The recovery vehicle may be the tool of the trade but driving it to recover another vehicle is one of its main activities so it does not then simply become a means to get the equipment to a place to use on site for the main job
Only exemption is for fitters to take wagons for MOTs,road tests etc! 
before a recovery vehicle is sent out to recover another vehicle a mechanic / fitter will usually have attended said vehicle and deemed recovery necessary.
therefore driving and being paid for driving is the only object
green456:
before a recovery vehicle is sent out to recover another vehicle a mechanic / fitter will usually have attended said vehicle and deemed recovery necessary.
therefore driving and being paid for driving is the only object
Never happend that way with us.the job came in,we attend it in truck,fix/recover as needed
I agree with above , done recoverys / breakdowns on the 25 …
Out of fuel , flat tyre fixed and on there way…
Wrong fuel , RTA or C and recovered …
Spoke to one of the boys in blue today (Met) and he says no dont worry about it… but at the end of the day he s a cop (Not traffic) and couldn’t know all the laws…
green456:
before a recovery vehicle is sent out to recover another vehicle a mechanic / fitter will usually have attended said vehicle and deemed recovery necessary.
therefore driving and being paid for driving is the only object
You either work for the AA, the RAC or most likely you’re just throwing your uninformed opinion into an empty bowl.
The question of DCPC & recovery is an interesting & very important one for drivers involved with or thinking of being involved in recovery.
I agree with chas , does sound like an AA , RAC answer… (Not knocking them) .
Im pretty sure nothing has been set yet, or even said yet to clear this up…
I read in AVRO mag quite a while ago there will be only one answer to this , being when a recovery firm or OD is taken to court… ■■?
Any more thoughts on this lads ? does seem to be a grey area still.
It’s a very interesting case, as if you send a wrecker out to a lorry, and the driver can fix it using tools on the vehicle, and then depart, I can argue no CPC is needed, the wrecker is a mobile toolbox and the mechanics work is fixing the lorry.
If he can’t fix it and needs to tow it away, then his work becomes driving as a primary activity and you pretty certainly would need CPC for that.
In any case the problem with relying on exemptions is that knowing your luck you will be stopped the one time in a blue moon you are doing something abnormal.
Our drivers are exempt most of the time, but to save arguments, particularly when in Europe we are having to just get the silly thing done. We almost always only take AV equipment and an OBU to events, but it is occasionally known to take a box of this or that for one of our national offices, and that alone would make us need CPC.
Unless you are 100% sure that 100% of the time you will be exempt it ceases to become worth the risk of not doing it.
I have to agree , if theres any doubt do it. But 3 to 4 hundred quid for something you might or might not need is alot of money for drivers and firms… that will teach very little. If the CPC was revolved around the part of the industry , i.e , recovery there would be some sense.
If you think about it it’s not going to be the case that a scaffolder is suddenly not exempt for one day because they got stuck in traffic and the drive there was longer than the time spent putting up the job.
It is obivously going to have to be taken over a period of 12 months not based on each job. If you broadly satisfy the exemption definitions that’s it you’re exempt.
Have asked the test station blokes same question about fitters taking trucks and trailers for mot.Do you need a DCPC but as with all things with VOSA you can never get a straight answer.
dessy:
Only exemption is for fitters to take wagons for MOTs,road tests etc!
Was told that if you are using a vehicle for hire or reward eg being paid you need a cpc.
I am being paid to take a vehicle for MOT so do I need one and if not where can I get this in writing.
Also am I exempt if the vehicle is on trade plates?
Bking:
Have asked the test station blokes same question about fitters taking trucks and trailers for mot.Do you need a DCPC but as with all things with VOSA you can never get a straight answer.
Actually that one is pretty well tied down. This page deals with all the exemptions with examples: Check if you need Driver CPC to drive a lorry, bus or coach - GOV.UK
You do not need Driver CPC if you drive vehicles to and from pre-booked appointments at official testing centres. This includes driving vehicles carrying a load that is needed for a laden braking test. A load may not be carried when driving to or from official testing centres in any other circumstances.
To get back to the original post…
I do this for a living and it is not DCPC exempt. The company I work for sent us drivers on an Institute of Vehicle Recovery (IVR) training course that is JUAPT registered we got our DCPC cards for attending it.
OnlyAlan:
To get back to the original post…I do this for a living and it is not DCPC exempt. The company I work for sent us drivers on an Institute of Vehicle Recovery (IVR) training course that is JUAPT registered we got our DCPC cards for attending it.
I’m not having a go but it’s not as black and white as that. Many recovery drivers certainly will not be exempt but there is a strong case some are in certain circumstances.
Bking:
dessy:
Only exemption is for fitters to take wagons for MOTs,road tests etc!Was told that if you are using a vehicle for hire or reward eg being paid you need a cpc.
I am being paid to take a vehicle for MOT so do I need one and if not where can I get this in writing.
Also am I exempt if the vehicle is on trade plates?
You definitely are provided driving to test is a minority of your work time.
Own Account Driver:
Bking:
dessy:
Only exemption is for fitters to take wagons for MOTs,road tests etc!Was told that if you are using a vehicle for hire or reward eg being paid you need a cpc.
I am being paid to take a vehicle for MOT so do I need one and if not where can I get this in writing.
Also am I exempt if the vehicle is on trade plates?You definitely are provided driving to test is a minority of your work time.
I know why you said that, because some of the exemptions have a clause about driving not being the main part of your job.
But actually as far as I can tell, vehicles taken to pre booked tests are exempt, period. So I can’t see why you couldn’t do that all week with no problems. Am I missing something?