Q In the July 23 issue of CM you
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published a letter headed "Deskbound hgv licence". Your correspondent was getting all steamed up, claiming that every mechanic has his exemption form filled in in case his employer might need an hgv driver. He also claims that the workshop foreman gets one, although he may hardly drive at all, if ever. Could you please make the position of the mechanic and garage foreman cry..:tal clear on this issue?
I am employed by a private company as foreman in the works garage to look after a mixed fleet of vehicles, from cars to 8-ton lorries. Of the 20 vehicles, five are in the hgv licence category. I know about the six-month qualifying period from February 1969 to February 1970, but exactly how much driving time in this period qualifies for exemption? I have held a full licence since 17 years of age, which is over 30 years, as has my mechanic who is a similar age and does the work on the vehicles.
At present we are still driving on these licences for test purposes, and taking vehicles to the testing stations etc. This brings me back to my original theme — what exactly is the period of driving required, and would the driving experience described be qualification? Your correspondent would have us believe we all get licences automatically, even if we had never driven a heavy vehicle. However, many of us have been driving for many years with heavy goods, perhaps even before your correspondent was born, and not just for a six-month qualifying period of so-called drivers.
A It is quite clear from the appropriate
hgv driving licence regulations that no person will be granted an hgv driving licence of any class, without taking a test whatever his experience or the number of years he has been driving, unless his experience specifically meets that laid down in the regulations.
The regulations state that to gain a licence automatically without a test the applicant must have been -in the habit' of driving goods vehicles of the class for which he requires a licence for a period totalling six months within the year between February 2 1969 and February 1 1970.
Interpretation of the term "in the habit" has presented a great deal of difficulty and confusion but it seems to be the case that Licensing Authorities before granting a licence need to be satisfied that applicants have driven regularly during the qualifying period. Whether driving on one or two days a week or whether driving for an odd hour or so on five days a week would be sufficient to qualify is purely a matter for the individual Licensing Authority to decide.
We recommend that you advise your local LA's office of your exact driving record with hgv during the qualifying period to see if they will indicate whether your experience is sufficient to enable you to obtain a licence without taking the test.
Any suggestion that a licence will be granted without any experience of driving heavy goods vehicles and without a test is completely wrong. Any employer who certifies that a driver has hgv experience when in fact he has not, is laying himself open to legal proceedings. There have already been some cases of this type before the courts.