CPC Training Rules Further Relaxed for Some Drivers

The pending implementation of CPC training rules back in 2013 lead to consternation among some workers who had to operate HGVs as part of their jobs but did not do so as a primary requirement for work. Mechanics testing vehicles prior to putting back into service are a good example. Some of those workers were exempted by a relaxation of the rules at that time. Now, the rules have been further relaxed for some drivers.

The Department for Transport enacted two significant changes in late January (2016). First, they amended the regulations to allow drivers to use HGVs with an automatic gearbox when taking the Driver CPC practical examination. That change went into effect January 25. Learner drivers had been able to use a vehicle with an automatic gearbox to take the LGV practical test since 2014, but a manual gearbox with at least eight forward gears had been required for the CPC practical exam. That is no more.

The second change allows workers who do not drive as their primary function greater latitude to operate HGVs without undergoing CPC training. Under the old rules, such workers were limited to distances of just 50 km. They were also only allowed to carry equipment necessary to the work they were performing. The new rules have increased the distance to 100 km, provided drivers qualify as ‘occasional’ drivers who only operate the vehicles ‘from time to time’. Valets and mechanics are the primary beneficiaries of this rule change.

CPC Training for All Professionals

Changes made to CPC training rules now bring the UK into closer line with their EU counterparts. Those changes notwithstanding, CPC training is designed to ensure that anyone who operates commercial vehicles can do so safely and proficiently. The rules are intended to make the roads safer for everyone, whether drivers do so professionally or use the roads only for commuting and leisure purposes.

Driver CPC regulations were officially enacted in this country in 2008. That means all PCV drivers who obtained their licences in the first year were required to renew their cards by the end of 2013; exempted drivers had to earn their initial cards by September of that year. Regulations were implemented for HGV drivers in 2009; their first round of renewals took place in 2014. Every professional driver should now have a CPC qualification card in his or her possession.

Regulations require learner drivers to earn an initial CPC qualification card in order to obtain a commercial driving licence. That initial card is good for five calendar years. It can only be renewed if the driver undergoes a minimum of 35 hours of additional CPC training during the fifth year of his/her current card. The same five-year training requirement exists for licenced drivers as well.

The HGV Training Centre offers CPC training for anyone who needs it. We train individual drivers as well as teams of drivers from the same company. We are licenced by the JAUPT to offer this training.

Sources:

Commercial Motor – https://www.commercialmotor.com/news/changes-to-driver-cpc-exemptions-to-come-in-this-month