Peter Smythe:
How many other countries,is the age limt 18 for HGV licences.?
Believe all of EU as from Sept as it’s european legislation.
hi peter
is there some where in the new CPC that 18 year old have a restriction some thing like only 50-km from base till there reach 21
that is for PCV
18 to 21 restrictions for PCV only
i would not like to see an 18 year odl driving an artic, i may only be 23 myself but im glad i had to wait till i was 21 to get my licence, got me more driving experience before i went for the big ones
they should have restrictions on what they can drive, eg 18 ton max,
dave:
and a class 1 at 20just like a lot of ex military drivers on here.
guilty 
i started agency work at 21 and had 5 years part time commercial experience under my belt when i left the army so i left with a running start.
admittedly i do have doubts about this but at the same time i do think there are 18 year olds who would do fine. truck driving is partly down to attitude. if its something they really want to do rather than thinking it looks like easy money then they would probably make good drivers. wanting to drive a truck increases the chances of them wanting to be good at it so they are half way there already. i think the first step should be an attitude test to find out why they want to drive a truck. if their reasons are good then let give them the chance
It doesn’t matter what age really as there will still be insurance issues, a lot of companies insurance policies do not cover drivers under 25 anyway, I can see the only young drivers being covered are the one’s that have grown up in a haulage family, the last time I insured my truck the policy was for any licenced driver but excluded any driver under 25, I should imagine the extra amount to insure would be horrendous and the policy excess’s would be astronomical.
Time will tell whether this is a correct piece of legislation or not, personally I do not think it is, there was already talk of raising the driving age to 18 for cars, I cannot see that even given thorough training a youngster would be safe with 44 tons under him, it’s the sort of thing that happens with experience gained over years and not a few weeks training in a plastic environment, it would be interesting to see how many hauliers do take on young drivers though.
My main worry would be that an 18 year old would not have had sufficient time to get much practical road experience, but Peter has a good point:
Peter Smythe:
These new drivers, regardless of age, will have passed SIX tests to get to Class 1.
- Multiple choice theory - 100 questions (many experienced drivers can’t pass this)
- Hazard perception test (even fewer experienced drivers can pass this - but that’s another subject!)
- Case studies - 50 questions (I have no knowledge of experienced drivers trying this)
- Practical driver cpc (looks like having the worst pass rate of anything yet offered by the DSA)
- Practical HGV Class 2 - LGV C
- Practical HGV Class 1 - LGV CE
So these new drivers will have had more training, had to demonstrate a much higher standard of driving over a longer period and on more occasions, and maybe - just maybe - quite a lot better equipped to work driving artics than any of us were.
Most 18 year olds would have far better reflexes than drivers a little older - and probably don’t have their heads cluttered up with all the baggage and distractions that the more experienced drivers have accumulated over the years. 
You still can’t teach experience, though, so despite their reflexes and competence, would young drivers be able to use these skills to keep themselves and other road users safe 
I truly hope so. 
is there some where in the new CPC that 18 year old have a restriction some thing like only 50-km from base till there reach 21
that is for PVC
That finishes as well in Sept.
is there some where in the new CPC that 18 year old have a restriction some thing like only 50-km from base till there reach 21
that is for PVC
Hi Del - - what you do at the weekends is your own business mate!
give them the chance they deserve.
i got my license when i was 18 and still have not had an accident.
remember we were all that age and aspiring to be hgv drivers.
better having local 18 yrs olds driving than the imported drivers who have ruined the hgv job.
their driving is not so good either.
Before the wall came down the east germans could drive class 1 at 18 years old but i dont know about west germans? I have a few german mates who regularly drove to russia and beyond when they were younger and i think its all down to the person and not his age!! 
Peter Smythe:
is there some where in the new CPC that 18 year old have a restriction some thing like only 50-km from base till there reach 21
that is for PVCHi Del - - what you do at the weekends is your own business mate!
Hi mate
well spotted have now edited it
is there some where in the new CPC that 18 year old have a restriction some thing like only 50-km from base till there reach 21
that is for PVC
Peter Smythe:
That finishes as well in Sept.
I’m not so sure about that…
CODES & AGES & RESTRICTIONS gives the info for before and after the introduction of the PCV DRIVER CPC.
I am not an expert at reading law so what does this mean -
2007 No. 605
ROAD TRAFFIC
The Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence)
Regulations 2007
Amendment of the Driving Licences Regulations
15.–(1) Regulation 9 of the Driving Licences Regulations (minimum ages for holding or obtaining licences) is amended as follows.
(2) Omit paragraph (5).
(3) For paragraphs (7) and (8) substitute–
“(7) In item 7, the age of 18 is substituted for the age of 21 in relation to a motor vehicle of a class included in category C or C+E where the person driving the vehicle –
(a) has an initial qualification authorising him to drive motor vehicles of that class,
(b) is using the vehicle as described in regulation 3(2)(e) of the Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) Regulations 2007,
(c) is authorised by such document as is referred to in regulation 4(5)(d) of those Regulations to drive motor vehicles of that class,
(d) by reason of being a person in relation to whom regulation 4(7) of those
Regulations applies, is not required to have an initial qualification as described in paragraph (a).”
(4) For paragraph (9) substitute–
“(9) In item 7, the age of 18 is substituted for the age of 21 in relation to a motor vehicle of a class included in category D or D+E, other than sub-category D1 or D1+E, where the person driving the vehicle –
(a) has an initial qualification authorising him to drive motor vehicles of that class and is either –
(i) engaged in the carriage of passengers on a regular service over a route which does not exceed 50 kilometres,
(ii) not engaged in the carriage of passengers, (b) is using the vehicle as described in regulation 3(2)(e) of the Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) Regulations 2007,
(c) is authorised by such document as is referred to in regulation 4(5)(d) of those Regulations to drive motor vehicles of that class, or
(d) by reason of being a person in relation to whom regulation 4(7) of those
Regulations applies, is not required to have an initial qualification relating to motor vehicles of that class.
(9A) In item 7, the age of 18 is substituted for the age of 21 in relation to a motor vehicle of a class included in sub-category D1 or D1+E where the person driving the vehicle –
(a) has an initial qualification authorising him to drive motor vehicles of that class,
(b) is using the vehicle as described in regulation 3(2)(e) of the Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) Regulations 2007,
(c) is authorised by such document as is referred to in regulation 4(5)(d) of those Regulations to drive motor vehicles of that class, or
(d) by reason of being a person to whom regulation 4(7) of those Regulations applies, is not required to have an initial qualification relating to motor vehicles of that class.
(9B) In item 7, the age of 20 is substituted for the age of 21 in relation to a motor vehicle of a class include in category D or D+E, other than sub-category D1 or D1+E, where the person driving the vehicle –
(a) has an initial qualification authorising him to drive motor vehicles of that class, and
(b) is engaged in the carriage of passengers otherwise than on such a service as is described in paragraph (9)(a)(i).”
The rest of Europe has had 18 year old drivers for years… About time the UK woke up and got its act together and started to get people back into this industry rather than importing Eastern European (so-called) Drivers with mickey mouse non verfiable licences and non verfiable experience…
Don’t see a problem with 18 year old class 1 drivers…does anyone seriously think the 21 year olds are any better? Get real…you’re a good driver at any age or you’re not, end of.
Any 18 year old with a fresh class 1 pass certificate applying for a job will go for a driving assessment (same as a driver of any age) and an interview…his/her fate will be decided then, no different…unless of course our esteemed government introduce some kind of incentive to employ said 18 year olds?
I don’t see the problem, apart from for the poor sods that pass at 18 and may well run into insurance prejudice…this disnae sound a well-thought-out initiative, funnily enough!
Maybe the country is short of LGV1 drivers at the mo?! Mmm.
Denis F:
My eldest daughter … is working for somebody else doing UK & Euro work with horses)
But there again most accidents which are posted in the media show that more older HGV drivers are usualy involved in accidents.
But If that driver passes all the neccesary tests which the government have aggreed on then that person must be fit to drive the said vehicle. And until the government say that you cannot drive the vehicle because you didn’t pass the test then you are not yet ready to be in that vehicle. Until then whatever you say here won’t change the governments decision.
Are you all going to have a heart attack when you see an 18 year old driver on the road for the first time? Just. Remember YOU had to start there once!
Good luck to them, i went down the forces route class 3 at 18, class 1 at 20. The thing i’ve found is it doesn’t matter when you pass your test when you go out on the road you’re on your own and it is one BIG learning curve ! Also i’ve been driving artics for over twenty years & was recently made redundant & now am struggling for a weeks work most of the time, so good luck to them getting a job when they have passed their test. 
smurfworth:
But there again most accidents which are posted in the media show that more older HGV drivers are usualy involved in accidents.
Questionable 
I would agree that statement might be true amongst car drivers, chavs and chaps with hats are probably more likely to have accidents 
I dont know a about anyone else but i get the feeling the industry must want this as way of cutting costs even more. yes there insurance may go up a bit but the minimum wage is a lot lower between 18 & 21 hopefully it wont happen but if the big companys can ■■■■■ ther wage bill by a few million a year they will
colin.f.whitetrans:
Before the wall came down the east germans could drive class 1 at 18 years old but i dont know about west germans? I have a few german mates who regularly drove to russia and beyond when they were younger and i think its all down to the person and not his age!!
I worked alongside a Dutch company who were subbing to Norman Lewis. They had 2 very good lads on for them, both only 18.
Remember Maliepaard?
