EU seeks views on future of Driver CPC

Interested parties across the EU are being invited by the European Commission to submit their views on the implementation of Driver CPC, “in order to assess how effectively the Directive has met its objectives and what specific action and measures may need to be adopted to improve its effectiveness.”

The consultation, which can be accessed here, invites stakeholders to submit their views, by 25 October 2013, on a range of issues surrounding the qualification.

Opinions sought within the consultation paper include whether “the Directive has contributed to increasing safety on European roads”; whether it “has contributed to the development of the level of professional competence of drivers”; and whether it “has facilitated the mobility of drivers in the transport sector”.

The Commission also invites participants to state who they believe the qualification and training regime should apply to, stating that consideration may be given: “to broadening the scope of application of the Directive to all holders of C or D driving licences or to include also certain professional drivers holding other types of driving licences. The inclusion of other professional drivers could mean for instance the inclusion of taxi drivers or drivers of vans of up to 3.5 tonnes.

“When considering this issue, two factors must be taken into consideration: on the one hand, the importance of a wide application of the Directive for the purpose of increasing road safety, and, on the other hand, the importance of not imposing a disproportionate administrative, economic or social burden on the administrations, undertakings and individuals concerned.”

Other questions raised by the consultation include whether a new system of modules and credits, replacing the current system in which training is organised more freely, should be introduced; and whether the Driver CPC should be “explicitly separated from other forms of training [such as ADR or normal driving licence testing] in order to preserve the specificity of the CPC training and its objectives.”

The EC is also looking for opinions on the extent of requirements for training centre and instructor approval; whether simulation and e-learning could be deployed as parts of the scheme; whether a uniform European syllabus and/or a testing regime should be adopted for periodic training; and the distribution of training over the five-year fixed period.