Tachodisc In The News

Looking forward to Driver CPC

Talking to Courier Direct, Karen Crispe Director of Tachodisc confirms that 2009 is already proving to be an eventful year; together with marking its 30th anniversary, the company is also preparing for the new Driver CPC legislation which comes into force for LGV operators this September. As a JAUPT accredited training centre for Driver CPC, Tachodisc has been delivering courses since they were first introduced on the PCV industry in September 2008, and says that LGV operators can now learn a lot from the bus and coach industry and their experiences of implementing Driver CPC.

Driver CPC is set to change how LGV operators approach training, it’s not optional, so it is important that they embrace the legislation and evaluate what type of training will be of most benefit to their business, i.e. training that will ultimately have cost benefits, resulting in more skilled and knowledgeable drivers that comply with the rules and drive their vehicles more safely and economically.

Tachodisc’s experience has been that operators are concentrating on the driver’s legal obligations, with Drivers’ Hours Law and Digital Tachographs courses being the most popular. This is not surprising in view of all the legislation changes that have been imposed on the industry in recent years, and now the introduction of graduated fixed penalty scheme and the implications of this to an operator in respect of OCRS scoring. We’ve introduced an economical driving module, as we believe this will also be a priority for the LGV industry.

Our advice to operators using the lessons learned from the PCV industry is that they should consider adopting a phased approach to the requirement of 35-hours of training in a five year period, by planning 7-hours annually for every driver. It is also important to prepare drivers for Driver CPC, many of who have never had any formal training and so understandably may be concerned.

Tachodisc offers a range of Driver CPC approved courses from its Warrington training school. These include 7-hour courses on Drivers’ Hours and Tachograph Regulations, Digital Tachographs, Tachograph Records and Working Time Requirements, Defect Reporting, Economical Driving, and Driver Safety Controls and Systems. Courses can also be held at an operators’ premises.

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