Surge in Driver CPC hours as enforcement steps up a gear

April saw the largest number of drivers yet complete their 35 hours of mandatory training in order to acquire Driver CPC cards. The deadline for drivers from the passenger sector is this September, with the freight sector’s following in September 2014.

Figures from the Driving Standards Agency show that 18,964 drivers attained the DCPC qualification by training in April. A further 1,509 new drivers qualified by passing the Module Four examination of their driving test.

Almost 370,000 hours of training were recorded in April: that’s a rise of 11 per cent on last March and a thumping 41 per cent increase on April 2012.
The DSA says there are now almost 625,000 drivers active in the DCPC system: industry estimates were that between 625,000 and 800,000 drivers would require training to become qualified before September 2014, so the industry is just about on target to get sufficient drivers trained up. Capacity is also expanding. Twenty-one new centres and 290 courses were approved during April.

Sean Pargeter of www.hgvlgvtraining.co.uk said: “The surge in training comes as no great surprise and indicates that drivers and operators are now taking positive action to ensure the statutory 35 hours of training is completed well in time. This is indeed welcome news for the industry as a whole.”

Meanwhile, tachograph equipment, training and analysis provider Tachodisc has reported a new development in enforcement of the Driver CPC: namely that a PCV operator has been suspended by a traffic commissioner for not having started its DCPC training. 

Said Tachodisc’s managing director Karen Crispe: “It was noted by the commissioner that despite the industry being given ten years’ notice of the need for PCV drivers to hold the qualification by September 2013, including five years of active publicity, the operator had left less than six months for drivers to complete it.  The commissioner ruled that the company must complete three days DCPC training before [it] can operate again.

She continued: “Quite clearly from this PCV example the risks of non-compliance are high and now a stark reality for LGV drivers. If drivers do not complete the required hours in the time, they will not receive their Driver Qualification Card (DQC) and will not be able to drive professionally.  And, if LGV drivers do not carry their DQC whilst driving professionally after 10 September 2014 they as well as their operator risk being fined up to £1,000 each.”

Failure to comply could also have a detrimental effect on an operator’s compliance risk score (OCRS), Crispe said.