Countdown to driver CPC -
Driver certificate of professional competence (CPC) for the bus and
coach industry
DRIVING STANDARDS
AGENCY News Release (DSA 34/08) issued by The Government News
Network on 11 August 2008
A new
qualification, The Driver Certificate of Professional Competence,
(Driver CPC) will be introduced on September 10 for all
professional bus and coach drivers.
With this in mind the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and their
partners across the passenger transport sector are encouraging
employers, operators, training providers and new and existing bus
and coach drivers to prepare for the requirements.
New drivers wishing to enter the industry will be required to
take the Driver CPC initial qualification.
This new qualification will involve:
* A theory test including multiple choice questions and a hazard
perception assessment.
* A new Driver CPC case studies test.
* An extension of the current practical test to allow more time
on a wider variety of roads. (Incorporating a new Eco-Safe driving assessment)
* An additional Driver CPC practical test which requires
candidates to actively demonstrate their knowledge of vehicle safety.
In addition, all drivers, both new and existing, will need to
complete 35 hours of 'periodic training' every five
years in order to maintain their Driver CPC status and continue
driving professionally.
Existing drivers will not be required to take the initial
qualification. However, they will be required to complete 35 hours
of periodic training by 2013 and every five years thereafter if
they wish to continue driving professionally.
The Driver CPC is being introduced across the European Union to
provide better qualified and trained drivers to meet the
ever-changing needs of the passenger transport and road haulage
sectors, by recognising and accrediting the knowledge and skills
required to drive professionally.
It aims to improve road safety and make savings for the industry
by reducing the number of accidents, encourage fuel efficient
driving and reducing vehicle wear and tear.
The second phase of the Driver CPC scheme which will cover
professional drivers of lorries and heavy goods vehicles will be
introduced in September 2009.
The Chief Operating Officer at the Driving Standards Agency,
Brian Gilhooley, said:
"The new Driver CPC qualification has been developed to
raise and maintain the standards of bus, coach and ultimately
lorry drivers.
"Both bus and coach driving are professions with a high
level of responsibility. The different elements of the new test in
addition to the ongoing training thereafter will require drivers
to demonstrate their knowledge and skill in a real life setting.
"Better trained drivers should help to avoid the costs, both
human and financial, of road accidents in the UK."
Further information on the training syllabus and test is also
available on http://www.transportoffice.gov.uk/cpc
Notes to Editor:
1. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is an executive agency * of
the Department for Transport.
2. The DSA's vision is "Safe Driving for Life"
with an overall mission to contribute towards a Government target
of achieving a 40% reduction in riders and drivers killed or
seriously injured in road accidents, in the age group up to 24
years, by 2010.
3. Current information on road casualties is available from the
Department for Transport website: http://www.dft.gov.uk
4. The Agency's aim is to promote road safety through
setting standards for drivers, riders and trainers, testing
drivers and riders fairly and efficiently, maintaining the
registers of Approved Driving Instructors, Large Goods Vehicle
Instructors, Fleet Trainers, Driving Instructor Trainers and Post
Test Motorcycle Trainers, supervising Compulsory Basic Training
for learner motorcyclists and driver education and the provision
of learning resources.
5. DSA is a trading fund * with an expected turnover of around
£199 million for the year 2008/9, fully funded by fee income and
revenue from its activities.
6. DSA employs over 2,700 staff, of which some 2,000 are driving
examiners based at over 400 test centres across mainland Great
Britain. In 2007/2008 the Agency conducted 1.8 million practical
tests for car drivers, over 95,000 vocational tests and 94,000
motorcycle rider tests. A total of 1.7 million theory tests were
carried out at 158 centres. At the end of the year there were
around 43,600 people on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors.
7. DSA was one of the first Government Agencies to introduce an 'online'
8. booking service. Candidates can book and manage their theory
and practical test appointments on line at http://www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest
* Executive agency:
An executive agency is semi-detached from
its parent department and manages its own budget with freedom from
ad hoc, day to day intervention and much of central,
government-wide regulation. They are run under the organisation
and direction of a Chief Executive recruited through open
competition. An executive agency has accountability for the
performance of specific operational tasks as a corporate unit,
including focused performance targets set by the parent department
and personal accountability of the chief executive for performance.
* Trading Fund:
A trading fund is a means of financing
trading activities
undertaken by Government that would
previously have been financed
by annual appropriation from
Parliament. A trading fund permits the establishment of a
self-accounting unit that remains under the control and management
of Ministers and accountable to Parliament through Ministers, but
has greater freedom to manage its financial affairs. Effectively
that means the trading fund body can use its income to settle its
liabilities and retain year-end cash balances.
Establishing the trading fund does not alter the Agency's
constitutional position and it remains part of the Department for Transport.