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Fears over cost of the Driving Licence Directive
Page 8
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AN MEP HAS warned that operators could face a "horrendous" cost burden as a result of measures proposed in the Driving Licence Directive which is being considered by Brussels.
Philip Bradbourn, Conservative MEP for the West Midlands and a member of the European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee, says the Directive proposes to abolish the general driving licence, which allows UK citizens to hold a licence from 17 to 70, and replace it with a licence that must be renewed every 10 years. LGV driving licences could need renewing every three to five years and truck drivers would face eyesight checks annually from the age of 25, with a full medical check every five years.
Who will fund this? The cost implications could be horrendous," Bradbourn warns. The Directive also introduces a long list of medical exclusions. As a Directive rather than an EU regulation it is "permissive" — meaning member states can adapt it to their own needs. However, Bradbourn fears UK civil servants will embrace it, particularly the part about medical exclusions. At present the DVLA considers each medical case on its merits.
Bradbourn says he is not opposed to a common form of licence across Europe but fears that this Directive goes too far: "There was even a suggestion that all your details could be entered into a microchip, with a common European database allowing for a system of pan-European motoring fines."
• For more on the Driving Licence Directive and other EU legislation coming our way, see page 40.