Government promises less motoring red tape

Justine Greening, the Transport Secretary, has just announced that from no on, drivers are to be released from the realms of red tape that is currently required by the Government. As a result of the Road Transport Red Tape Challenge, the Government’s process that aims to get rid of the burdensome, overcomplicated and largely unnecessary regulations currently in existence.

The Department of Transport has said that they will be scrapping, by 2015, the regulation which requires motorists to also have the paper counterpart to their licence, a move that will save motorists up to £8m. They will also improve the regulation that surrounds the notification process for cars that are not in use, known as SORN, or the Statutory Off Road Notice.

Once drivers have given the DVLA notification that their car is SORN, they will now not have to worry about an annual SORN renewal. They will also now only issue hard copies of the V5C vehicle registration certificate for those fleet operators when they are needed, and there is also the possibility that this could be rolled out for private motorist.

They will also introduce a limited exemption from the rulers surrounding drivers’ hours, which allows those who drive as part of their remit of being a Territorial Army reservist in their own time to continue doing so.

Following a vigorous process of challenge, both by the public and within Whitehall, a total of 142 road transport regulations will now be scrapped or improved.

Justine Greening said;

“Motorists shouldn’t have to keep numerous bits of paper just to prove they can drive and have bought insurance – we live in digital age and we need to embrace that.

“Reducing the number of rules and regulations in our life is absolutely vital to removing barriers to economic growth and increasing individual freedoms. This whole process just proves that there’s so much sitting on our statute books that at the very least needs a good spring clean or can be scrapped entirely.”

Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk said:

“I’m delighted that so many motoring regulations will be scrapped or improved, particularly those that affect business.

“The Red Tape Challenge has built up real momentum since it was launched in April. Overall, of over 1200 regulations considered so far, we have agreed to scrap or improve well over 50 per cent.

“We have already published regulations covering 12 themes, and there are 13 themes to come, so there remains huge scope for reducing the burden of regulation on business and individuals even further.”

Other proposed changes to road transport regulations include:

Removing the need for an insurance certificate. The Department for Transport will work with the insurance industry on removing the need for motorists to have to hold an insurance certificate.
Abolishing the requirement for drivers to prove they have insurance when applying for tax meaning 600000 more people will be able to tax their car online. This has been made possible by new checks of existing databases for insurance under new Continuous Insurance Enforcement rules. The DVLA’s records are compared regularly with the Motor Insurance Database (MID) to identify registered keepers of vehicles that appear to have no insurance.
We will look at experience in other countries on driver Certificates of Professional Competence (CPC) – the qualification for professional bus, coach and lorry drivers. In particular, to see if we could remove the need for some sectors, such as farmers who drive stock to market, from needing a CPC.
Local Authorities will now have to ensure business interests are properly considered as part of any future proposed Workplace Parking Levy scheme. They must show they have properly and effectively consulted local businesses, have addressed any proper concerns raised and secured support from the local business community.
Abolishing the regulations on the treatment of lost property on buses. Bus companies currently have to wait 48 hours before they can throw away perishable items left on the bus.