Logistics UK welcomes changes to UK lorry driver testing process

Freight association says fresh plans to streamline qualification of new hauliers ‘show the government is now moving at pace towards a solution to the current driver shortage’.

UK freight transport association Logistics UK has welcomed changes to streamline the UK’s lorry driver testing process announced by the government last Friday as the country attempts to deal with an acute and worsening freight driver shortage.

Logistics UK said the changes to the HGV driver testing process announced “show the government is now moving at pace towards a solution to the current driver shortage”. The association said the plans to “increase in testing capacity by a third is very welcome, but these promises need to be implemented quickly if they are to make significant difference to the current shortage in time for Christmas”, with many UK businesses already struggling to get stock delivered even prior to the winter peak season.

Elizabeth de Jong, policy director at Logistics UK commented: “With access to tests a key barrier to recruits wishing to join the occupation, the government’s measures to speed up the process of qualifying as an HGV driver – including the removal of staged testing and allowing authorised private sector examiners to undertake parts of the examination – will increase testing capacity significantly and have a positive effect in the longer-term. However, the impact of today’s measures is unlikely to make a significant difference on the driver shortage if they cannot be implemented in time for the industry’s Christmas peak, with DVSA, DVLA and the wider training industry needing time to apply the changes and adapt their operations.”

Ms De Jong continued: “Logistics UK had strongly voiced our concerns about the proposed abolition of the B+E driver category, as this could pose a risk to road safety. However, Logistics UK has been assured that there will be a package of safety mitigation measures introduced; we will be working with government to ensure safety is prioritised.”

Logistics UK’s comments follow the announcement by the government last Friday of further action it would take to tackle the HGV driver shortage, claiming that “up to 50,000 more HGV driving tests will be made available each year thanks to government action to streamline the testing process”.

Despite claims and evidence to the contrary, the UK government continues to deny that its Brexit policies have contributed to the HGV driver shortage in the UK, instead claiming that the problem in the UK reflects “the worldwide lorry driver shortage”.

The government announced that HGV driving tests “will be overhauled, meaning drivers will only need to take 1 test to drive both a rigid and articulated lorry, rather than having to take 2 separate tests (spaced 3 weeks apart). This will make around 20,000 more HGV driving tests available every year and mean drivers can gain their licence and enter the industry more quickly.”

Tests will also be made shorter by removing the ‘reversing exercise’ element – and for vehicles with trailers, the ‘uncoupling and recoupling’ exercise – and having it tested separately by a third party. This part of the test is carried out off the road on a manoeuvring area and takes a significant amount of time.

“Testing such manoeuvres separately will free up examiner time, meaning they can carry out another full test every day,” the government said.

It added: “Car drivers will no longer need to take another test to tow a trailer or caravan, allowing roughly 30,000 more HGV driving tests to be conducted every year.”

The UK government said this new legislation was “changing previous EU regulations which the UK is no longer obliged to use”.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The shortage of drivers is a global problem, but we’ve been taking action here in the UK to help industry leaders attract drivers and build a more resilient sector. We’ve already delivered 50% more tests than were available before the pandemic, but today’s additional measures will deliver up to 50,000 more a year, helping more and more people to kickstart their career as a well-paid HGV driver.”

He said the changes follow a public consultation over the summer, which saw thousands of respondents, including industry leaders, support the move as a positive step to help the sector tackle the lorry driver shortage currently affecting countries around the world.

“The standard of driving required to drive an HGV will not be affected, with road safety continuing to be of paramount importance,” Shapps added. “Any driver who does not demonstrate utmost competence will not be granted a licence.”

He stressed that the driver shortage “is a widespread problem affecting countries across Europe and also the United States, caused by a range of factors, including an ageing workforce. Today’s announcement will ramp up driver testing and numbers and help industry leaders build a resilient UK haulage sector which attracts drivers from across society.”

Source: Lloyd’s