Driver CPC Dates

The CPC deadline for bus and coach drivers with acquired rights is upon us. Drivers have to complete their 35 hours training for their qualification.

Driver CPC requires all professional bus, coach and lorry drivers to complete a minimum of 35 hours periodic training every five years for as long as they wish to continue to drive professionally. If you are a bus or coach driver and held your vocational licence (D, D1, DE, D1E) prior to 10 September 2008 you have acquired rights until 9 September 2013.

If you are a lorry driver and held your vocational licence (C, C1, CE, C1E) prior to 10 September 2009 you have acquired rights until 9 September 2014. To keep your Driver CPC and continue driving professionally beyond this date, you will need to complete 35 hours of periodic training.

» Please REGISTER FOR DRIVER CPC TRAINING here. On completion, drivers will receive a Driver Qualification Card:

This card, along with the drivers digital tachograph card needs to be carried with the driver at all times.  Make storage simpler with a double card holder and lanyard available to purchase online or by telephone.

CPC Training for Professional Drivers

To keep your Driver CPC and drive for a living, you need to complete at least 35 hours periodic training every five years.  Driver CPC is a qualification for professional bus, coach and lorry drivers. It has been introduced across Europe with the aim of improving road safety. You can find out the full background in directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament.

The Driving Standards Agency have put together a video overview of Driver CPC .

Driver CPC – the Traffic Commission’s View

Driver CPC requires all professional bus, coach and lorry drivers to complete a minimum of 35 hours periodic training every five years for as long as they wish to continue to drive professionally.

In a recent article in the transport press, the senior Traffic Commissioner (TC) Beverly Bell stated that employers as well as employees, will find themselves before the TC , if drivers are not compliant with the CPC by Sept 2014 (2013 for passenger vehicle drivers). Bell went on to say “driver training is essentially about investing in your staff”.

Mailshot: The TC expects that operators should be able to show the steps they have taken relating to driver licencing and DCPC qualification. In conjunction with VOSA, there will be a mailshot to an estimated 80,000 operators reminding them of their responsibilities, with a second mailshot in 2014, and dependent upon your action or inaction, you may be called before the TC for an explanation.

Fines: Current levels of fines for failing to comply have been set at up to £1000, if a driver is driving professionally without a DQC (Post Sept 2014), this applies to both operator and driver alike.

Qualification: Some would argue that the DCPC is a driver qualification and is therefore the responsibility of the driver to ensure they hold the DQC qualification. But with the TC’s and VOSA out to ensure that all vocational drivers are qualified, can operators afford not to comply?

» Get the DCPC Guide
» Register for Driver CPC