HGV Drivers Found Working Overtime Illegally

When a driver receives his or her HGV training in Essex, or anywhere else for that matter, one of the first things they are taught is the importance of following the law. So it’s a bit surprising to find out that eight drivers were recently caught in Essex working overtime illegally.

The Recorder reported on the lorry drivers earlier in July, stating they had been caught by stop checks set up at a Moto station in Thurrock. European law allows HGV drivers only a certain number of continuous hours of driving before a mandated break.

Two of the eight drivers, a tandem who hailed from Bulgaria, were among the most egregious offenders. They had driven up to seven hours longer than allowed. The worst offender was a single driver logging 21 overtime hours. A total of £3,140 in fines was issued against the eight drivers.

In addition to the illegal overtime, Essex police also identified two lorries that were overweight. Those drivers were allowed to continue their runs after unloading a portion of their cargo. After making local deliveries, they returned to the Moto station to retrieve what they had unloaded.

Regulations Exist for a Reason

As a leading provider of training services in the UK, the HGV Training Centre puts a great deal of stress on knowing the regulations and following them. It is obvious that the law exists to protect not only HGV drivers, but everyone else on the roads as well. When drivers ignore regulations, they are putting the safety of many people at risk.

We offer HGV training in Essex as well as dozens of other locations around the country. Moreover, we make sure each and every one of our drivers knows and understands the law completely. Everyone who comes through our classrooms learns about working hours, weight restriction, road restrictions, and more. Our goal is to make sure that each graduate knows the law without question.

That being said, we are also aware that a certain amount of time on the road may cause drivers to forget the regulations or simply ignore them. That’s why we offer fleet training on a continual basis. We work with both individuals and companies looking for remedial training that helps to sharpen the skills and refresh the memory.

If you are a fleet manager, we can work out a training schedule perfectly suited to your business and drivers. We can also arrange for CPC driver training as required by law. All HGV licence holders must complete their training by September of next year.

We strongly urge fleet managers to not ignore the CPC requirements. Already the government has shut down the operations of at least one PCV operator who had not yet started CPC driver training. PCV licence holders must have their training completed by September of this year.

When it comes to comprehensive HGV training, no one does it better than the HGV Training Centre. We welcome the opportunity to work with you, regardless of your training needs.