Driving licence checks carried out through Cooper Solutions' systems have helped to uncover 62,000 customer credentials needing further investigation, the DMS specialist claims.

Over 62,000 driving licences checked for dealers over the past 12 months belonged to drivers whose credentials needed further validation, Cooper Solutions said.

And while some of these drivers were simply people who have had a licence for less than a year, many had three to nine points on their licence or had been disqualified from driving completely. 

Dean Pipitone, director at Cooper Solutions, said: “Last year, the DVLA called time on the paper counterpart to the photo card driving licence. This means that any penalty points incurred by a driver after 8th June 2015 do not appear on the photo card driving licence or the paper licence; therefore these physical documents no longer provide a clear representation of any driving endorsements people may hold.

“If a dealer fails to carry out checks on a customer’s entitlement to drive, it may result in that individual driving a courtesy or test drive vehicle whilst uninsured.”

Vicky Charles, director of Cooke & Mason, one of the UK’s leading Chartered Insurance Brokers and the Cooper Solutions risk management and insurance partner, added: “The analysis by Cooper Solutions confirms that dealers who don’t conduct the necessary licence checks really do face a greater risk of falling foul of uninsured drivers.”

Cooper Solutions and Cooke Mason remind dealers it is essential that they ensure that customers or agency drivers, including the spouse or partner of the driver if they intend to drive, hold a valid licence and are eligible to drive under the terms of the trader’s motor insurance.

Customers can obtain their own licence details by inputting their National Insurance number, postcode and driving license number into the DVLA’s online free View Driving Licence service – or they can call the DVLA direct.  

The customer can also request a “check code” to pass to the motor trader who can then view that individuals driving licence details. 

Cooper Solutions FullCover fleet management system streamlines this process with its inclusion of a no-cost driving licence check, however.