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Hills Driver Training is the only driving school in Sussex and one of only a few along the South Coast to offer all five modules of the Driver CPC programme.
Fully accredited by the RTITB, we are able to offer flexible courses to meet the specific demands of individual companies while meeting the strict legal requirements of this EU-wide initiative.
Here, we explain Driver CPC and what it means for you.
Most people have heard of Driver CPC by now but there is still a lot of confusion about what it is, who it applies to and why. Let’s try to explain the key points – if you have any questions when you have read through this, please don’t hesitate to call us – 01273 890 410 – and we’ll be happy to go through the queries you may have.
What does Driver CPC stand for?
It stands for Driver Certificate of Professional Competence, and it is a new, ongoing system of maintaining professional standards, much like other trades and professions already have CPD – Continuing Professional Development.
Driver CPC is different from Operator CPC: even if you hold an Operator CPC card, you will have to go through the training for Driver CPC if you are a professional driver.
Is it a UK Government scheme?
No, this is an EU Directive that came into force in September 2008 for bus and coach drivers and in September 2009 for lorry drivers. As such, all EU member states are introducing the scheme and are working to the same timetable. And because it is an EU Directive, it means that the qualification will be recognised and accepted in all EU member states.
Why do we need another piece of paper when we already have licences for professional drivers?
The overall aim of this initiative is to establish an EU-wide professional standard for all drivers, recognising the enormous amount of theoretical and practical knowledge and understanding that drivers need in the 21st century.
The aims of the Driver CPC are:
** to improve road safety
** to improve the status of bus, coach and lorry drivers and the image of professional driving as a career, to attract more drivers of good calibre** to ensure that drivers regularly update their skills and knowledge
** to influence environmental and safety issues connected with the transportation of people and goods.
So what do the Driver CPC rules say?
All existing professional PCV drivers who held a full, valid category D, D1, D+E or D1+E licence as at 10 September 2008 will need to complete 35 hours of so-called Periodic Training by 10 September 2013 unless they are exempt.
All existing professional LGV drivers who held a full, valid category C, C1, C+E or C1+E licence as at 10 September 2009 will need to complete 35 hours of Periodic Training by 10 September 2014 unless they are exempt. This also covers drivers with C1 entitlement because they passed a driving test for a car pre 1997.
Are there any exemptions?
Yes, there are a number of exemptions. For instance, you do not need a Driver CPC licence if the vehicle you are driving:
** is not authorised to exceed 45 kph
** is being used by or under the instruction of the armed forces, police or a fire & rescue authority
** is not being used to carry passengers or goods for commercial purposes
** is carrying materials or equipment for your work, where driving is not your principal activity.
There are various other exemptions: if you have any questions, call us, Hills Driver Training, on 01273 890 410, and we will clarify your particular situation.
The wording of the regulations also means that a driver will need his Driver CPC card for certain activities and not for others. For instance, if a driver is taking an empty lorry from one depot to another, he does not need the Driver CPC card. But if he does the same journey with a full load for a customer, then he needs the Driver CPC card as he is carrying goods for commercial purposes.
What are “Grandfather Rights”?
Those PCV and LGV drivers who held full vocational licences prior to the 2008 or 2009 qualifying dates are said to have “Acquired Rights” or “Grandfather Rights”.
These drivers retain the rights they already have, and only have to take the 35 hours Periodic Training rather than a new initial qualification.
The official comment from VOSA is as follows:
C1 licence holders who have not taken their vocational driving test but who can currently drive abroad ”professionally” in vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes will have to go through the 35 hours Periodic Training of the Driver CPC.
D1 licence holders who have not taken a vocational test will not be able to drive abroad unless they have the new Driver CPC card. This will apply, for instance, to those who drive minibuses and those holding the 101 “not for gain or reward” restriction.
What about new drivers?
PCV and LGV drivers who did not have vocational licences as at the 2008 and 2009 qualifying dates will need to incorporate the so-called “Initial Qualification” into their professional training.
This involves the following:
** a theory test in two parts, lasting four hours
** a practical test in two parts, lasting two hours and including demonstration elements
What happens if a driver doesn’t complete his/her 35 hours by the deadlines in 2013 or 2014?
The regulations are very strict on this point – drivers who have not completed the 35 hours and qualified for their Driver CPC card will run the risk of losing their vocational licence. If they are stopped by VOSA while driving in circumstances when they should have a Driver CPC card and they cannot produce the card, or if, when records are checked it is clear the driver does not hold such a card, then the driver can be banned from driving while carrying passengers or goods for commercial purposes.
But there’s still years to go, I can wait and think about it later – can’t I?
Drivers can take their 35 hours of Periodic Training at any time up to the 2013 or 2014 deadlines -
but we would encourage you to get the hours tucked under your belt and your licence sorted out as soon as possible. Why? Because there are some 800,000 professional drivers to be processed and if everyone waits to the last minute, there will simply not be enough fully-accredited schools and qualified instructors available to deal with demand.
It would be a great shame if you missed the deadline – whether you have zero hours or 34 hours clocked up, you will lose all the time and money invested - and your professional driver status too.
Planning ahead will mean you can choose the dates that suit you best, and you avoid the rising rates that will inevitably come in after 2011.
Hills Driver Training is the only driving school in Sussex and one of only a very few anywhere on the South Coast to be fully accredited by the RTITB to offer all five modules, and to have fully-approved instructors.
Do I have to do the whole 35 hours at once?
There are five different modules, each of 7 hours.
A five-day course with 7 working hours each day is the most intensive way of clocking up the 35 hours.
You could also do it at the rate of one day every month or couple of months.
The minimum single “chunk” is a 3 ½ - hour half day, but there have to be two such half days on consecutive days to make up one full 7-hour module.
This last option is only offered by instructors within the RTITB Accredited Consortium.
What happens after 10 September 2013 for PCV drivers and 10 September 2014 for LGV drivers?
A new five-year cycle starts, so that PCV drivers will need 35 hours before September 2018 and LGV drivers will need 35 hours before September 2019. This is the whole point of Driver CPC – it ensures that drivers keep their skills updated on a regular basis.
For new drivers who are incorporating the Driver CPC into their vocational driving test, there is also a rolling five-year requirement. So those who pass their test in 2011 will need to complete 35 hours before 2016, and so on.
The 35 hours can be done in one full five-day week or spread out at the rate of one day per year or any combination in between.
What are these modules? What do they cover?
The five key modules recognised and accredited by the RTITB are as follows:
Module 1
1A Driver’s hours and analogue tachogrpahs
1B Digital tachographs
Module 2
2A Vehicle- and load-handling systems
2B Safe vehicle loading
Module 3
3A Principles of safe, economic and defensive driving
3B Safe, economic and defensive driving
Module 4
4A Health & Safety in transport
4B Personal well-being, health and safety in transport
Module 5
5A Company procedures and customer care
5B Secure transport operations
Within this overall structure, there is a lot of flexibility so that companies can focus on modules that are most relevant to their particular requirements.
We at Hills Driver Training can now offer, for instance, options on Fork-lift Trucks and mechanically-powered handling equipment instruction (HIABs etc) that come under the umbrella of Driver CPC.
Where do I find a Driver CPC trainer?
First, we would say that drivers need – and deserve - instruction and not just training: there is an important difference.
Many companies who are not fully accredited by the RTITB will say – quite rightly – that they have “trainers”.
At Hills Driver Training, we say that we have “instructors”.
The difference is one of experience and qualifications and, therefore, quality of the courses provided to drivers. An instructor not only has experience of driving the vehicles – lorries, coaches and buses – but has also gone through a rigorous written and practical exam set and monitored by the RTITB.
Only those who meet the high standards and pass the exam are qualified to be called “instructors”. We strongly believe that any company making a serious investment in their drivers deserves only the best training possible for those drivers which is why we employ “instructors” and not just “trainers”.
Where are the courses held?
Hills Driver Training is based alongside Plumpton National Hunt Racecourse.
There, we have 4 ½ acres of open ground which is ideal for practical exercises and manoeuvres.
We also have a fully-equipped training room – for Driver CPC we take a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 12 clients.
Our fleet of vehicles, which we own, includes the following:
** 5.5 tonne IVECO lorry for 3.5 to 7.5 tonne courses
** Three 18-tonne DAF 75 trucks
** 44-tonne DAF 95XF
** 17-seater EU-compliant minibus
** ex-MoD coach
** Two 2-tonne horseboxes
** 3.5 tonne box trailer
** Isuzu Trooper 3.5 tonne diesel jeep as towing vehicle
All vehicles are geared rather than automatic.
For companies with large fleets and teams of drivers, we are happy to come to you or to arrange courses at a neutral, convenient location.
We can organise modules specifically for one company given sufficient numbers or we mix drivers from similar backgrounds so they can share experiences throughout the day or week.
The venue is flexible: what doesn’t change is our commitment to quality.
How much does all this cost?
There is a fixed scale of charges for the Initial Qualifications but costs vary enormously for the Periodic Training, these 35 hours that existing professional drivers have to do.
As with anything you have to buy nowadays, the cheapest is not always the best, and it pays to shop around.
The Driver CPC programme is the ideal opportunity for all drivers to brush up on their skills in a professional environment, with the opportunity to ask questions and learn from the experiences of their peers.
What may seem cheap at the outset may not be the best option in the long run.
Hills Driver Training is fully accredited by the RTITB to offer all five modules of the Driver CPC.
All of our instructors have passed the rigorous written and practical exam set and monitored by the RTITB specifically for Driver CPC work.
At Hills Driver Training we have a scale of charges that covers a single driver to the whole team.
We work with transport managers to find the most suitable combination of times, places and courses, all at prices that are competitive and value for money.
What paperwork is involved?
We at Hills Driver Training work closely with the RTITB to ensure that for each driver, all the relevant paperwork is correctly processed.
We have to provide details of venue, date, numbers and names for each course that we run.
All drivers have to bring their vocational driving licence to the course registration.
Anyone without their licence, for whatever reason, will not be allowed to take part.
We have to take copies of both sides of the licence and send this, along with the test results and our written report, to RTITB.
The RTITB will issue a certificate for all drivers who pass the module test with 80% or over.
Those who do not reach the 80% pass mark receive a certificate of attendance for that module along with a report of the areas in which the driver did not reach the required standards.
These certificates are sent by the RTITB to us at Hills Driver Training. We in turn send them to whoever booked and paid for the training.
Only if all of the paperwork is 100% correct – and only when the full 35 hours have been logged - will the DSA issue a driver with his/her Driver CPC card.
This is similar to the new-style driving licences with a passport-type photo, and is valid throughout all EU member states.
Loyalty Discounts Are Available For Drivers Previously Trained By Hills
| CONTACT LIZ ON 01273 890410 FOR MORE INFORMATION |
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