Latest news with #drivinglicence
BBC News
19-05-2025
- BBC News
Sisters call for law change after man's fatal crash in Dunstable
The family of a moped rider who died in a collision are calling for driving licences to be revoked from anyone when they are arrested on suspicion of serious motoring offences. Bobby Smith, 29, from Markyate, Hertfordshire, died on the A5183 on the outskirts of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, at about 05:40 GMT on 3 March.A man in his 40s was arrested at the scene and has since been released on police bail, pending further Smith's five sisters have started a petition for a law change and told the BBC: "Something needs to change." The family want police to have the power to remove the driving licence of anyone under investigation until any criminal proceedings have sisters have been warned by police it could be two years before any case reaches court. They said their petition had been started in Mr Smith's sister Kylie Fury, 35, said: "Knowing that Bobby's life has stopped but that person's life is continuing, however long it takes to come to court , they are still able to drive a car. "We want driving licences to be suspended or revoked when someone is seriously injured or killed in a motor accident, or if you fail one or all of the toxicology roadside tests and then you go to the police station and you fail them as well."His sister Leanne Westlake, 33, said the family was grateful for the support their petition had received. "We got his picture on our vans. People come up and talk to us about Bobby, and tell us their stories. We're not the first family to go through this and we won't be the last," she said."Something needs to change." Ms Westlake described her younger brother as "the funniest person you've ever met". "He would be the one that would pick you up on your bad days. Whenever we would have an argument he would always be the peacekeeper. He wanted us to be happy," she sister Carolanne Smith, 20, had a close bond with her brother. "We used to hang out together all the time. He was the light. He made everyone laugh. It's not the same at home without him," she said. Mr Smith had just been promoted to team leader at courier firm 4PX in Dunstable and loved his job, regularly working six shifts a week."He was supposed to be on leave that week," said Carolanne. "But he got a call from his manager on Sunday, and, being Bobby, he agreed to go into work that morning. "We all told him not to go."Mr Smith was working towards passing his driving test and had a theory test booked for two days after his death, his family revealed. Sister Kylie Fury, 35, added: "He had so much to do. He got his passport at the start of this year because he wanted to go abroad for the first time."His life was work, his dogs and family in that order", the family has said. The BBC has approached the Department for Transport for comment. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Free Malaysia Today
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Free Malaysia Today
JPJ to stop converting foreign driving licences from May 19
From Monday, foreigners who need to have a Malaysian driving licence must complete the necessary procedures that all Malaysians have to go through. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : The road transport department (JPJ) will stop taking applications to convert foreign driving licences to Malaysian licences from May 19. This means that, from Monday, foreigners who need to have a Malaysian driving licence must complete the necessary procedures that all Malaysians have to go through. However, exemptions are given to individuals under the diplomatic corps, Malaysia My Second Home participants and Malaysians who only hold foreign driving licences. JPJ said this move was aimed at improving road safety, particularly involving foreigners on Malaysian roads. 'For foreigners in Malaysia for less than 12 months, if their home country is a signatory to the 1949 and 1968 convention on road traffic, they are allowed to drive in Malaysia with an international driving permit issued by the relevant authority of their home country. 'For citizens of Asean countries, they only need to have their driving licence from their home country,' it added.
Malay Mail
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Malay Mail
JPJ: Foreign driving licence conversions to cease on May 19 as Malaysia tightens road safety rules
PUTRAJAYA, May 16 — The application process to convert all foreign driving licences to Malaysian driving licences (LMM) will cease on May 19. Road Transport Department (JPJ) Director-General Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said foreign nationals seeking an LMM must follow the same procedures as Malaysian citizens. He said the initiative is part of JPJ's efforts to enhance compliance with road safety standards involving foreign nationals. 'This enhancement is part of the Madani government's efforts and commitment to improve road safety, strengthen governance, and raise the quality of public service delivery,' he said in a statement today. However, Aedy Fadly clarified that the new ruling does not apply to certain categories of applicants, including individuals in the diplomatic corps and participants of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme. Malaysian citizens who had obtained a foreign driving licence before holding a Malaysian one are also not affected by the ruling. Meanwhile, he said foreign nationals residing in Malaysia temporarily for less than 12 months are subject to specific conditions. For countries that are parties to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic 1949 and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic 1968, individuals may drive using an International Driving Permit (IDP) issued by the relevant authority in their home country. For nationals of Asean countries, individuals may use their respective nations' driving licence, in accordance with the 1985 Agreement on the Recognition of Domestic Driving Licences Issued by Asean Countries. — Bernama
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
'Mum's car park death should force rethink on older driver rules'
The family of a woman killed in a supermarket car park are calling for tougher rules around driving licences to stop motorists taking the wheel when they are no longer fit to Macandrew died after being hit by a car driven by 89-year-old Noel Maguire at Waitrose in Newark, Nottinghamshire, in July an inquest last month heard Mr Maguire - who died in March - had admitted being confused when he hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake, a coroner said she would write to the government raising concerns about the self-certification system for older Macandrew's family said they did not want anyone else to suffer a similar loss. Ant Macandrew and Chantelle Cattermole said their mother - known to family and friends as Rose - was a loving grandmother and music fan who regularly attended their bands' gigs."There was no-one more proud of us than mum - she came to everything we did," Mr Macandrew said. "With the grandkids, you knew mum would be there at any point."There was no-one more supportive, and it's a huge loss for our family.""She'd have a book in front of her, and she'd have all the gigs she was planning to attend," said Ms Cattermole."She'd always make sure she had all the latest merchandise, if she wasn't making it herself... [she was] just the most supportive mother."Mr Macandrew said he received the devastating news about his mother's death from his father."I was on a video call at the time for work and I got a call from my dad - it was normal for my dad to ring me about 100 times anyway, so when I saw he was ringing me lots of times I just thought it was a normal thing," he said."When I did speak to him he did sound very distraught, and he did say that mum wasn't here any more, and I was a bit taken aback by that, because normally when you get a call saying somebody isn't here any more, you can't really process that."I always thought if somebody was going to be ill, you'd get a chance to see them before anything happened, but it was just very quick - a very sad day for us all." 'Most beautiful lady' Ms Cattermole said the impact of the crash had been devastating, describing her mother as "the backbone of the family"."She was just the most beautiful lady ever," she said."She never judged us, as a mum she was always there for us [and] messaged us every day to see how we were doing."Those are the things I miss mainly, just her messages every morning."Mr Macandrew said their father Stephen had also been struggling without Rose."He hides his emotions a lot - he's very good at that, he's got the best poker face you'll ever see - but I know that he's not great," he said."His world's changed - all it ever was for him was him and mum, for 41 years." The inquest heard Mr Maguire had driven to the supermarket, but after being told by a passer-by he had damaged a car parked in the next bay to his vehicle, he ended up reversing out of the spot at speed, having hit the accelerator in his automatic car instead of the car collided with a number of others, and by the time it came to a halt, Ms Macandrew was trapped under the wheels, having suffered fatal chest interviewed by police, Mr Maguire had admitted being "confused" at the time, but the court heard he was still allowed to drive, having renewed his licence every three years as current legislation, drivers aged over 70 must self-certify to confirm they are safe to drive, but do not require eye tests or medical examinations to back up their hearing no concerns had been raised by his GP surgery even after various health issues, assistant coroner Beth Brown said she would write to the transport secretary as she was "concerned that further deaths may arise in circumstances similar to these". Concern over automatics Ms Cattermole echoed the coroner's concerns and wants more scrutiny to be put in place to make sure older drivers are properly assessed to show they are still fit to be behind the wheel."First and foremost, I think there should be better communication between the healthcare side [and] the DVLA," she said."I've had a lot of messages just recently saying that there's a lot of families in the same boat, where they're wanting to take the keys off a family member, they've even reported a family member to the DVLA, sharing their concerns."This I think could have been prevented."Mr Macandrew said he was also worried about older drivers switching from manual cars to automatic vehicles as they lose power and mobility, which he believes contributed to his mother's death."In this respect, if the gentleman was driving a manual car he would've just stalled it, and that would've been the end of it - no-one would've got hurt," he said. In a statement, the Department for Transport said it would consider the coroner's report once it arrived, adding it was developing a new road safety strategy."This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with Rosemary's family," a spokesperson said."All drivers are required to ensure they are medically fit to drive, and all car drivers over 70 must renew their licence every three years."The government is committed to improving road safety and we continue to explore ways to achieve this."For Rose's loved ones, additional measures beyond self-certification are needed."Just say this was me and I was the elderly gentleman, and I hadn't been to the doctors in years because I didn't think I needed to go," Ms Cattermole said."Then I wouldn't even know that I had something that was potentially detrimental to how I was driving, and the DVLA wouldn't know about that at that point."I suppose as you get older your car is your independence, to get around and stuff, so it does make it more difficult, so there should be some better checks in place."In reality, who wants to give up their driving licence?"Last month, another coroner described the UK licensing system as the "laxest in Europe" as he pointed out the UK was one of only three countries to rely upon self-reporting of visual conditions affecting the ability to Senior Coroner for Lancashire Dr James Adeley wrote to the transport secretary following the conclusion of inquests for four people killed by drivers with failing response, a source close to the transport secretary said the government accepted the rules on eyesight "need to be reassessed".
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Driving licence services to go digital from July
Driving licence services are to go digital in a bid by the Isle of Man government to modernise its residents will be able to renew or apply for another licence online from features are set to be added in the autumn and further changes planned for Minister Michelle Haywood said: "Delivering this project is set to bring huge improvements for the island's motorists in terms of convenience and saving time." She said it was an "important milestone" of the Island Plan, which committed to digitalise services "to ensure more efficient use of public funds".A spokesman said the start of the roll-out this summer was "the first step on a journey aimed at streamlining services through digitalisation".Driver and licensing services are to continue at Post Office branches as well as the Vehicle Test Centre in Braddan while transition takes place. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
