I’ve been driving trucks for nearly 30 years & have never worn shoes while driving…
Had many controles in France & Germany. Never been a problem…
joe royal:
Germany you have to wear shoes . Flip flops/clogs are not acceptable.
Says who? I doubt youl find any law anywhere clearing stating you must drive in shoes. Company policy is a different matter.
shep I think your missing the whole point - its not illegal maybe ill advised but not illegal so why should some numpty be spouting off opinion rather than facts to a load of people who have parted with good money to be trained.
I think the DCPC is a load of ■■■■ and a waste of time and effort this is my opinion - the fact is if I want to drive I have to do it.
war1974:
shep I think your missing the whole point - its not illegal maybe ill advised but not illegal so why should some numpty be spouting off opinion rather than facts to a load of people who have parted with good money to be trained.I think the DCPC is a load of [zb] and a waste of time and effort this is my opinion - the fact is if I want to drive I have to do it.
I don’t think I missed the point. My point was not to reinforce what this particular DCPC plonker said - he was wrong to say it was illegal. I was simply reinforcing my own personal opinion that it would be silly to drive with no shoes on. That’s my opinion to which I am entitled.
However - I regularly work with Lancashire Traffic Police and have asked this very question. They confirmed that in their opinion it is not illegal to drive without shoes on … but they would certainly look at other offences in relation to whether or not this prevented you from being in proper control of the vehicle which could mean that ultimately the driving without shoes caused a law to be broken … in a roundabout way.
But yes - I agree with you. The point of the thread was that some plonker of a DCPC instructor gave out incorrect information. Would you have been happy had he stated “I don’t think you should drive without shoes” instead of “It is illegal to drive without shoes?”
I’ll go back to my motorcycling because that’s my passion. It is not illegal to ride in shorts and a vest but it’d be stupid and if I saw someone in shorts and a vest on a motorcycle I would be muttering “stupid ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■ under my breath. I think exactly that of anyone who drives without footwear. I will also gladly discuss this with drivers in a DCPC course and have done exactly that this morning before reading this thread … I did not tell them it was illegal to drive in bare feet … we discussed the pros and cons.
I do not share your view DCPC is a waste of time and effort.
F-reds:
shep532:
Illegal or not I think it makes absolute sense to anyone with the slightest bit of common sense that to drive bare footed is just silly for many reasons.I agree totally Shep, but for some jumped up plastic instructor telling you its an offence is bloody ridiculous, and is indicative of everything that is wrong in this industry.
I know the comment above is from December but I just re-read the whole thread and felt I needed to reply.
Is it really ridiculous that some jumped up plastic instructor said it was an offence? I would agree it was ridiculous if he said it was OK to drive in bare feet!!
If that ‘plastic instructor’ discouraged at least 1 driver from being so stupid as to drive in bare feet then it did some good - didn’t it?
I know we have differing opinions on the DCPC shep but seeing as its now here and you just need to look at the endless threads on here asking daft questions I can categorically say the current form is a waste of time and effort. nothing more than a money making scheme.
war1974:
I can categorically say the current form is a waste of time and effort. nothing more than a money making scheme.
I’ll agree with you to a degree. Yes it is a money making scheme - I categorically make money from it. No denying that - but that’s how business works.
However - I like to think that MY DCPC courses DO make a difference but unfortunately I only deal with a few thousand drivers each year. I am quite sure some other DCPC courses also make a difference and give value but I will admit you are right that SOME are pointless and taking money under false pretences. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about that.
I am sick of hearing about the bad courses. Had a guy here this week attended courses over the weekend that were pointless, crap and far shorter than 7 hours. (His words) so I bow down and concur with you - DCPC isn’t entirely effective.
don’t get me wrong shep I get the good / bad in any walk of life - don’t have an issue in a way that it has to be at a cost so to speak. my point is every driver now has to have a DCPC so every driver on the roads will have had to undertake the ‘training’. I also get the whole X amount of drivers will just sit say sod all do the same course 5 times or whatever, but it really cant be working even guys I get through the door often cant pass a simple tacho test and I have to sit down and explain the basics (again a lot of the rule can be interpreted in several ways).
all in all I think there must be a better way
My wife took and passed her driving test with no shoes. The examiner didn’t even comment.
To Shep - yes it is bloody ridiculous. A dCPC instructor is free pass on whatever nuggets of gold he/she has discovered throughout driving(or not) career, and I totally support that. But what ■■■■ well cant do is present their personal opinion as a FACT/LAW/PAPAL EDICT. As I say its one of the very things that is wrong with the dCPC industry, it promotes ■■■■■■■■ in a sector already replete with it.
For what its worth I bet, from what you have said on here in the past, that your courses are interesting, and factually correct, and probably way above the average I have encountered. And I reckon like a good Agency, you are in the minority.
Lightweight Comfort Fitting 100% Suede Leather Uppers, Breathable Lining, Steel Toe Cap Work Shoes ,Slip On with Velcro Fastening
mastesallan:
Lightweight Comfort Fitting 100% Suede Leather Uppers, Breathable Lining, Steel Toe Cap Work Shoes ,Slip On with Velcro Fastening
Guaranteed to make the wearer age to somewhere near to a 68 year old lady! 
I used to double-man coaches on continent when both me & my co-driver used to remove our shoes and drive in socks only…no problems with controls/pedals or negative comments from passengers. Our clean shoes used to be right next to us neatly placed by gearstick, ready to slip on quickly at services or ferry ports etc. - we never had an issue. It was just a more comfortable and if I’m honest a smoother drive…more sensitive feeling in clutch, brake & throttle pedal like!!! It was perhaps easier on the coach to remove shoes & put them back on without leaving drivers seat.
On the subject of DCPC instructors I suppose its like anything - we have good instructors/courses as well as bad instructors/courses…it is incredible though that 6+ years in we still have drivers that don’t know a lot of the basics on tacho. regs/WTD, their daily check responsibilities and other things they should know or should have been taught during DCPC. So the point is we still require some kind of training within our industry, whether it’s DCPC modules or regular re-assessment of some form I’m not sure. It surprises me that drivers or companies who complain about being able to repeat modules are usually the ones that just go through the motions of getting 35 hours by the easiest/cheapest means possible which usually includes repeating modules!! Just saying like!!