The problem
An operator who lets someone drive a lorry with a lapsed or revoked entitlement is in serious trouble, and a check done once at interview tells you nothing a year later. Checking 12 drivers by hand four times a year is 48 checks, each one a share code, a login and a note on file, and the one that gets missed is the one that matters.
What the AI does
FleetCheck's LicenceAssured page says it links to the DVLA's driver data service, uses a driver mandate valid for three years, checks every driver automatically, checks higher-risk drivers more often based on their risk profile, and alerts you to license expiry, status changes, revocation or disqualification. Results sit in your FleetCheck account. You record each driver's license and medical renewal dates in your own records first, and treat LicenceAssured as the automatic second check.
A worked example
A 12-truck haulage firm in Wakefield that already uses FleetCheck Essential for its trucks. The transport manager checks licenses by share code when they remember, usually twice a year.
Before
About 24 manual checks a year, with no warning if a license changes in between
After
Around 48 automatic checks a year, more for drivers with points, and an alert when anything changes
What it's worth
No money saving is claimed: this is a compliance check so a driver with a lapsed or revoked entitlement is spotted quickly. The cost is about 48 checks a year at $4.66£3.50€4.17A$6.72C$6.58 each, $223£168€200A$323C$316 a year or $19£14€17A$27C$26 a month (minimum order 10 checks), on top of a FleetCheck subscription the firm already has. Time saved on manual checks is small and isn't counted.
How to set it up
- Record each driver's license expiry, medical renewal and Driver CPC dates in your driver files first, with the transport manager checking them.
- Ask each driver to sign the LicenceAssured mandate, and explain what is checked and why.
- Set up the drivers in FleetCheck and agree how often each is checked based on their risk.
- Decide who acts on an alert and what happens: the driver is stood down until it is resolved.
- Each month, check that every current driver had a check in the period and that the mandate hasn't expired.
What goes wrong
- Mandates last three years. When one expires, checks for that driver stop, so the monthly look at who was checked matters.
- Automatic checks and alerts can fail silently, for example if a driver is added but never given a mandate. Your own driver file is the main record.
- License data is personal data under UK GDPR. Tell drivers how it is used and keep access to the transport team.
- Agency drivers need checking too; agree with the agency who does it and get proof.