Q In CM last week (August 18) Mr Ted Garrett, Labour
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MP for Wallsend, was quoted as saying that under the present regulations a lorry driver who is out of work for six months automatically loses his licence. Could you clarify whether he was referring to the six-month quali&ing period or to drivers who alren* hold a full hgv driving licence?
AThere is no question of existing hgv driving licence holders (whatever class of licence they hold) losing their licence if they are out of work, off sick or transferred to work other than driving for six months. Once a driver holds an hgv driving licence he can only lose it if the Licensing Authority suspends or revokes it for offences committed, or because the holder's health deteriorates below the required standard, or if he fails to renew the licence within a period of five years of its expiry date.
Similarly a driver who, for example, holds a Class I hgv driving licence but who is required to drive a vehicle of a lower class for a long period will still be entitled to a Class I licence when he renews it.
We feel sure that Mr Garrett must be referring to the qualifying period which requires that a driver who wished to obtain an hgv driving licence without taking the hgv driving test was entitled to the automatic grant of a licence provided he had been in the habit of driving a vehicle of the class for which he required the licence for a period or periods in aggregate amounting to six months between February 2, 1969, and February 1, 1970.