Driver Certificate of Professional Competency

wil

Commercial/goods/buses/truck drivers - NOT car drivers

"the qualification and training requirements for professional drivers of buses,coaches and goods vehicles."

I came across this on one of my many visits to googleland.
Dont think it has been mentioned before & I hadnt heard much about it
It may be of interest to people with or planning to get C and D licences.

It looks as if there will be a legal requirement to undergo regular training to maintain your licence, to be called a CPC from 2008/2009

CPC” means a certificate of professional competence certifying a driver’s—(a) initial qualification under Regulation 7, or(b) periodic retraining under Regulation 11

Its all in the SI below, makes tortuous reading but some of the almost English bits are

S.I. No. 91 of 2008 European Communities (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) Regulations 2008

must attend a compulsory periodic retraining course at an approved centre.(2) A compulsory periodic retraining course shall be conducted in accordancewith the syllabus for the relevant vehicle category concerned.(3) A compulsory periodic retraining course must be of a duration of 35 hoursevery 5 years and must be taken in a minimum tranche of 7 hours per year foreach of the 5 year period.

Page 15
[91] 15(b) A person who fails to comply with subparagraph (a) commits anoffence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding\2,000.(2) A person who causes or permits another who does not hold a valid driverCPC in relation to a relevant vehicle to drive a relevant vehicle commits anoffence.(3) A person who contravenes paragraph (2) is liable on summary convictionto a fine not exceeding \5,000.GIVEN under my Official Seal,7 April 2008NOEL DEMPSEY.Minister for Transport.

http://www.attorneygeneral.ie/esi/2008/B26025.pdf

Happy reading

Wishbone Ash

wil wrote:

Dont think it has been mentioned before

It has been mentioned here a few times but not in a dedicated thread. I had intended to begin one several times over the past few months but never got around to it!

Here is the RSA page on Certificates of Professional Competency and here are some Frequently Asked Questions.

I will be entitled to a CPC under the 'acquired rights' but I'll have to do one day's training per year for the next five years.

I must make enquiries/arrangements for doing that.


(The driver Certificate of Professional Competency should not be confused with the Road Transport Certificate of Professional Competency which is for transport managers only).

wil wrote: »

Commercial/goods/buses/truck drivers - NOT car drivers

Apologies for being pedantic but "Commercial" is an unsuitable term to use as a car, small van, tractor etc. may be 'commercial' vehicles but the drivers are not obliged to have a CPC.

There are also many bus and truck drivers who will be exempt from having it.

Wishbone Ash

From the RSA:

CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) Unit


The EU has encouraged its members to provide better training for professional drivers. Many professional drivers in the EU are working without the benefit of training or the opportunity to regularly refresh their skills. As a result the EU introduced Directive 2003/59/EC which makes it compulsory for European member states to have Driver CPC for all professional bus and truck drivers.

The introduction of Driver CPC requires more rigorous testing and continuous training for professional bus drivers from 10th September 2008 and truck drivers from 10th September 2009. The holder of a full driving licence for a truck or bus before CPC is introduced will automatically be entitled to a Driver CPC this is called acquired rights.

The RSA issued a Consultation document in August 2007 outlining the requirements of Driver CPC and how the RSA could introduce Driver CPC in Ireland. The Consultation document made a number of recommendations and invited feedback from the transport industry and the general public on their observations and views on Driver CPC.

The RSA also met with the transport industry representative organisations, large transport employers and any other organisation or individuals who wished to express their views on Driver CPC. The RSA consulted with other European countries and exchanged information on how each country was implementing Driver CPC.

Following on from the consultation period and taking into account the feedback received a decision was made on the best way to implement CPC. It takes into account your views and that of the transport industry. It is designed to meet our legal obligations whilst minimising disruption to the road haulage and passenger transport industry.

The information leaflet and booklet are designed to inform you all about CPC and how it is likely to affect you as a professional driver.

AllGunsBlazing

Having recently passed my category C test I assume this also entitles to me a CPC under acquired rights, but will that cover all truck categories or just rigids?

What if I were to take an EC driving test after the changes in September would I also have to take further CPC tests for that category or am I already covered by the 'acquired rights' thing?

I've just applied for my EC learner permit and would hope to have a full licence before September but it would be nice to know what the story is.

Snuggle Bunny

Hi there. The driver cpc started on September 10th 2008 for category D (coach/bus) and will start for hgv's on september 10th 2009. in your case you will not have to do the initial theory test which is now about 2 hours long because you have your C licence. The driving test for your artic will now last roughly an hour and a half, but you then have to do a second test,this will not involve driving but a walk around the vehicle answering general safety and technical question.This should last no longer than half an hour and can be done on the same day of your driving test. Anybody driving a coach or truck for a living (even for one day a year) will have to do periodic training. There are 5 modules to this and you can only do one module per year, when you have finished module 5 in year 5 you then go back to module one and repeat the process.There are some exemptions to this.

AllGunsBlazing

Thanks for the info, hopefully I should have it all done before the new testing comes into effect.