensure they remain safe,” road safety constable John Bulman said. “All defects found will be rigorously enforced, with fines and points being handed out to drivers who fail to meet the basic requirements of roadworthiness,” he added. “An added deterrent is that offending vehicles will be prohibited from carrying passengers until the faults are rectified.”
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/8413249.stm
+ 15/12/2009 : Number of drivers using hand-held mobiles doubles
Number of drivers using hand-held mobiles doubles
The number of car drivers illegally using hand-held mobile phones at the wheel has doubled in the past two years. Similar patterns were observed among taxi and van drivers.
Research carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), which surveyed 12,000 cars and taxis and 2,500 vans in 30 locations across London, discovered that 2.8% of car drivers are now using hand-held phones while driving.
That compares to 1.4% in 2007, the year that penalties were toughened through the introduction of a £60 fine and three penalty points on the offender’s licence, and is higher than the 2.6% recorded in 2006 before the law changed.
The TRL said that the picture in London was likely to be reflected nationally, and added that drivers using mobile phones were four times more likely to be involved in a crash, as their reaction time is likely to be slower.
According to the TRL’s researchers, women aged 17-29 were more likely than other drivers to use a hand-held phone while at the wheel, while hands-free kits are most likely to be used by men aged 30-59.
The TRL report added that use of hands-free mobile phones by car drivers has risen from 1.2% in 2006 to 4.8% this year, and the rise in use of mobile phones while driving – whether hand-held or hands-free – is a serious concern to road safety campaigners.
+ 15/12/2009 : More driving test fraudsters jailed
More driving test fraudsters jailed
Two fraudsters who made cash out of taking people’s driving tests for them have both been jailed.
Ali Abdullah and Muktar Nuren sat theory and practical driving tests for up to 43 candidates in return for cash.
Following a detailed investigation conducted by DSA investigators and Greater Manchester Police, Abdullah, 32, and Nuren, 22, were arrested at their homes in July 2008 and charged with conspiracy to defraud.
The pair pleaded guilty to the charge and at Manchester City Crown Court on 14 December Abdullah was given a three-year jail sentence and Nuren was sentenced to one year in jail.
The pair, both from Manchester, carried out the fraudulent tests between February 2006 and June 2008. They conducted theory tests at Salford, Runcorn, Preston, Stockport, St Helen’s and Ilford in Essex, as well as practical tests in Sale, Oldham, Bury, Cheetham Hill, Failsworth, and Redditch in Worcestershire.
A number of driving test candidates have been arrested in connection with the investigation and received police cautions. The DSA will be seeking to revoke all licences obtained by illegal means.
Michelle Moston, Deputy Head of the DSA’s Fraud and Integrity Team, said: “We are very pleased with today’s results because they reflect the seriousness of the crime. People like Abdullah and Nuren, who impersonate at driving tests, present a real risk to all road users, as they provide an entitlement to drive to those who have not been assessed to show that they are competent to do so.
“In addition to obtaining the qualification to drive, many people seek possession of a full UK driving licence to establish proof of identity. Once obtained, that licence may also be used as proof of identity in a variety of other circumstances, such as obtaining state benefits and accommodation, opening bank accounts, obtaining credit cards and even undertaking domestic air travel.”
+ 10/12/2009 : Motorbike licence renewal problem solved by DVLA
Motorbike licence renewal problem solved by DVLA
After sustained pressure from the British Motorcyclists Federation, along with Motor Cycle News and fellow lobbyists, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will now be returning original driving licences to motorcyclists whenever a replacement licence is issued.
The new procedure (with a hole punched through the original licence to invalidate it), has been introduced because disputed entitlements over licence categories have meant that many riders have been forced to take another driving test simply because they were unable to prove previously held entitlements.
The decision to return the defaced original licence follows months of lobbying over the issuing of replacement driving licences to motorcyclists applying for a replacement licence due to change of address, loss, renewal etc, who have then found that their replacement licence has not included the all-important Category A motorcycle entitlement.
The BBC Watchdog programme of 27 April 2009 featured a long-serving police motorcycle mechanic who found that he’d had his entitlement for a category A motorcycle licence removed. Despite having held a licence for 28 years and written support from his police superiors, he still had to take a new driving test.
Photocopies or other written evidence of entitlements have always proved unacceptable to the DVLA, so the BMF had lobbied for the solution, similar to passport renewal, first raised by Watchdog: cutting the corner off the old licence and returning the old with its replacement would provide proof of entitlement.
BMF Government Relations Executive Chris Hodder said: “This is a practical and low-cost solution to a persistent problem and we are pleased that the DVLA has responded to our lobbying in such a positive way.”
+ 10/12/2009 : Hawick test centre to stay open for another year
Hawick test centre to stay open for another year
Borders MP Michael Moore has secured further concessions from the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) on the future of the driving test centre in Hawick after a meeting with officials and Scottish Borders Council (SBC) representatives.
In September, the DSA announced that the test centre would close when the lease on their premises in Hawick expired in March 2010. Following a meeting between Mr Moore and senior DSA officials in Hawick at the beginning of October, which also involved local driving instructors, the agency granted the test centre an extra six months to allow more time to establish the facts.
Now the DSA has confirmed that the test centre will remain open in the existing location until at least March 2011, subject to HMRC maintaining their presence in the current shared offices. If HMRC should withdraw, SBC have committed to provide alternative premises for the test centre during this period.
The DSA have also pledged to review the possibility of keeping the centre open beyond 2011 over the coming financial year.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Moore said: “I have always maintained that the closure of the test centre would save the DSA a miniscule amount of money relative to their overall budget, at the expense of learner drivers living in and around Hawick.
“I am delighted that the DSA has seen fit to reconsider their position and have now confirmed that the test centre will remain open until at least March 2011 – a full year beyond the closure date proposed initially. I’m also encouraged that they will now actively look to continue their presence in Hawick rather than withdrawing their presence regardless.
“Although the fight to secure the long-term future of the test centre will continue, this is a promising start and the willingness of the DSA to engage with SBC is to be welcomed.
“I am very grateful to the DSA officials for their pragmatic approach they have taken since I raised my initial concerns.”
