J17 News & Updates

This is the J17 updates page where you will find our latest online CPC course dates, major changes in highway legislation and any other news and updates that relate to us, the driving industry and training within it.

Are your drivers up to date with their Driver CPC?

The deadline for many professional drivers to complete their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training is 9 September 2024.

To make sure your drivers can find training in time, we are asking operators to encourage drivers whose Driver CPC runs out this September to check that they have completed 35 hours well before the 9 September deadline.

Why is demand so high for training every 5 years?

2024 is the 15-year anniversary of Driver CPC for lorry drivers. When it was first introduced all lorry drivers had to get their driver qualification card by September 9, 2014.

This means that many current cards will run out at the same time. So, every 5 years there are lots of drivers trying to complete their 35 hours of training at the same time.

Data shows that lots of drivers leave their training until the last 6 months. In 2019, there were, on average, 5 times more training hours done a month compared to the same time in the previous year

What happens if your drivers miss their training deadline

They cannot drive professionally until they finish their training, and they could be fined up to £1,000 for driving professionally without having a Driver CPC.

All the details for drivers about what to do if they miss their training deadline is available on GOV.UK.

Checking your drivers’ training

Drivers can check the numbers of hours they have done towards their Driver CPC and see what the deadline is to complete it by. Drivers can share this information with operators, but we are not able to give you direct access as the information is owned by the driver.

You can find out more about Driver CPC training on GOV.UK.

See below for our upcoming online DCPC course dates, or call us on

01270 875891

to discuss your DCPC needs.

Upcoming Online CPC courses

Our upcoming online DCPC courses are:

12/06/2025 – Highway Code Refresher & Collision Awareness
16/06/2025 – Speed Management & Drivers Roles & Responsibilities
19/06/2025 – Road Safety & Vehicle Safety Checks
20/06/2025 – Defensive Driving & Driver Attitude & Behaviour

All our online courses start at 8am.

WE ALSO OFFER CLASSROOM BASED COURSES IN CHESHIRE & SHROPSHIRE - contact us to see what dates we have available.

JOIN US

Changes to the drivers’ hours rules for HGV operators

New regulations came into force on Monday 21 April, which changed the drivers’ hours rules for HGV operators.

The drivers’ hours guidance has now been updated to reflect these changes.

Please familiarise yourself with the updated guidance and ensure you remain compliant.

What you need to know – a reminder of the changes

For HGVs, you need to:

produce of drivers records on international journeys
follow AETR rules for journeys to and from the UK and non-EU countries

The update also includes:

a definition of what goods are in relation to drivers’ hours

clarity on national derogation for radio or television broadcasting
an updated list of countries for the EU and non-EU
an updated list of what regulations apply to drivers’ hours and working time
replacing any reference to ‘EU law’ with ‘assimilated drivers’ hours rules’

FIND OUT MORE

Update on Driver CPC reforms

The regulations have been laid in parliament for the planned reforms to Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).

The recommendations were made following a consultation with the vocational driving industry, you can read more details about the recommended reforms on GOV.UK.

The reforms included in the regulations being laid include:

introducing a National Driver CPC that will cover driving a lorry, bus or coach in the UK
allowing training courses to be done in blocks of 3.5 hours rather than the current 7 hours to allow greater flexibility
decoupling e-learning from trainer led courses

The changes are due to come into force later this year but the date cannot be confirmed until Parliamentary approval has been granted. We will keep you up to date on progress.

Periodic test and making it easier to return to driving

As part of the Driver CPC reform consultation, the government also asked about:

speeding up the process for drivers whose Driver CPC has run out to return to driving a lorry of bus coach in the UK. This work is still ongoing; these changes aim to be introduced in 2025.
Introducing a periodic test as an alternative to the Driver CPC for drivers wanting to do the National Driver CPC - a further consultation will be run on this proposal which is being considered by DfT

Changes to the code of practice for enforcement weighing of vehicles

Consolidated code of practice: enforcement weighing of vehicles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)