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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.