This is one of my major gripes, winseers quote “Public refering to this industry as an “unskilled” workforce” Why do I not get a discount on my car insurance when I have taken and passed 1st time 4 different driving tests? Car, Cat D bus, Cat C and then Cat C+E along with 2 sets of theory and hazard perception tests and having to do 35hrs of classroom training every 5 years. Apparently a vocational licence is not an advanced driving qualification despite the many hoops to be jumped through and being “held to a higher standard” 
therein lies the problem.
Fuzrat:
Its like saying I must remove the towball on my car if the Missus drives it as she doesnt have B+E and she might randomly hook up to a trailer
There’s plenty of people that wear suits who hold the B+S licence though…
Fuzrat:
This is one of my major gripes, winseers quote “Public refering to this industry as an “unskilled” workforce” Why do I not get a discount on my car insurance when I have taken and passed 1st time 4 different driving tests? Car, Cat D bus, Cat C and then Cat C+E along with 2 sets of theory and hazard perception tests and having to do 35hrs of classroom training every 5 years. Apparently a vocational licence is not an advanced driving qualification despite the many hoops to be jumped through and being “held to a higher standard”
Because actuaries set the insurance costs based upon all of the risks, rather than just your driving. Earnings, area and likelihood to commit fraud all feature. Job title gives insight into some of those categories. It may be that we are not as good a bet for an insurer as we think we are. They are still crooks though.
granddaddylow:
Fuzrat:
This is one of my major gripes, winseers quote “Public refering to this industry as an “unskilled” workforce” Why do I not get a discount on my car insurance when I have taken and passed 1st time 4 different driving tests? Car, Cat D bus, Cat C and then Cat C+E along with 2 sets of theory and hazard perception tests and having to do 35hrs of classroom training every 5 years. Apparently a vocational licence is not an advanced driving qualification despite the many hoops to be jumped through and being “held to a higher standard”Because actuaries set the insurance costs based upon all of the risks, rather than just your driving. Earnings, area and likelihood to commit fraud all feature. Job title gives insight into some of those categories. It may be that we are not as good a bet for an insurer as we think we are. They are still crooks though.
Dont forget staying at an insurance company for another year is by far the biggest “risk” factor - your insurance skyrockets on renewal.
Fuzrat:
This is one of my major gripes, winseers quote “Public refering to this industry as an “unskilled” workforce” Why do I not get a discount on my car insurance when I have taken and passed 1st time 4 different driving tests? Car, Cat D bus, Cat C and then Cat C+E along with 2 sets of theory and hazard perception tests and having to do 35hrs of classroom training every 5 years. Apparently a vocational licence is not an advanced driving qualification despite the many hoops to be jumped through and being “held to a higher standard”
Presumably the answer to that is hgv drivers have as many car accidents as non-hgv drivers.
Who do people recommend for interesting online cpc hours then ?
JeffA:
Has a cpc ever established whether or not flipflops are safe for driving in?
Apparently not illegal, strictly speaking, but if you have a crash it’s likely to be considered “driving without due care and attention”, so £100 fine and 3 point on your licence.
Rule 97 of the highway code says “You should ensure that…clothing and footwear do not prevent you using the controls in the correct manner”
Zac_A:
JeffA:
Has a cpc ever established whether or not flipflops are safe for driving in?Apparently not illegal, strictly speaking, but if you have a crash it’s likely to be considered “driving without due care and attention”, so £100 fine and 3 point on your licence.
Rule 97 of the highway code says “You should ensure that…clothing and footwear do not prevent you using the controls in the correct manner”
So . . . . . wait for it.
Adira a devout Muslim female HGV driver is wearing a burkha and crashes her truck. Is she done for dangerous driving because of her clothing? (ie cant see properly because of the complete veil design of the brkha).
Probably not as we’d have Talibanesque type riots in Bradford, Leicester and Southall.
Thar would be 75 grand compo for the Adira family and a conviction for hatespeech for the person she crashed into.
Next time you’re on a CPC module, ask about the M6 nurse, and why they brought in the hazard sign regulations.
.
Zac_A:
I’ve just done the Safe Urban Driving DCPC, half the day in the classroom, the other half out on the road on bikes. It’s mandatory for companies going for FORS Silver, other companies just send guys on it simply because it’s available.
I ride motorbikes and I have mountain bikes that are transported on a towbar mounted carrier, but hell would freeze over before you got me to ride a bicycle on the road in these times. It akin to having a death wish. 
I did the Safe Urban Driving course a few years ago, my boss loved it as it was free.
It was more like Safe Urban Cycling and focused on telling drivers how to ride a bike properly like a cycling proficiency test. There were a couple of drivers who thought they were on a winner by announcing they couldn’t ride a bike. They were given a map and told to walk to this junction and then had to stand around and watch the rest of the circus negotiating junctions etc.
The course was a complete waste of time, but less dull than many as half was outside playing with bikes.
Born Idle:
Next time you’re on a CPC module, ask about the M6 nurse, and why they brought in the hazard sign regulations.
We were told about that in our ADR training course!!
I have been following a thread on an alternative social media platform where a CPC trainer stated that most lorry drivers are thick as mince and do not have a clue about laws and regulations. My retort was that many CPC trainers are delivering rubbish, repeating hearsay and making stories up to suit their lesson.
He replied that any CPC delivery can be reported to JAUPT. Well that’s fine, but how is a new driver to know that they are being fed bullshine?
If someone is paying for training, you would expect that the trainers have some industry experience or the information they are passing on is relevant, correct and checkable.
Winseer:
The CPC is a tax on experienced drivers - little more.
I couldn’t have worded it better myself, thats exactly what it is
The whole purpose of the CPC seems to be about education…and prosecution.
They have a syllabus that teaches you the law, right and wrong etc. So to balance the knowledge for all drivers and here is the real crux of the matter, should you be fined by the DVLA for any breach you’re supposed to know about thru CPC i.e. hours, loading, daily vehicle inspection etc - they will bring up your training records in court! and simply say on this day/date/time/place you took a course with such company and will outline your failure/offence to what you were taught = no defence for you!
My mother bless her at 70 is still driving coaches, a job she loves. She got stopped 100 yards down the road from the depot by the DVLA and she got a fine. She wouldn’t tell me what it was for as she was really embarrassed about it, but it was to do with her hours and a sufficient rest break - tearfully she admitted it was her fault as she had known about it from the CPC she did 6 months previously - he even asked her if she had covered it in the training!
She has been driving for 45 years with zero accidents…she is proud of that fact and the fine was a real kick in the teeth.