How the rules affect you

 

 

All qualified LGV and PCV drivers must complete 35 hours of periodic training to continue driving professionally in the UK and within the EU.

This includes anyone who drives buses, coaches and minibuses with nine or more passenger seats, and lorries weighing over 3.5 tonnes, professionally.

 

Driver CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) was introduced across the European Union to maintain high driving standards and improve road safety.  All professional bus, coach and lorry drivers must now hold a driver CPC if they want to drive for a living as a requirement of the EU Directive 2003/59.

 

 

How the rules affect existing drivers

 

PCV drivers who held a vocational licence prior to September 10th 2008 have ‘acquired rights’ but must obtain their Driver CPC by September 9th 2013.

LGV drivers who held a vocational licence prior to September 10th 2009 have ‘acquired rights’ but must obtain their Driver CPC by September 9th 2014.

 

 

 

How the rules affect new drivers

 

Drivers who acquire a PCV vocational entitlement (D1, D1+E, D, D+E licence) after September 10th 2008 and/or an LGV vocational entitlement (C1, C1+E, C or C+E licence) after September 10th 2009 will have to obtain the initial qualification in addition to their licence to drive professionally.

 

Thereafter they also have to undertake 35 hours of Periodic Training every five years.

 

All training must be carried out by a JAUPT (Joint Approvals Unit for Periodic Training) approved trainer.

 

 

Exemptions

There are a number of Driver CPC exemptions, but the onus is on the driver and employer to ensure that they are covered by them:

• Vehicles with a maximum speed not exceeding 45 kph
• Vehicles used by or under control of the armed forces, civil defence, fire service and forces responsible for maintaining public order
• Vehicles undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance purposes, or of new or rebuilt vehicles which have not yet been put into service
• Vehicles used in states of emergency or assigned to rescue missions
• Vehicles used in the course of driving lessons or for any person wishing to obtain a driving licence or Driver CPC
• Vehicles used for non-commercial carriage of passenger or goods – for personal use
• Vehicles used for carrying material or equipment to be used by the driver in the course of his or her work, providing that driving the vehicle is not the driver’s principal activity