Loaded trucks compulsory for driving tests from November
Truck driving tests to obtain Category C and C + E licences will have to be taken in laden vehicles from 15 November.
New regulations provide both a minimum total weight for the vehicle used and a minimum weight for the load carried alone. Examiners will inspect the vehicle prior to the test, and if the vehicle does not meet the requirements, then the test will be cancelled and the fee lost.
The load will consist of translucent intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) of 1,000-litre capacity filled with water, and securely attached to the truck or trailer.
Category C trucks (rigids) must have a total weight of at least 10 tonnes and be carrying a weight of at least five tonnes (i.e. five filled 1,000-litre IBCs).
Category C + E drawbar combinations must have a minimum weight of 10 tonnes for the truck and five tones for the trailer. The truck must carry at least five 1,000-litre IBCs, and the trailer at least three.
Category C + E articulated tractors and semi-trailer combinations must have a total minimum weight of at least 15 tonnes and carry at least eight IBCs. For Category C1 (7.5-tonne) trucks, the situation is different. These must not be loaded, but when a heavy trailer is used for Category C1+E, B+E, D1+E and D+E tests, it must be loaded using either 600 kg of bagged sand, gravel or similar material in sealed transparent bags each of minimum 10 kg weight and clearly stamped with their weight, or a single IBC of 1,000 or 600-litre capacity filled with water.
In all cases, the total weight of the vehicle or vehicle and trailer presented for test must not exceed the permitted gross vehicle weight/ maximum permitted mass.
The same rules apply to vehicles used for the Driver CPC practical test.
Driving training providers remain exempt from operators’ licensing requirements even though they will now be running loaded vehicles, and it is now legal for training schools without O-licences to use vehicles loaded to the requirements above for training purposes. Loaded vehicles can also be used for driving tests ahead of the November deadline.
The increased running costs of laden vehicles (primarily in fuel, tyres and brakes) are likely to be reflected in higher tuition fees for trainee drivers, who are already having to pay extra to take a four-part test to conform to Driver CPC requirements.
Demand for LGV licences is falling: the number of C and C+E candidates presenting for test in the year ending 31 March 2013 fell by 1.3 per cent to 43,598 compared to the previous 12 months. The number of passes fell by 0.6 per cent to 22,692.
The DSA has also consulted about making changes to the driveline specification of vehicle that candidates will have to present for test. Changes under consideration include removing the requirement for Category C vehicles to have an eight-speed gearbox, and to allow the candidate to use a vehicle with an automatic transmission to obtain a Category C + E or D + E licence if they obtained their Category C or D licence in a vehicle with a manual gearbox.
Many, if not most, heavy tractors in commercial use today have automated gearboxes without clutch pedals, which categorises them as ‘automatics’ as far as the licence authorities are concerned.
The results of the consultation are expected to be implemented by the end of the year.
