Senior TC launches driver regulation consultation

By Categories: NewsPublished On: Wednesday 15 July 2015

27driverBeverley Bell, the senior traffic commissioner (STC) for Great Britain, has announced the launch of a new consultation on the regulation of professional lorry, bus and coach drivers.

The consultation, which closes on 7 September, is inviting views from interested parties on proposed changes to the STC’s Statutory Document on Vocational Driver Conduct, first issued in 2011.

“Professional drivers carry out the frequently challenging work of transporting goods or passengers across Great Britain and on the continent,” said Bell.

“This consultation is a key part of our work around the regulation of those drivers. I therefore encourage the commercial vehicle industry, stakeholders, safety groups and other interested parties to respond and help inform how traffic commissioners deal with the conduct of professional drivers.”

In a foreword to the consultation document she added: “Our priorities for the conduct of professional drivers are clear – to review and modernise the regulation of HGV and PSV drivers and to concentrate resource on those who pose the greatest risk to road safety, fair competition and legal operation.”

Among other areas, the consultation seeks views on whether the revised document helps promote a consistent approach to driver infringements; the referral and starting points for action against drivers; the delegation of the handling of some offences to staff acting on behalf of traffic commissioners (TCs), rather than the TCs themselves; the definition of ‘less serious’ and ‘more serious’ offences; and the referral of disqualifications committed in commercial vehicles to the TCs.

Operators can respond to the consultation here.