In the UK and EU, professional drivers must hold the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC), sometimes known as Driver CPC. Driver CPC was implemented in 2007 in response to EU regulations and is a prerequisite for a professional licence to drive buses, coaches, HGVs, and LGVs, among other heavy vehicles.
The four examinations required to get a driver’s CPC include a case studies test, a practical driving test, a vehicle safety demonstration, and a theoretical test consisting of multiple choice and danger perception.
Drivers who are not professionals may opt to take only the theory and practical exams, and if they choose to become professionals later on, they can take the case studies and safety exams. Five years are allotted for CPC Driver Training in London. Currently, within those five years, it can be renewed by completing 35 hours of periodic training.
By standardising professional driving across the continent, the qualification aims to raise the bar for road user safety and driver safety. It was therefore anticipated that this would draw in more experienced drivers.
The Changes Proposed By UK Government for Driver CPC
A number of adjustments to Driver CPC training have been outlined by the government, along with additional consultations over the possibility of adding a periodic test to supplement Driver CPC instruction. Here are some of the changes mentioned below.
1. Reducing the Minimum CPC Training Course Length
The minimum duration of a CPC training course would drop from seven hours to three hours, per government decision. The goal of this modification is to give training providers and learners more freedom so they may conduct instruction that is more effective and efficient.
At the moment, modules have a maximum duration of 3.5 hours, however, they must be taken in tandem, no more than 24 hours apart. Even when a seven-hour lecture is divided into two sessions on different days, trainees frequently complain that they find it difficult to focus and retain all of the material.
Trainers may continue to offer extended training sessions under the new regulation, but the maximum duration of a course is 3.5 hours. Additionally, longer courses won’t have to be finished in two days straight, like they do now. The 35-hour periodic training requirement will still be in effect until additional consultation, therefore additional courses might be required to meet this need.
2. Consulting on a New Periodic Driver CPC Test
The adoption of a pass/fail test for renewing or regaining your driver’s licence is scheduled for further consultation. This would be offered as a substitute for the existing 35-hour training requirement for both previous professional drivers and holders of current Driver CPCs.
This would be included in an “accelerated pathway” designed to reintroduce professional drivers to the driving profession. For drivers who believe they are proficient enough to skip the 35 hours of training, the test would offer an additional choice.
The course might still be taken in order to brush up on the knowledge and abilities needed for the test, which would probably have both theoretical and practical components.
3. Decoupling e-learning from Trainer-led Courses
Additionally, e-learning-based training courses will no longer need to be finished in a straight line. Rather, for the trainer-led portion of the course, the e-learning component may now be finished at a later time.
Although it has been proposed that there might not be a time limit on finishing this portion of the course, no particular limit has yet been determined.
4. Developing More Course Content and Assessments
In collaboration with the DVSA, more fundamental course material will be created to guarantee that training programmes are applicable and useful.
At the conclusion of training sessions, informal evaluations will also be promoted to make sure that the knowledge has been effectively conveyed, understood, and used in a real-world situation.
Also Read: Essential Information About the PCV Licence & Its Cost