Driving license checks by the employer are one of the most important duties in the fleet, because after all, it is about the safety of all employees. As part of the owner’s liability, it is one of the central duties of fleet managers and is required by law. In this article, you will learn about the legal basis for driving license checks by the employer, which checking methods exist and how digital solutions facilitate the process.
Contents
- What is a driver’s license check by the employer?
- Employer driving license check: What is the legal basis for it?
- How often should the driving license check be carried out by the employer?
- Employer driving license check: What test methods are there?
- Employer driving license check: What role does data protection play?
What is a driver's license check by the employer?
Legislation stipulates that any company that provides its employees with a company car must ensure that they have the necessary qualifications to drive company vehicles. This involves checking both whether the driver’s license is valid and whether the driver has the required license classes to drive the specific vehicle in the fleet.
Depending on the type of fleet and vehicles,driving license classes may be required, such as car classes, truck classes or special classes for the transportation of hazardous goods. Whether this is a personal company car or a jointly used pool vehicle is irrelevant.
Employer driving license check: What is the legal basis for it?
§21 of the StVG regulates
“A custodial sentence not exceeding one year or a monetary penalty shall be imposed on any person who, as the owner of a motor vehicle, orders or permits someone to drive the vehicle who does not have the required driving license or who is prohibited from driving the vehicle pursuant to Section 44 of the Criminal Code or Section 25 of this Act.”
If the driver’s license check is not carried out at all or only irregularly, both the person responsible for the fleet and the company are threatened with high fines, loss of insurance and, in the worst case, even criminal consequences. Therefore, the driver’s license check should be carefully planned, carried out and, above all, fully documented so that the company does not suffer any negative legal consequences.
Under the term keeper liability obligations, in addition to the regular inspection of the driver’s license, the annual UVV driver training in accordance with DGUV regulation 70 is also required by law. This should ensure occupational safety for employees and reduce the risk of accidents to a minimum.
How often should the driving license check be carried out by the employer?
- Checking the driver’s license before using the vehicle for the first time: Before driving a company vehicle for the first time, the driver’s license should be checked for validity.
- Semi-Annual Check: Thereafter, the driver’s license check should be done twice a year to ensure that the company car users are competent to drive the vehicle.
Check your driver's license in good time
Carano’s electronic driver’s license check helps you to never miss a deadline again. Drivers are reminded of upcoming test dates in good time via a smartphone app.
How often you ultimately carry out driving license checks in your fleet as an employer depends on various factors and can be handled differently depending on the individual risk assessment. If drivers receive particularly frequent penalty notices or if there is a serious suspicion that they are unfit to drive, their driver’s licenses should be checked more closely. In any case, each inspection should be documented in a comprehensible manner so that you can provide appropriate proof of the inspections performed in the event of a claim.
Employer driving license check: What test methods are there?
Employer driver’s license checks can be conducted in a number of ways. Basically, a distinction is made between manual and digital testing methods. Since the first option involves a great deal of bureaucratic and organizational effort, more and more fleet managers are turning to electronic driver’s license checks.
The manual driver’s license control
The manual driver’s license check by the employer must be carried out on site in the fleet by the fleet manager. This then checks the driver’s license for validity and other features such as the watermark or the typeface. Here, the fleet manager should always make sure to check the original driver ‘s license, because a copy of the driver’s license is not allowed. After a thorough examination, everything must be documented in a legally secure manner.
For the manual check, there is a corresponding driver’s license check template in which all important data can be noted and which is signed by both parties. To complete the documents, the fleet manager can also copy the original driver’s license and place it in the driver’s file. Care must be taken to ensure that data is handled securely and that test documents are protected from access by third parties.
This testing method may seem simple at first, but it involves a lot of time and organization. This is because a personal appointment must be made with the driver for each driver’s license check, the test documents must be organized manually, and the results must be securely documented and archived. Therefore, the electronic driver’s license control is becoming more and more popular.
The electronic driver’s license control
Electronic driver’s license verification is available in many ways. First, an NFC tag (NFC = Near Feald Communication) is attached to the driver’s license and this is initialized for the first time. Company car drivers can then carry out the inspection by scanning at special inspection stations, via smartphone app or via web application. The inspection intervals can be flexibly defined and drivers are automatically notified of upcoming and overdue appointments. Fleet managers are informed immediately if deadlines are missed. All test results are automatically stored in a traceable manner and can be viewed at any time.
Driver’s license checks via smartphone app in particular offer drivers a great deal of flexibility, as they can scan their driver’s license themselves from anywhere and at any time within a few seconds. Fleet managers do not have to organize appointments and have appropriate proof in the event of damage due to the complete documentation.
Electronic driver's license check
With Carano’s digital driver’s license check, drivers conveniently check their licenses on the go. Email notifications remind you of upcoming and overdue appointments.
Employer driving license check: What role does data protection play?
The fleet manager must ensure that the results of the driver’s license check are stored in an audit-proof manner and inaccessible to unauthorized third parties . The best way to do this is in a digital system that is password protected. A legal gray area is the copying of the driver’s license, which is often done during the manual check. Many fleet managers still adhere to this and keep copies of the written document. Strictly speaking, this can be considered forgery. Fleet managers should therefore rely on a digital solution.
When choosing the right provider to carry out the driver’s license check, you should definitely ask, where your data is stored . According to §11 of the Federal Data Protection Act or Art. 28 of the EU GDPR , care must be taken when selecting the provider to ensure that the technical and organizational measures also meet all the requirements for secure commissioned data processing. If this does not apply, you can object to the storage of your data and should look for another software provider.
The electronic driver’s license check from Carano offers fleet managers more security in the fleet and ensures efficient processes and time savings thanks to the fast and uncomplicated processes.
Conclusion
- Driving license checks by the employer are one of the central obligations in the vehicle fleet and should be carried out regularly.
- There is a manual and an electronic method for checking driving licenses. As the manual method involves a great deal of effort, the electronic alternative is preferable.
- Data protection plays an important role in driving license checks. Fleet managers must keep the recorded data secure and inaccessible to third parties.
Electronic driver's license check via app
Meet your owner liability obligations flexibly by carrying out your driver’s license check electronically – with Carano, you can do this easily and from anywhere using a smartphone app.
