All professional drivers, whether they drive a truck, bus or coach as the main part of their job, must have a valid Driver Qualification Card (DQC) . Although there are a small list of exemptions, most drivers need to abide this requirement in order to drive for commercial purposes.
Those who drive Large Goods Vehicles (LGV) or Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) professionally need to maintain their DQC by completing 35 hours of periodic Driver CPC training every five years. If a driver fails to keep on top of their training, they will lose their eligibility to drive for commercial purposes.
Most drivers choose to complete one Driver CPC training course every year – this 7-hour training course allows the driver to keep up to date with their periodic CPC, without having to complete a full five days (35 hours) all in one go. Whether you need to complete one or multiple days training, Driver Hire Training run courses online every day, including evenings and weekends, so topping up your Driver CPC hours has never been more accessible and convenient. Book your course here.
Although most drivers will need to maintain their periodic training, there are some exceptions. Here are some examples of Driver CPC exemptions.
You do not need Driver CPC:
This isn’t a full list of exemptions from Driver CPC obligations, however these are the scenarios the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency (DVSA) use to help drivers understand if Driver CPC is required.
The DVSA also provide various examples to help drivers to recognise when Driver CPC is needed. Here are three examples:
Example one – Driving a lorry to move home
If a professional LGV/HGV driver hires a self-drive lorry when moving home, they do not need an operator licence or Driver CPC. This is because the driver is making a private journey for the carriage of their own belongings.
Example two – Driving a LGV/HGV to transport goods as a favour
If a lorry owner/operator transports a vehicle, such as a boat, as a favour for their friend, they do not require an operator licence or Driver CPC – as long as they do not charge for the service.
Example three – a farm-hand or labourer transporting livestock or crops
If a labourer working on a farm drives on the public roads near the location of a farm, for the purposes of transporting livestock and/or crops for the farmer’s business, they do not need Driver CPC. However, this only applies if the vehicle is being driven for less than 30% of the employee’s monthly working time.
For a full list of examples, visit the .gov website.
What are the consequences of not completing Driver CPC training?
Should a driver still need to complete their periodic training, then they will not be allowed to drive for work until their training is completed, as their DQC will not be valid. If a driver is found to have an invalid DQC they could be fined up to £1,000.
The risks that ineligible drivers pose to businesses is even higher. Not only can the Operator be fined up to £1,000 (in addition to the driver), they could also be prosecuted and, if found guilty, convicted. This means that insurance premiums will likely rise, and the Operator’s OCRS (Operator Compliance Risk Score) will drop to red.
Driver CPC training for HGV drivers
If you are not exempt from the requirement of Driver CPC, Driver Hire Training can help. We run online CPC courses each day, including evenings and weekends. Our wide range of courses are delivered by experienced trainers, each with more than 20 years of experience in the logistics industry.
We’re one of the UK’s largest providers of online Driver CPC training – in fact, we were one of the first providers to be approved to deliver online driver training courses online by the DVSA.
View our full modules, and book your next CPC course with Driver Hire Training today.
For any further information:
Call: 0808 178 9977
Email: training@driverhire.co.uk
