CPC Initial Driver

CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) is a mandatory norm for all the drivers under the new guidelines set by European Union for maintaining road safety and driving standards. All LGV/HGV, PCV, Lorry, Trailer bus drivers need to hold a CPC driver qualification cards.

Initial Driver CPC

Initial driver CPC is the first norm for acquiring driver qualification card to be able to drive professionally all the heavy duty vehicles across UK and Europe. It entails passing a Case Study Theory test and practical test.

Who needs Initial CPC?

There are certain guidelines appended below, regarding who needs driver CPC card and who does not, as these guidelines have come into effect recently:
• For all the drivers who drive heavy duty vehicles (license categories: C1, C, CE, C1E, D, D1, D+E, and D1+E)
• For those drivers who have attained car license after January after 1997, needs to pass initial driver CPC to get Driver Qualification card to drive Lorries of 3.5 tonnes weight upwards and buses/coach with more than 9 seats.
• Drivers of minibuses or coaches, who have entitlement on their license which states: Not for hire or reward, are subjected to professional driving and so requires compulsory initial driver CPC qualification card.
• Drivers who want to transit from their LGV license to PCV and vice-versa need to obtain initial driver CPC (unless they hold C1 already).

Who does not need Initial CPC?

• For bus and coach drivers who have attained heavy duty vehicle licenses before September 10, 2008 have “acquired rights” and Lorry drivers who have gained their respective licenses before September 10, 2009 have “acquired rights” and are allowed to skip Initial driver CPC, up until September 9 2013, and September 9, 2014 respectively for the above two stated categories. After that period they need to undergo periodic training to renew their CPC qualification card.

Who does not need CPC at all?

• The vehicle driver does not drive over a speed limit of 45 Km/Hr.
• If the vehicle belongs to public maintenance unit.
• Fire unit vehicle
• Military vehicle
• For vehicles used in rescue mission
• The vehicle is not used for any professional capacity at all
After the successful completion of the theory as well as practical test, a driver is entitled with CPC qualification card, and is legally permitted to drive professionally.
A CPC qualification card holder also has to undergo 35 hours periodic training over the course of next 5 years to renew their CPC qualification.
Manager’s CPC
Also known as operator’s CPC or Transport Manager’s CPC, this qualification is held by a person who operates their own fleet of transport vehicles.

CPC Test Modules

For passing the Initial CPC test and acquire CPC qualification card, a driver has to undergo CPC test modules. Along with the concerned license category and their related tests, a driver has to undergo CPC case study test if they wish to work as a professional driver for a living.

Test Modules:

Module 1: Multiple Choice and Hazard Perception Test:

Multiple Choice Questions:

• At the start, a driver is provided with instruction on how to attempt the test. A practice session is also provided to get a look over of the questions laid out, and digital format used.
• After the start of the test session, questions with multiple answer options will appear on the screen, the driver has to choose the correct one out of these with mouse or touch screen. Some questions may carry more than one correct answer.
• The total number of questions asked is 100, and the time period allowed is 115 minutes.
• Each question carries 1 mark.
• The passing eligibility for Multiple Choice test section is 85 marks out of 100.
• The pass mark for the multiple choice part of the theory test is 85 out of 100.

Hazard Perception:

• This test includes video clip presentation of about 19 videos featuring every day road scenes.
• The clips featured have at least one hazard involved, while in one of the clips the developing hazard value is 2.
• The driver has to respond in a quick time to predict the developing hazard. The quicker the response, more are the marks allotted, with maximum 5 marks for each clip.
• The pass mark for the Hazard Perception part of the theory test is 67 out of 100.

Module 2: Driver CPC Case Study Theory Test:

• This test is a computer based test and uses case studies.
• The questions can be answered in various different patterns as asked in questionnaire, such as multiple choice questions, clicking on an area, or by typing in the answer.
• Total of 7 case studies from real life scenarios, each containing 6-8 questions.
• The test contains maximum mark limit of 50 marks, out of which 40 is the minimum passing limit.
• Total time given: 90 minutes.
• Can be taken on the same day as Module 1 or arranged separately
• Module 1 and 2 can be taken in any order.

Module 3: Practical Driving test:

• A driver must have passed their module 1 test before taking this test.
• The examiner evaluates the performance of the driver based on their all-round controls, and driving technique.
• Minimum of 1 hour taken by the examiner to evaluate a driver’s skills on varied conditions and traffic modes.

Module 4: CPC Practical Demonstration Test:

• A driver must have passed their Module 2 test before taking this test.
• This test focuses on vehicle safety patterns.
• The test contains 5 different topics.
• The test carries a maximum of 20 mark limit, out of which 15 is the passing criteria in each topic.
• The total pass percentage should be equal to and more than 80 %.
• Total time given: 90 minutes.
• Examiner evaluates different skills of the driver, such as:
? Loading the vehicle deploying proper safety rules and guidelines.
? Assessment of emergency and critical situations.
? Safe and secure passage of vehicle loads.
? Prevention of physical damage, risk involvement, trafficking, and criminal activities.
For drivers, who want to drive for professionally working as paid drivers, need to undertake and pass module 2 and 4 compulsorily, else for non-professional drivers, module 1 and 2 is enough.
After the successful completion of all the modules, a driver is issued with Driver CPC Qualification Card, which must be renewed after 5 years via periodic training to continue working as a paid driver.

CPC Periodic Training

35 Hour Periodic Training

For “Acquired Rights” driver, they have to complete their 35 hour compulsory periodic training before September 2013 (PCV) or September 2014 (LGV) to be able to hold Qualification card and work as a professionally paid driver.
For newer drivers, they need to pass Initial driver CPC.

Periodic training entitlement

This 35 hour training can be taken any time until the deadline. The 35-hour periodic training grants a professional Driver Qualification Card, valid until September 2018 (PCV) holders and September 2019 (LGV). After September 2013 (PCV) or September 2014 (LGV), a driver will need to undergo this periodic training again before 2018 (PCV)/ 2019 (LGV) to renew their CPC qualification card.
This training helps a driver to renew their CPC qualification for the next five years, and so on, up until they decide to quit from professional driving. We are accredited by RTITB, which makes our training modules eligible for counting towards a driver’s periodic hours training.
It should be noted that Periodic Training Hours are counted towards Drivers Hours. We help you gain and renew your professional driving knowledge, while at the same time that training hours are counted towards your 35-hours periodic training.
Book now and avail of low training rates.

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