It appears that the vast majority of drivers will have completed their 35 hours’ Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) training by the September 10 deadline.

It was estimated that between 425,000 and 675,000 professional bus, coach and HGV drivers were in scope of the training requirement. The latest figures show that almost 800,000 drivers are engaged in Driver CPC and just over 564,000 have completed the 35 hours’ training required.

However, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and the Office of the Traffic Commissioner have warned drivers and Transport Operators that they must continue to comply with the Driver CPC training requirements or risk being fined and potentially losing their livelihood.

Driving without a driver qualification card DQC, or failure to produce it, carries a maximum fine of £1,000 – for both the driver and the operator licence holder. These offences will be referred to the Traffic Commissioner who will consider what further action to take, including suspending the driver’s licence and/or the operator’s licence.

Since Driver CPC was introduced 245 drivers have received a fixed penalty fine for failing to produce CPC evidence at the roadside. DVSA have reported 143 cases to the court for prosecution resulting in fines for many up to £1000.00.