There are no automatic systems that would allow companies to check, for example on a daily basis, whether a driver still has a valid driving license. I know that representatives of transport companies have been seeking this for a long time – said Dorota Olszewska, president of the management board of the Partnership for Road Safety, on TVN24.
On Friday in Warsaw, a bus driver hit a 14-year-old boy at a marked pedestrian crossing, did not provide him with help and fled the scene. The teenager was taken to hospital, where he died.
The 43-year-old bus driver was detained late on Saturday evening. He heard the charges. Prosecutor Piotr Skiba, spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, said that the suspect worked in a courier company as a driver and warehouseman. He had a previous conviction, had a suspended driving license and was banned from driving from April 2023.
READ MORE: A 14-year-old bus driver on charges has died. New information from the prosecutor's office
Olszewska: there is no automatic system
Dorota Olszewska, president of the management board of the Partnership for Road Safety, was asked on Tuesday in “You get up and know” on TVN24 whether companies that employ drivers have tools to check whether someone has a driving license or not.
– The employer should request such a declaration and presentation of the driving license on the day of employment. It becomes more difficult later, because there are no automatic systems that would allow checking, for example every day, whether the driver still has a valid driving license, she said.
She noted that when “we have increased penalty points and you can lose your driving license during the day,” then “a good fleet manager, the person responsible for these drivers, should check it on an ongoing basis.”
– There is no automatic system that would allow this – Olszewska noted. – I know that representatives of transport companies have been seeking this for a long time. I think that nowadays, when automation is at such a high level, we should catch up as soon as possible, she said.
She noted that we can personally go to the gov.pl website and check there how many penalty points we have. – However, the employer cannot do this – she added.
“Without automation and constant monitoring, we will not be able to eliminate it”
In response to the comment that a court ban on driving turns out to be an illusion and fiction in practice, because accidents happen from time to time and it turns out that their perpetrators are people who have such a ban, she said that “without automation and constant monitoring We won't be able to eliminate it.”
– Because as you can see, drivers who decide to drive after several court bans are irresponsible people who, despite such restrictive penalties, do not comply with them – she added.
Another issue, she said, is whether “if a driver who is caught after a second driving ban does not comply with these regulations, can he still drive freely and use that car at all?”
– It's clear that he simply doesn't respect the law, so there should be a particularly severe punishment here – she said.
Deputy Minister on tightening regulations
Deputy Minister of Justice Arkadiusz Myrcha said on Monday at a press conference that the Ministry of Infrastructure is working on a package that will introduce stricter penalties for drivers with court bans, Ministry of the Interior and Administration i Ministry of Justice. He explained that the bill would now go to public consultations so that it could reach the president's desk as soon as possible. The deputy minister estimated that the work could be completed already in the middle of the year.
– The regulations for perpetrators driving under a court ban are becoming more stringent. Each such person will have to take into account that they will not avoid imprisonment. Our possibilities to limit the application of a suspended sentence have been limited to a minimum, Myrcha said.
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