DVSA taking action on Driver CPC

23rd January 2014

Despite news from the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency that drivers are generally complying with the legal requirements of Driver CPC, the Freight Transport Association has repeated its message to drivers and operators that complacency isn’t an option if they wish to avoid heavy fines and licence suspension.

No specific enforcement campaigns are being undertaken, but every driver stopped is checked to see if they are satisfying the training requirements.  In 2011/12 VOSA stopped over 110,000 drivers to check their compliance with drivers’ hours rules, and in the future these checks by the DVSA will include compliance with Driver CPC. 

“If you’re still thinking the Driver CPC might go away, think again,” James Firth, the FTA’s Head of Road Freight & Enforcement Policy said.  “The 10 September 2014 deadline will happen, VOSA is already enforcing it, and failure to comply could see you landed with a £1,000 fine and your licence suspended. 

“What the DVSA is telling us suggests that anyone thinking of taking the risk will be pretty much on their own out there.”

He said there was anecdotal evidence that some HGV drivers and operators were waiting to see if action was being taken against non-compliant PSV drivers, but that “if you haven’t heard anything, it’s probably because most people are complying.  The DVSA has told us that, at the roadside, the general picture is one of compliance.”

Between April and October 2013 – which was mostly before the deadline for PSV drivers with acquired rights had passed – some 35 fixed penalties were issued for Driver CPC offences.  The DVSA has taken drivers and operators to court for non-compliance, and at least one operator has been fined the maximum £1,000 for allowing a driver to go on the road without a valid qualification several times.