No h.g.v.
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tests before late 1969?
• The latest information suggested that heavy goods vehicle driving tests would not start until the latter part of 1969, the Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers was told by Mr. A. E. Tear at its recent meeting. He said the Ministry was still insisting that vehicles used in the test would have to be unladen, and that the uncoupling of artics during the test would remain a standard requirement.
It was expected that certificates of competence would be required from employers in the case of applicants for the licence who were habitual drivers of h.g.v. not needing to undertake the test itself. Habitual drivers of more than one class of vehicle would be able to claim a licence for the higher class, and the Ministry was prepared to interpret "habitually" fairly widely.
Mr. Teer felt that some training for the test would be necessary, even for good drivers, since they could fail on the "trimmings-. In a discussion, some safety officers present revealed that their companies would expect the driver to pay for the h.g.v. licence in the first instance, with repayments spread over the three years of its currency. One member said his company would expect drivers to pay for their own licence outright, but there was a concensus of opinion that the shortage of first-class drivers would create a situation in which companies would pay for the licence as well as the training and the test.
For discussion at the next meeting of AIRSO in December is a draft constitution: the aim is to put the association in a firmer position to promote road safety, encourage the employment of specialized safety officers, and present recommendations to government departments and other bodies.