‘Cassie’s law’ will streamline procedure for revoking licences

Short-sighted motorists involved in collisions or caught driving dangerously will have their licences revoked within hours to prevent them posing a risk to other road users (Telegraph).

Ministers have agreed to streamline the procedure for withdrawing a licence after receiving a 45,000 signature petition to implement ‘Cassie’s law’.

This was in memory of Cassie McCord, a 16-year old girl who was killed by an 87 year old driver who refused to surrender his licence despite failing an on the spot police eye test three days earlier.

Police had pleaded with man to give up driving, but he ignored them, and Cassie was killed when his car swerved on to the pavement.

At the time police were unable to take immediate action because they had to wait for the licence to be revoked by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea.

The entire process was done by post meaning it could take at least four working days before the licence was revoked. Now officers will be able to email the request to revoke a licence – if necessary from the roadside using a smartphone – which will be dealt with within hours.

In turn the DVLA will email back a formal revocation notice to the police station, which would be printed out and could be delivered to the offending driver on the same day.

Jackie McCord, Cassie’s mother, welcomed the move, saying: “I am confident this is a really good solution. The fact the DfT has listened to someone like me, who has no power, is amazing.”

Stephen Hammond, the road safety minister, said: “We have every sympathy with Mrs McCord and would like to thank her for her valuable work in raising awareness of this issue.

“The DVLA and the police have worked closely to greatly streamline the process for revoking a licence when the police identify that a driver’s eyesight is inadequate.

“The decision whether to revoke a driving licence on medical grounds remains with the DVLA, though the process for informing drivers that their licence has been revoked has now been accelerated.”

Click here to read the full Telegraph report.