The new cpc rules for existing psv and hgv holders

[banthenewcpc]

Currently have both psv and hgv licences i am worried by the new cpc requirements for current drivers /will i have to take 2 cpcs one for each licence? from the notes on the net it seems unclear if current holders will have to take some sort of practical in this cpc .It really pees me off that this will affect so many drivers who are already struggling to make ends meet in yet there is no consistent info on this and so many myths .All i know is that in 2013 to enforce this law the police will have to pull over so many coaches it will be stupid .Take the seatbelt law in psv coaches an absolute joke because niether the driver or the police can enforce it i know you try telling fifty kids or adults to wear there belts and enforce it whilst driving and what about coaches with toilets are people allowed to use them if so then they must surely take there belt off ????if so then how could a police officer prove this wasnt the case?? food for thought .

[Dav_s]

PSV licence holders who passed their test before September 2009 will have acquired the Driver CPC via "Grand-father rights", so will have not have to do anything.

This will also apply to LGV drivers up until September 2010, when the Driver CPC will be brought in for these vehicles too. (Basically anyone intending to learn to drive a truck should try to do so before September).

Hope the above helps. (For the record, Driver CPC comes in two parts - case-study and walk-around practical test, so no driving. It's pretty straight forward, but on the whole a bit of a waste of time!)

[FROG944]

I heard it was that crap that they were thinking of scrapping the idea.

[autoholic]

I passed my LGV Class C last year, my licence is valid until 2013. Apparently you have to complete 35 hours of "training" to get your entitlement renewed.
Surely we are expecting employers to foot the bill for this rather than the individual?
IMO it's a total waste of time, unless you run a driver training school!

[Ben Magoo]

Dav_s said:

PSV licence holders who passed their test before September 2009 will have acquired the Driver CPC via "Grand-father rights", so will have not have to do anything.

Having just passed my cat C LGV for work I had some questions about this for the guys at our local training centre, the CPC lasts for 5 years - in that 5 years you have to have completed 35hrs "training" to get your next 5 year CPC. For those who receive their first CPC through "aquired rights" simply won't have to do the initial qualification test but will still have to have the 35hrs "training" by 2014/2015? basically one 6 hour certificated training day per year.

[Dav_s]

This is called "Periodic Training" - 35 hours in a five year period, with a minimum of 7 hours taken in one year. It will be classroom based and on the road, covering things such as Efficient Driving, etc.

If you have both LGV and PCV licences, you only have to take 35 hours worth of training on one of these vehicles.

Cost should ideally be covered by the employer. However, that leaves those who are self-employed or working in a non-driving related job but keen to "keep their LGV/PCV licence alive" in a pretty crap position as they'll have to foot the bill themselves.

Again, in my opinion this, like the Driver CPC, is a needless formality - wasting both time and money.

[Dav_s]

autoholic said:

I passed my LGV Class C last year, my licence is valid until 2013. Apparently you have to complete 35 hours of "training" to get your entitlement renewed.
Surely we are expecting employers to foot the bill for this rather than the individual?
IMO it's a total waste of time, unless you run a driver training school!

I actually do own and operate a driver training school, and even I think it's pointless.
Training and testing of professional drivers was already stringent enough in the UK, so all this new stuff is unnecessary and an extra financial burden on those who drive for a living. Hardly fair as professional drivers already have a limit on how much they can work (and therefore earn) per week in the form of tachograph rules.

Funny thing is, they keep saying there's a shortage of LGV drivers, and then they bring out stupid initiatives like these!

[liner33]

Dav_s said:

Again, in my opinion this, like the Driver CPC, is a needless formality - wasting both time and money.

I tend to agree i wasnt aware of this whilst i have both PCV and LGV licences i no longer use them , seems very much like the Forklift truck licencing , training for trainings sake

[banthenewcpc]

I was a late starter with driving and suffered job wise because of the 1997 nonsense regarding 7.5ton vehicles which was removed from new drivers licences from jan 97 .The thinking behind that was flawed and ill thought out .i remember going for a job as a milkman and being turned down on the grounds that the float was plated at 4.5 tons and the new licences only allowed 3.5tons .The irony of this later on when i passed my psv which allowed me to drive 12ton coaches with human life as cargo ,was that i still could not drive that milk float a vehicle a fraction of the size and with limited speed .only when passing my hgv class 2 did i finally qualify though i accept i could have taken the pointless 7.5ton test required by licence holders after 97 .My argument with the law back then was that it created a 2 tier sytem in that post 97 drivers would have to take proper training for larger vehicles but pre 97 didnt meaning the likes of my nan could jump in a 7.5 ton truck perhaps for removal purposes and rather worringly drive it down the road perfectly legally ,this hardly produced safer driving conditions on our roads .ONCE AGAIN THIS WAS A PRODUCT OF THE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE !this law still affects me even with a class2 and manual psv with regards to caravans restricting me to tow the very smallest with a restriction of 750 kg which is bullst considering in many ways my licence has far more entitlement than say a person pre 97 with only a car entitlment .This new cpc ruling is much the same with vague information and so many people wondering where they stand now and in the future .

[witney boy]

who pays for the driver cpc as my employer has stated its the drivers responabilty to have it is this correct as i have been employed here for 5yrs surely its on the job training to do the job im employed to do

[witney boy]

I HAVE HAD MY HGV 1 FOR 30YRS AND I HOLD BOTH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CPC SO WHY DO I NEED TO DO THIS NEW DRIVER CPC ITS RIDICULAS

[agric]

Training for the sake of it, yes quite possibly.
It offers little of much practical education to the driver,
'Eco-driving' yea OK
'Road awareness' (or whatever its called this week)
well thats been covered by both their car and LGV licence,

If it was of such importance then should it not be foisted on the traffic clerks, and operators throughout the Industry, but it isn't

If as mentioned earlier, its the driving equivelant of HIPS scheme, and facing a similar destiny,

then good riddance

[GC8]

witney boy said:

I HAVE HAD MY HGV 1 FOR 30YRS AND I HOLD BOTH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CPC SO WHY DO I NEED TO DO THIS NEW DRIVER CPC ITS RIDICULAS

Yes, if you already hold a real certificate of professional competence, then it really is pointless. I had hoped that gaining a CPC would excuse me from the mickey mouse 'drivers CPC': but it doesnt.

[weeredmetro]

The really stupid bit is that you can actually sit the same 7 hour module 5 times and that's your 35 hours done.

Plus of course there's no pass/fail, so you can actually turn up and sleep through the same module 5 times and still be OK!

[julelssteppy]

If like me you still have an old papper licence make sure you have a current active PASSPORT or they wont let even sit in the classroom. I have neither so am getting mucked around by my work.