Driving In New Regulations
As the industry continues to acquire more and more regulations, qualifying to drive trucks has a new hurdle to overcome with the requirement for drivers to achieve a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) certification.
Enforced by a European Union directive, the new Driver CPC qualification aims to increase safety on the roads by ensuring drivers are better trained and up to date with current legislation. To achieve this, professional drivers now need to maintain their skills at the highest level by attending 35 hours of periodic training every five years.
Anyone who drives heavy-duty lorries, buses or coaches for a living needs the Driver CPC certification alongside their vocational licence to remain legally compliant, and employers can’t legally take on any driver who doesn’t possess the Driver CPC. Furthermore, employers need to ensure that their drivers renew their qualification every five years.
New drivers get Driver CPC as part of their HGV training but existing drivers will need to complete their 35 hours of periodic training by the 10th September deadline to remain compliant. The fine for driving professionally without a certificate can incur fines up to £1000.
To add to the mix, the restrictions and requirements are different for various drivers, depending on when they gained their licence and there are also some exceptions for certain drivers. As with every new piece of legislation, confusion and a change in practices are almost always inevitable.
With more than 700 of our drivers on the road each week, we’ve been quick to ensure that all our drivers conform to any existing or new legislation and are trained to the highest degree to be legally compliant and ready for the road.
Working with the FTA, and by being ahead of the game, we’re able to support clients during the transition and in doing so hope to lift the burden that comes with increasing regulation off our clients’ shoulders.
