IAM Drive & Survive has launched a full programme of Driver CPC classroom and on-road learning.

Five classroom courses cover customer care, driver risk management, working hours, green driving and health and safety. Each module lasts seven hours.

The three on-road courses are a new driver foundation course, advanced driver coaching and post incident coaching.

All of these courses are designed to recognise the professionalism and practical needs of LGV and PCV drivers.

An IAM Drive & Survive poll of over 300 drivers showed that three quarters of drivers don’t realise that not taking training on time could disqualify them from professional driving. They and their employer also risk being fined up to £1,000 each.

IAM Drive & Survive head of training Simon Elstow said: “The clock is ticking, and while September 2013 and 2014 may seem a long way off, if you haven’t started Driver CPC yet, you’ve still got the equivalent of a full working week of training to go. With so many companies putting off their training until the last minute, there will be drivers who miss out simply because they’ve left it too late.”

Driver CPC means that all professional drivers now need to complete 35 hours of training every five years to continue driving for a living. New drivers to the professions also need to pass the initial qualification.

Those who’ve been driving for a while (before 10 September 2008 for bus and coach drivers and before 10 September 2009 for lorry drivers) have ‘acquired rights’ that last for five years from these dates.

The deadlines for these drivers to have completed 35 hours of periodic training are September 2013 for bus and coach and September 2014 for lorry.
 

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