hi all. I’ve been off the road for a while, circumstances forced me out of the driving seat and behind a welders mask. but all that’s about to change, we are all being laid off in June and that’s left me free to get back behind the wheel. I’ve already got my license, had it since 2000 which at least gives me a foot in the door.
the industry has changed a little, I need to know where to get my digi card and where to learn to use it. I also need whatever info on what the dcpc is and how I go about getting it. I was told that I only have till Sept before it is a legal requirement? I really have no idea what the dcpc is and how to go about getting one? Wikipedia did not help one bit. I’ve earmarked 500 quid out of my redundancy for it, am I in the right ballpark?
I want to get it out of the way asap, Upton steel delivers our place regularly, and I get nattering with the drivers cos I do the forkie when I’m not welding. I found out they are looking for drivers, I used to work for them through protemp and had a good name there, so if I can get the paperwork through, I can take early redundancy and maybe the cards will fall into place.
I worked at Upton Steel for 16 years from 1988 to 2004 and that was the best company I ever worked for
What its like now with the sons of Alan Upton in charge I have no idea
You need 35 hours of periodic driver cpc before you can drive LGVs commercially - the grandfather rights for you ended Sept last year
If you have not driven since 2007 then you really need at least a 7 hours dcpc course on the regs because they changed in 2007
Google - driver cpc Leicester - to see what is available - personally I would give DATA ACADEMY a call on 2877692 and ask for Rick or Dorien - say ROG said to call
I assume you are in Leicester area as you mentioned Uptons
fast reply as always rog. you were the tall bloke that drove the 7.5 weren’t you? if so I remember saying hello in passing a couple of times. long time ago now though, way back in 03.
I will give data academy a bell in the morning. thanks once again 
jbaz73:
fast reply as always rog. you were the tall bloke that drove the 7.5 weren’t you? if so I remember saying hello in passing a couple of times. long time ago now though, way back in 03.
I will give data academy a bell in the morning. thanks once again
10 tonner - the other small truck was the 7.5 but at a glance they looked the same
I switched to that 10 tonner after driving the 26 tonners so that I could spend more time with family as it was mainly doing locals
As far as the DCPC is concerned go for the cheapest courses you can find, it’s a completely worthless and meaningless qualification so you might as well get it as cheap as you can.
I don’t know what DCPC costs are in your area but generally it should not cost you much more than £250 -£300, if you can’t do it for that look elsewhere 
You have to do 35 hours DCPC training so if one of those courses is about drivers hours and working time regulations fine but if it means spending more money don’t bother, at the end of the day anything you can learn in a classroom you can learn on the Internet for free.
The simple fact is that you are not going to learn the regulations on a seven hour course anyway, if you find a comprehensive course by the end of the day you’ll have forgotten most of what’s been covered, so why pay more than you have to if you’re still going to have to learn off the Internet or by studying at home.
Here’s some reading that should keep you busy for a while 
Rules on Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Goods vehicles in GB and Europe)
Bellow is a link to a digital tachograph simulator, it’s not quite the same as the newer ones but will give you an idea of how to operate them, I would say the Siemens tachograph is the most widely used.
Here’s a link to the Digital Tachograph Simulator
thanks tachograph, a little light bedtime reading! lol
good news about the dcpc costing a bit less than I was budgeting. can I pick any of the modules I want and count them toward the 35 hrs? are any units mandatory?
do I need to do the initial cpc as well?
sorry for the barrage of questions, its all new to me and here is the only place I am getting straight answers.
There are no compulsory courses for the DCPC, in fact if you can find a cheap one you can do it five times and still get the DQC (driver Qualification Card)
Just a thought hough, did you ever do the cat C+E ?
If not, are you still considering it at this time or wanting to get back on cat C ?
The reason I ask is because if you wanted to do cat C+E now I believe you may be able to choose whether to do the 35 hours periodic training or do the initial DCPC modules 2 and 4, either way you don’t have to do both the 35 hours training and the initial DCPC, it’s one or the other not both
tachograph:
There are no compulsory courses for the DCPC, in fact if you can find a cheap one you can do it five times and still get the DQC (driver Qualification Card)
Just a thought hough, did you ever do the cat C+E ?
If not, are you still considering it at this time or wanting to get back on cat C ?
The reason I ask is because if you wanted to do cat C+E now I believe you may be able to choose whether to do the 35 hours periodic training or do the initial DCPC modules 2 and 4, either way you don’t have to do both the 35 hours training and the initial DCPC, it’s one or the other not both
The DVSA have confirmed to me by email that any driver who has not yet acquired their first DQC can now do so by either attending 35 hours of periodic Training or alternatively doing the Initial CPC. Even if they have completed some of the 35 hours already.
shep532:
The DVSA have confirmed to me by email that any driver who has not yet acquired their first DQC can now do so by either attending 35 hours of periodic Training or alternatively doing the Initial CPC. Even if they have completed some of the 35 hours already.
I was reading about this on another thread you contributed to the other day.
I’m not sure I have these changes right, does this mean that anyone who had acquired rights and has not completed the first 35 hours of DCPC periodic training can now choose whether to do the initial DCPC or the periodic training to obtain a first DQC, or does it only apply to anyone adding LGV/PCV categories to their licence ?
edit: I can now answer my own question, this isn’t just for people adding categories to their licence, anyone who had acquired rights and have not completed the 35 hours training can choose whether to do the 35 hours periodic training or the initial DCPC
I never did get the chance to do class 1 with dhl, we all got laid off in early 14, and work was just coming in on odd shifts, bloody zero hr contracts 
the agency got me the odd welding shifts and I kind of fell into it. I’ve been there doing mostly MMA and tig since… I spent months doing lampposts, if I never see another it will be too soon
I have never been able to settle there, I miss being on the road too much, so this lay off is like a blessing they are giving us a grand in redundancy which is nice because legally I am entitled to squat. I’m using half to get my skills updated and get back to work and half for the Mrs :-/
so I have a little time to sort myself out, hopefully the next gig won’t be agency. I’ve been doing all the overtime I can get, but I can’t afford to do class 1 at the moment, the money has to bridge any employment gap and I want to do a couple of hours with a training school before I go back on the road, it has been over a year since I last drove a truck
It makes no difference anyway because things have changed now, as you had acquired rights to the DCPC which ended last September, and as you have not completed the 35 hours DCPC periodic training you have a choice between doing the 35 hours training or doing the initial DCPC modules 2 and 4.
Sorry about the confusion but this rule has only just changed, well at-least we’ve only just found out about the change.
tachograph:
It makes no difference anyway because things have changed now, as you had acquired rights to the DCPC which ended last September, and as you have not completed the 35 hours DCPC periodic training you have a choice between doing the 35 hours training or doing the initial DCPC modules 2 and 4.
Sorry about the confusion but this rule has only just changed, well at-least we’ve only just found out about the change.
I received a further email from higher up the DVSA chain of command regarding this. Apparently it is a change the industry has been pushing for (RHA) and the Government believes it will help with the driver shortage. I find it odd such a major change is not made openly public or even communicated to training providers and shows how the DVSA tend to work - in secret.
I just spoke to the driving school I send people to - Mod 2 is full until April (apart from cancellations) and Mod 4 can’t be booked until Mod 2 is passed. I on the other hand have five day courses running every other week and more often if demand requires it. It seems the periodic path is quicker than the initial path and of course you cannot fail