This is mental. Good luck everyone on the road. Stay safe cos its going to get a lot worse now.
Government:
"First, car drivers will no longer need to take another test to tow a trailer or caravan, allowing roughly 30,000 more HGV driving tests to be conducted every year.Second, tests will also be made shorter by removing the ‘reversing exercise’ element – and for vehicles with trailers, the ‘uncoupling and recoupling’ exercise"
LOL ! What could possibly go wrong? 
Government:
“These changes will not change the standard of driving required to drive an HGV, with road safety continuing to be of paramount importance.”
LOL !
They are utterly deluded.
They missed one point
Give DVLA a big kick up the rear and get the license in the post ASAP.
I would imagine the majority of people who tow caravans at present are older drivers who never needed to take a seperate test.
I can’t wait to see another new breed of drivers pulling the pin first when uncoupling. Also to see the new batch of drivers getting other drivers to reverse on the bay for them.
This just shows we’re all seen as steering wheel attendants. I wonder how long it’ll take for wages to return as to where they were before
Second, tests will also be made shorter by removing the ‘reversing exercise’ element – and for vehicles with trailers, the ‘uncoupling and recoupling’ exercise – and having it tested separately by a third party
I have no idea what this means any ideas?
My guess is a spereate licence entitlement to say you’ve passed on uncoupling test.
Untill then you can just drive an attached trailer and unit.
If needs to be dropped/swooped etc you can’t do it?
This throws up more questions than answers plus 3rd party involvement im.guessing means another test more cost to be show how to unhook and reverse?
Dimlaith:
They missed one point
Give DVLA a big kick up the rear and get the license in the post ASAP.
NO, the biggest one they missed was the dcpc, as a committed disbeliver in this crap is the reason i retired early at 55, now with the rates that are being offered i would do a couple of shifts a week,and i have 38 yrs experience man and boy… 
Nerdytrucker:
This is mental. Good luck everyone on the road. Stay safe cos its going to get a lot worse now.
Tad dramatic. Didn’t it use to be like this. I would say most people get their experience after passing their test.
edd1974:
Second, tests will also be made shorter by removing the ‘reversing exercise’ element – and for vehicles with trailers, the ‘uncoupling and recoupling’ exercise – and having it tested separately by a third partyI have no idea what this means any ideas?
My guess is a spereate licence entitlement to say you’ve passed on uncoupling test.This throws up more questions than answers plus 3rd party involvement im.guessing means another test more cost to be show how to unhook and reverse?
Tests will be made shorter, with the reversing exercise element removed and the uncoupling and recoupling exercise for trailer tests removed - and they will not have to be tested separately by a third party
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To be fair, (un)coupling is part and parcel of all assessments, one would assume there’s going to be some sort of code of practice where instructors from reputable schools won’t submit those who can’t manage this task.
Arguably its better left to assessors to check on coupling competence anway, they have more time and their own employment depends on weeding out the unsafe.
Didn’t see anything about specified duration of training period, common sense dictates that at the very least the training period should last as long as the combined training time for rigid and artic separate tests, i was hoping this might mean a return to the days before when the trainer had time to teach more in depth vehicle handling and time for at least half a day concentrated maneuvering real world style.
The present maneuvering test is meaningless anyway, it’s all done on steering turns and timings at certain points, repeated until it works, this does nothing for trainees excpet give them a tick pass and is basically a waste of the examiner’s time, when the new driver gets out in the real world the chances of that maneuver being any use are zero.
But but op it’s dvsa … standard agency standard are definitely going down
Who else is gutted they had to things properly, and pay the full package
It doesn’t how many extra tests they sort, there will still be a bottleneck if the DVLA don`t up their game in issuing licences etc.
Bit what’s the point in shortening the test? If someone’s doing a hgv test, then why not do it properly? Also if someone is doing a class 1 test, then they have been shown how to reverse a trailer and how to couple/ uncouple. Why not test them on it?
I don’t get how this makes sense. It’s just about getting bums on seats isn’t it?
RogerOut:
Bit what’s the point in shortening the test? If someone’s doing a hgv test, then why not do it properly? Also if someone is doing a class 1 test, then they have been shown how to reverse a trailer and how to couple/ uncouple. Why not test them on it?
I don’t get how this makes sense. It’s just about getting bums on seats isn’t it?
So that they can get more tests done in a day, thereby shortening the waiting time for tests and getting more drivers on the road
grumpybum:
So that they can get more tests done in a day, thereby shortening the waiting time for tests and getting more drivers on the road
Hope they have built in for lost time when the examiners take action over the extra work load they have to deal with for the same money.
dave docwra:
grumpybum:
So that they can get more tests done in a day, thereby shortening the waiting time for tests and getting more drivers on the roadHope they have built in for lost time when the examiners take action over the extra work load they have to deal with for the same money.
Spot on. The car tests are also being increased to 8 per day. Examiners are already chasing their tail with 7. The tests are timed for exactly 57mins at the moment, including pre and post ‘paperwork’ and write-ups. I think those timings will have to change. Although tests are now returned to the test centre when failed (oops - not allowed to say ‘failed’ have to say ‘not passed’ in case someone is upset being told they have failed 
)
Tlgamble:
Nerdytrucker:
This is mental. Good luck everyone on the road. Stay safe cos its going to get a lot worse now.Tad dramatic. Didn’t it use to be like this. I would say most people get their experience after passing their test.
As a young lad I was the world’s worst at reversing both learning and actually on my test.
My first day on an artic job…I took my Dad with me ffs ! 
I knew I was going to where there was a bad to get in reverse, and he had a licence.
So you’re right, I learned to reverse after passing my test.
Thank god I am out of the UK next month, this is not going to be pretty.
My friends dad is a dvsa examiner for hgv and his been told to be ‘relaxed’ on some faults ie. Clipping the kerb but the whole test being good standard he would pass now
Such a joke
Pete S:
The regulation has yet to be written. But the principle (at the moment and subject to change at any time) is that you could pass the reverse and coupling/uncoupling with one trainer and take your test on another configuration of CE with another trainer.There’s much to be sorted yet and, whilst I’ve never known stuff move so quickly, it will probably slow down soon as it hits the legal teams.
On another matter: every trainer can establish their own way of working. From the many conversations I’ve had with trainers, the concept of going from car to artic isn’t sitting well. So you may well find that some trainers will offer, say, a couple of days C training and then move on to CE. The argument is that this will ease folks into the large vehicle with maximum comfort and efficiency. (I’m not sure if I follow this thinking personally).
For anyone in the system wanting to change, be aware that waiting lists are huge nationally and, all of a sudden, folks will expect their course duration to be doubled. Anyone can see that’s just not going to happen. I would encourage everyone to speak with their chosen trainer and discuss options.
These are very strange times and the industry is reeling from todays’ announcement. It’s reeling even more from the details behind it that, sorry, I cant disclose on a public forum. But some shocks are on their way.
Deep breaths everybody, Pete S
The above is quoted from the Newbie forum.