Government announcement on HGV shortage

Looks like the government is looking into dropping having to take C before you are allowed to take C+E. which is how it used to be going straight to class 1. Also allowing instructors to examine off road manoeuvres.
gov.uk/government/news/gove … e-industry

Love the way they keep ramming home after every proposal that road safety is ‘paramount’. :smiley:
More of an arse covering disclaimer than a concern I reckon.

Good to see that parking is to be looked at, …although I ain’t entirely convinced.
.I’ll believe it when I see it, and/or when they start by telling those pompous ■■■■ nimbys in Kent and their vote prioritising MPs, to shove their restrictions and their clamps right up their arses for a start.

So straight to Class 1 from a car again as in the old days eh?
Hmmm because as we all see day to day, ALL Class 1 drivers today who have gone through it in stages have been proven to be fully competent, so what could go wrong after a shorter easier course.

robroy:
Good to see that parking is to be looked at, …although I ain’t entirely convinced.
.I’ll believe it when I see it, and/or when they start by telling those pompous [zb] nimbys in Kent and their vote prioritising MPs, to shove their restrictions and their clamps right up their arses for a start.

They did. They refused to extend KCC’s licence a few weeks ago.

Conor:

robroy:
Good to see that parking is to be looked at, …although I ain’t entirely convinced.
.I’ll believe it when I see it, and/or when they start by telling those pompous [zb] nimbys in Kent and their vote prioritising MPs, to shove their restrictions and their clamps right up their arses for a start.

They did. They refused to extend KCC’s licence a few weeks ago.

Pleased to hear it, I hope it ■■■■■■ them right off. :laughing:
What was their stated reasons for the refusal?

Hopefully they’ll mandate that if going straight to class 1 that the instruction time actually spent behind the wheel is at least as much as the average time spent learning the current two courses.
Straight to class 1 used to be a ten day course, test on the Friday usually, this worked well because it gave ample time for learning proper lorry control not just how to pass the test.

If instructors are going to examine off road maneuvering performance maybe there could be some form of indemnity insurance cover in place so if the new driver can’t actually reverse without demolishing buildings or other vehicles then the victim operator can send the damage bills to the instructor’s insurer, that should help ensure proper weeding out of those who should never be allowed within a mile of wagon steering wheel.

I went straight to class one and have only caused moderate damage and carnage over the years. Certainly less than the Luftwaffe but they seem to grab all the glory! :imp:

I did 4 days training with my class 1 test on the 5th day.

I never really understood the point of doing class 2 then class 1 other than revenue raising.

At the end of the day if somebody is confident enough to do it and proves that they are competent then they should be allowed to.

B+E test to be scrapped … hmmm
I would rather see a B+E instructor being able to sign off a driver as BEING SAFELY COMPETANT to have B+E added :bulb: :question:

I can see there being potential for this announcement to exacerbate the driver shortage because I would imagine that anyone thinking of going for their HGV licence will now defer doing this to see if this one-step driving test materialises.

Don’t really see a problem with it though, like many of the older drivers on here it’s what I did, straight to Class 1.

My first thought on the above is that trainers don’t need any qualifications other than having held the licence for a certain time. Most trainers would also have an interest in boosting their pass rates, so would be more likely to pass their candidates, whether they can reverse or not. Just a ruse to allow examiners to fit more tests into a day? Or am I missing something?

Also, the straight to class 1 seems like the government saying we want more LGV / HGV drivers quickly, but we don’t want to increase test capacity, so we will just dispense with the need for two tests.

In any case, it seems to centre around using the existing pool of examiners differently, rather than actually increasing numbers. Surely it is just a numbers game. More tests required, therefore more examiners required.

Just a consultation I know, but all the same.

ROG:
B+E test to be scrapped … hmmm
I would rather see a B+E instructor being able to sign off a driver as BEING SAFELY COMPETANT to have B+E added :bulb: :question:

I agree. it works well on Motorbikes with the CBT being examined by the instructor.

A few days ago I joked they may allow van drivers to drive HGV as it’s all the same juts bigger…I should be a minister of transport :smiley:

Juddian:
If instructors are going to examine off road maneuvering performance maybe there could be some form of indemnity insurance cover in place so if the new driver can’t actually reverse without demolishing buildings or other vehicles.

I can already hear the Dozyesque cries of “who put that van there” after they’ve trashed the home delivery van after screwed the truck around in the yard

Don’t really see a problem with it though, like many of the older drivers on here it’s what I did, straight to Class 1. quote harry monk…

same here harry (1980) but instead of a D series unit and a 33ft single axle trl use a 45 ft to at least give them a chance… :wink:

Scrap the useless CPC or maybe replace it with something relevant.
I’m sure that would speed up the process

So all those who had to spend an extra 1300 on class2 first won’t be happy.

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Here’s a revolutionary idea…Make general terms and conditions better, starting with bringing the permitted daily and weekly hours down, with wages adjusted accordingly in correlation with new hours.
Bring the industry into Century 21, make the job attractive as it once was.
Who tf in their right mind wants to start a new job or carreer where your work expectancy exceeds 70 + hours every ■■■■ week.
I know that longer hours go hand in hand with the type of work, but a 60 hour max working week inc breaks (or less) is enough for anybody, some may argue even that is too much.

robroy:
Here’s a revolutionary idea…Make general terms and conditions better, starting with bringing the permitted daily and weekly hours down, with wages adjusted accordingly in correlation with new hours.
Bring the industry into Century 21, make the job attractive as it once was.
Who tf in their right mind wants to start a new job or carreer where your work expectancy exceeds 70 + hours every [zb] week.
I know that longer hours go hand in hand with the type of work, but a 60 hour max working week inc breaks (or less) is enough for anybody, some may argue even that is too much.

I would argue way too much on 60 hrs, I don’t know many other jobs that look on you doing 60 hrs as though you are a slacker. Most jobs advertise 38 hrs per week, with overtime as an option.

Yorkshire Tramper:

robroy:
Here’s a revolutionary idea…Make general terms and conditions better, starting with bringing the permitted daily and weekly hours down, with wages adjusted accordingly in correlation with new hours.
Bring the industry into Century 21, make the job attractive as it once was.
Who tf in their right mind wants to start a new job or carreer where your work expectancy exceeds 70 + hours every [zb] week.
I know that longer hours go hand in hand with the type of work, but a 60 hour max working week inc breaks (or less) is enough for anybody, some may argue even that is too much.

I would argue way too much on 60 hrs, I don’t know many other jobs that look on you doing 60 hrs as though you are a slacker. Most jobs advertise 38 hrs per week, with overtime as an option.

Yeh, I was meaning 60 including overtime tbh.
When I started (in the Middle ages :smiley: ) it was a 12 and a half hour daily spreadover, we got paid time and a half overtime rate after 8 hours.

Just shows that rigid drivers arent real lorry drivers after all. Just skip the pointless test to get to the good stuff :stuck_out_tongue: :smiling_imp: