Drivers of vehicles requiring a 'C' category driving licence (e.g. livestock transports heavier than 3.5t) have less than a year to complete 35 hours of Driver CPC training.
The deadline for drivers of passenger vehicles (e.g. minibuses) was on 9th September this year. The requirement for 35 hours training will then repeat itself over a period of every five years.
You can read more about Driver CPC here.
The Driver Standards Agency has released guidance including examples of when the rules apply to agriculture, for example those taking cattle to market.
Driver CPC do not apply to those towing a livestock trailer behind a tractor or a 4x4, as these are driven on a different category of licence. Members can read a full Q&A briefing in the related documents tab below. The DSA guidance can be found here.
One note gives the following example:
'Driver E is a farmer. On an average of once a month, he drives his animals to a local cattle market for auction. He requires a CPC when undertaking this activity as he is not carrying materials or equipment to be used by him in the course of his work. The farmer is carrying cattle intended for sale.'
The NFU believes that this situation is not acceptable for its members and that it will place a disproportionate burden on operators to arrange training for a driver who only drive trucks or minibuses for a short time. The NFU wrote to ministers about the CPC requirements and is disappointed that there is no exemption for those undertaking limited journeys in agriculture.
The European Commission has recently announced a review of the Directive requirements, to which the NFU is responding. You can find details of the consultation here. The deadline for responses is the 25 October and if you would like to contribute to the NFU submission, please contact by the 21 October. We are also responding to a Driver Standard Agency consultation aimed to help inform the U.K position.
We urge affected members not to leave training to the last minute. The Joint Approvals Unit for Periodic Training has a course search function on its website which can be found here.