Just heard that the DSA plans to allow LGV tests (C & C+E) to be taken in automatic vehicles and if successful the candidate will be able to drive auto’s & manual trucks also…this will obviously make passing the test(s) easier. Does anyone have any further info. on this such as dates it comes into force?
Also any thoughts on this?
If its true then it doesn’t surprise me in the least.
Further dumbing down of physical driving requirements whilst giving more importance to box ticking and theoretical parts.
No controlled emergency stop, no gearchanging exercise, auto boxes ok for manual pass, what next not waste precious minutes with a reversing test when they could fit another box ticking faff in.
Could be just a wind up mind.
Apparently it’s being introduced as a reaction to the increasing number of auto. boxes on the roads, whilst not restricting the licence holder to ONLY be allowed to drive auto’s.
What about existing auto licence holders with restrictions? i.e. service bus drivers? Will they be retrospectively granted manual PCV licences? Huge implications I think!!
This is a PROPOSAL only
To get it introduced would take parliament to change the current licencing laws and at present I cannot find any such proposed legal changes
There is another current thread on this issue on the site
ROG - I think it must be an imminent law change as there has been a bullet point included in my latest update pack summary for my Haulage CPC manual.
The upcoming changes are in italics and the changes already in place (for instance change in minimum wage) are in normal font.
The update summary has two bullet points relating to driver licensing:
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The use of simulated loaded vehicles & trailers from 30/9/2013 &
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the point relating to automatic trucks being used for tests (no implementation date given)
both these bullet points are in italics, therefore not yet in place.
I hope it does come in because it makes logical sense to me
At the moment a driver can pass all the following tests in autos, B, C, & D then pass C+E in manual giving them all these in manual,
B B+E C1 C!+E C C+E D1 D1+E D D+E
That is one manual test passed in one type of manual box which the law says they are competent for all manuals
The reason they allow that is because the driver now knows the principals of a manual gearbox so why not allow passing manual in B to cover all manuals in other categories
Some might say that the gearbox in the C+E is more difficult than the one used for B but that argument does not stand up as a principal because if the idea of passing a manual to cover all other manuals is to do it in the most difficult gearbox then something like an Eaton twin splitter would need to be used !!
So what are they trying to achieve by doing this?
Sounds like a conspiracy to flood the market with £6.50ph drivers who’ve gotta take the job or lose benefits…
On the tests we all took, gears was one of the harder parts to master… It doesn’t make much sense saying that a bod who’s only learned and passed a test on an automatic can drive a geared motor as well, but there again I’m licenced to drive a wagon and drag despite never even had a changeover lesson in one in my life - so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised here. 
Think this is a bad idea, what if somebody gets in a manual with no training and burns out the clutch etc…
Juddian:
If its true then it doesn’t surprise me in the least.Further dumbing down of physical driving requirements whilst giving more importance to box ticking and theoretical parts.
No controlled emergency stop, no gearchanging exercise, auto boxes ok for manual pass, what next not waste precious minutes with a reversing test when they could fit another box ticking faff in.
Could be just a wind up mind.
This ^^^
If this is true, then it’s just another way to dumb down the required standard of driving to pass the test, personally I hope it doesn’t happen.
Seems silly to me, its not like the test is overly difficult so no need to make it easier… Loads of companies still use manuals, its not like there some kind of past time…
Not really new news… Also, if you take a test NOW in a Scania 3 pedal opticruise, you get a manual licence as the vehicle has a clutch pedal and requires the same control as a manual on hill starts etc.
The current test allows a manual pass as long as the driver uses a clutch for setting off and stopping
My understanding is that as time goes on, automatic boxes are going to become more and more the norm. Therefore, surely there will come a time in future where training companies will be struggling like hell to get their hands on 2nd hand manuals and candidates are being trained up to drive something they could feasibly never come accross. Gearboxes with range changes are already near enough extinct in rigids.
I’m sure for the purists it all sounds terrible, but I think we all just need to accept the fact that technology is taking the job in this direction. An easy one. Just wait until lane guidance and automatic braking technology is standard in trucks, that’ll take steering wheel attending to a whole new level. It could soon be legal to cook behind the wheel on the motorway.
rob22888:
My understanding is that as time goes on, automatic boxes are going to become more and more the norm. Therefore, surely there will come a time in future where training companies will be struggling like hell to get their hands on 2nd hand manuals and candidates are being trained up to drive something they could feasibly never come accross. Gearboxes with range changes are already near enough extinct in rigids.I’m sure for the purists it all sounds terrible, but I think we all just need to accept the fact that technology is taking the job in this direction. An easy one. Just wait until lane guidance and automatic braking technology is standard in trucks, that’ll take steering wheel attending to a whole new level. It could soon be legal to cook behind the wheel on the motorway.
I’m sure you’re right about what will happen in the future, but I think we’re still a long way away from manuals being extinct.
the gears is the hardest thing to master,it’s a bit like kids doing a maths test and getting an o level with a calculator,first time they aint got one in the real world they’ll be screwed.
I recently passed my class C and without a doubt the gears were the biggest headache. Most concentration focused around the gears and everything else seemed to fit in around it.
I aim to go for the C+E soon and having a auto would be such a massive help. One less thing to worry about and more time to concentrate on the main aspects of truck driving, getting to grips with the size, junctions, awareness, positioning, other motorists etc etc
truckie:
I recently passed my class C and without a doubt the gears were the biggest headache. Most concentration focused around the gears and everything else seemed to fit in around it.
I aim to go for the C+E soon and having a auto would be such a massive help. One less thing to worry about and more time to concentrate on the main aspects of truck driving, getting to grips with the size, junctions, awareness, positioning, other motorists etc etc
It’s one less thing to worry about on your test. Unfortunately, you’ll then have to worry about it later on, possibly on your first run as a driver when you’ll be on your own in a fully loaded truck in the pitch black and you don’t know where you’re going.
i cant see it happening,when i did my class 1 (1991) you had to do a road test going up and down the box using all the half gears,how are they going to fill that in now,go along this road and wait for the gearbox to do all the work 
DAF95XF:
Think this is a bad idea, what if somebody gets in a manual with no training and burns out the clutch etc…
+1. If its not broken don’t fix it…