Industry speaks out on future of Driver CPC

UK road transport’s leading trade associations have responded to the European Commission’s consultation on the future of Driver CPC, in order to spell out their visions for how the scheme can be improved in the years ahead.

The Freight Transport Association has said that, while many operators are delivering “effective, professional training” for Driver CPC, the specific training requirements “should be identified by industry, not politicians” – and that “adding additional constraints [to the scheme] could hinder responsible, professional vehicle operators from training drivers in the knowledge and skills they need to do their job effectively.”

Said James Firth, FTA head of road freight and enforcement policy: “FTA is mindful that driver training must be right for the individual driver and their requirements. We realise that this may not be an easy problem to solve, but do not believe that the answer should be ‘one-size  fits- all’, as it usually becomes  ‘one-size-fits nobody very well’. 

“If the specific training content  is defined by politicians – either in Brussels or Westminster – we run the risk of every driver investing time and money on redundant training. For instance, a driver in the retail sector should not be forcibly required to be trained in loading and securing aggregates. There is certainly a challenge still in engaging drivers fully with DCPC, but insisting upon irrelevant training is a sure-fire way to alienate them further.”

He continued: “It is understood that the Commission has no agenda in this exercise; it is more of a fact-finding mission. There is, however, a clear theme running through the [consultation] document – harmonisation. Whether it is in training quality, accreditation process or specific training content, the Commission is testing the water for taking more direct control over how we train our drivers.”

FTA has previously responded to the Driving Standards Agency’s (DSA) own consultation on Driver CPC, calling for: “improved availability of course content for employers and potential employers; closer tieins with driver licensing; and improvements in targeting of audits.”

Meanwhile the Road Haulage Association has also submitted its views to the Commission, and has been liaising with the UK Department for Transport and the DSA over the future of both the European directive and the implementation of the current directive at home.

Specific concerns raised by the RHA included the current requirement to deliver a seven-hour course within 24 hours, which the association said was “just too long” for both drivers and instructors. Instead it recommended that delivery should be allowed, for example, in up to three segments within a 12-month period.

The RHA also called for literacy and numeracy elements to be allowed as part of the Driver CPC for those drivers in need of assistance in these areas; courses which will allow drivers to move into other areas of the industry, including management; and a consideration of a restriction on drivers taking any one course more than three times.

Jack Semple, RHA director of policy, told Transport Operator  that the association was starting from the fact that Driver CPC was “here to stay” – but said its vision for the future of the scheme favoured a move away from prescribed training, and towards a more flexible framework of continuous professional development that would “let the industry decide how the driver spends his time.”

This would be shaped by operators and drivers, with greater freedom in terms of the specific content covered – and would offer training providers the ability to build on their experience of course delivery to adjust content without the need for constant re-approval. He added that innovations such as web-based training could help “future-proof the directive” for the years to come.