State of confusion
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The long awaited overhaul of the LGV test has been delayed six months in a surprise announcement by the Driving Standards Agency. But why? The DSA says the industry needed a further breathing space, yet LGV schools say they were raring to go. However, a recent test boom now looks likely to continue until January next year, when the changes are implemented.
Few LGV driver training specialists believe the Driving Standards Agency was truly responding to their needs by delaying until next January, the implementation of the largest single overhaul of the 28-year-old LGV driving test.
A revised timetable was apparently deemed necessary to allow the industry a breathing space, to reduce the confusion which might have been caused by introducing wholesale licensing changes and driving test amendments for cars, motorcycles, and trucks simultaneously on 1 July 1996.
The word on the manoeuvring areas, however, is that it was the DSA itself which was more in need of a breathing space.
Perhaps only the DSA and maybe the Department of Transport were in states of confusion.
As the delay was announced, most of the driver training centres were enjoying overwhelming demand for LGV driving tests before 1 July, from a very acutely aware customer base. June bookings at most of the 72 LGV test centres were so tight that ticket touts had begun to smell business opportunities.
It is hard to see how any reputable training centre could have been confused by the introduction of a theory test involving such straight forward matters as road safety the Highway Code and load stability Most centres worth training with have been including their own unofficial versions for years anyway The addition of an uncoupling and re-coupling exercise to the test was unlikely to cause concern either, as most trainees find themselves coupling semi-trailers up in the morning and uncoupling them at the end of a day's training.
Anxiety, yes, with regard to the restructuring of training fleets. Now new car drivers will no longer be able to drive a 7.5-tonner (Cl licence required) and the need for a rigid licence (group C) before taking the articulated vehicle driving test (group C+E), investment in vehicles seems inevitable.
Training arm
At Lane Group's training arm, Training Force, instructor Les Brain says two artics and one rigid are more likely to become two rigids and one artic. At Aldridge-based Westgate Training, managing director Ron Wyld says: "We have four artics, two rigids and no 7.5-tonners. I feel we will have to bring it down to three artics, three rigids and possibly two 7.5-tonners eventually" In the middle of April, the word "confusion" only became appropriate at training centre level whenever questions relating to the revised format of the practical examination, or the procedure for taking the theory test were asked. You've guessed it, nobody knew for sure.
"Bearing in mind that I'm based in Nottingham—the home of the DSA—I've spoken in depth to the examiners at my local test centre and one or two people at the DSA, who could not even confirm to me that the coupling exercise was a part of the practical test," says lan Treece, director of Ian Treece HG V Training, Ron Wyld says: "We've no idea what the written questions are likely to be or how many are likely to be asked. We have no framework for the layout of the examination paper, we don't know where the written tests are going to be taken or what arrangements we will have to make. In other words, just as usual, it's mushroom manage ment by the DSA." Since the decision to delay, it has been announced that there will be 25 questions on the paper and that the test will cost around £15 to sit. However, the DSA says a candidate upgrading from the C to C+E licence will not have to take a second theory test.
Theory tests
Theory tests will be taken at one of 145 special test centres around the UK which have been set up from scratch.
The 70,000 or so PCV and LGV written tests each year will be administered by the relatively unknown organisation called Drivesafe Services, which won the £70 million five-year written test contract for all vehicle classes.
Drivesafe is a joint venture between training specialist JHP Group of Coventry, and London. based systems and service management company Capita.
As far as the coupling procedure is concerned, DSA says this will form part of the practical test unless the candidate has some form of disability which makes this impractical.
Confusion also arose over the anomaly of the drawbar cotnbination drivers, many of whom passed the former class II and class III driving tests.
The new classification puts the drawbar in the C+E group.
"C+E limits to drawbar trailers will continue to be valid past 1 January 1997.1 take that to mean that those who are currently driving drawbar trailers under that arrangement will continue to be validly licensed," says a DSA spokesman.
The use of drawbar combinations could become a short cut to financial safety for some of the smaller training organisations—particularly the one-man bands.
"There are quite a few schools I know of which are going to have the semi-trailer converted to a drawbar and the tractor unit stretched. They can then get away with using the front end for group C and hooking up the trailer for C+E. This to me is craziness, because a rigid and drawbar handles totally differently to an articulated vehicle," says Ian Treece.
Rigid test
Most of the centres are united in welcoming all of the changes to the test. However, opinions differ as to the logic employed with regard to the oddities in the system.
"My first reaction to the need to take a rigid test before taking the articulated licence was that it was about time. I was amazed to learn that somebody could take a C+E test as soon as they had received their C entitlement from the MU." says Centrex LGV training con
sultant Mike Williams. He believes some waiting time is appropriate, but concedes that if no driving experience was gained meanwhile, a time lapse could produce a negative result.
Treece's solution is a three-month gap, accompanied by a subsequent written declaration that a minimum number of hours driving rigids had been completed.
One thing most centres seem to agree on, is that trainee C+E drivers are likely to get more training, rather than less.
For example, at C( White Line Training an Treece Agency in Shrewsbury, Training proprietor Mike Amos Westgi trains drivers under con tract to the Shropshire Lane Force 01 TEC: "Our contract is to Centres 01 bring unemployed peoWhite Line 01 ple in, place them with a
host company, which gives them exj of shunting and loading. Over 10 we trainees do other courses such as f motion and roping and sheeting, bet ing the C+E test.
The test and licensing changes wil bly mean an extension of the trainim by about four weeks so that both th the C+E tests can be completed."
His trainees will not have to bear ai costs, but career changers, aspiring tx vers and the Joe Publics who just learn to drive a truck will. The worry significant number of the latter will b ened off by the thought of having to f tests before getting a C+E licence. Th revenue.
However, Ian Treece thinks that t price that is worth paying: "From a t point of view it might not be good industry, but as far as safety is conce got to be good."
Li by Steve McQueen