We have all done the minimum 35 hours dcpc so why are there still so many basic hours questions on this forum, was the dcpc a waste of time ?
Yep,gotta agree with you there.
There’s 2 going at the mo. One about driving too long after a tyre callout and another wondering wether his 15 minute vehicle check is included in his 4 and 1/2 hours.
Beggars belief 
I tend not to post on those threads, you know how the saying goes, don’t feed the troll
R143-500:
We have all done the minimum 35 hours dcpc so why are there still so many basic hours questions on this forum, was the dcpc a waste of time ?
Many of the drivers haven’t done the 35 hours periodic training, a new driver will obviously concentrate more on passing the test rather than learning the regulations, I’m not saying they shouldn’t also learn the regulations but in reality it’s obvious what they’ll consider the more important.
Anyway to answer your question, yes, given that there are a lot of DCPC trainers who don’t know or seemingly care what they’re talking about I would say the DCPC in it’s current form is pretty much a waste of time.
DCPC currently is a complete waste of time. Bear in mind driving regs are just one module so you’ll get 7hrs out of your 35 on it. It usually turns into a debate on who knows best so that 7hrs turns into 4 if your lucky!
Personally I think that half of the people asking the questions really can’t be bothered looking for the answer themselves so it’s easier to ask on here
If they’d bother looking into it they’d understand regs better and we wouldn’t have as many basic questions.
I’m no expert, in relative terms newly passed(October 14) but I’ve spent time learning regs and looking at different scenarios time wise so hopefully won’t fall foul too much. Point is I’ve put effort in, DCPC was a starting point only just like the actual driving test, rest is through learning and experience.
I don’t mind the questions being asked as I learn from the answers given but I do agree some are too basic and do make you wonder.
I’d rather see basic questions with where the poster puts their own answer so at least you get impression they are trying rather than wanting totally spoon fed answer. My opinion anyway [emoji3]
People may not have done a module on the driver’s hours regulations as part of their 35 hours, there’s no requirement to do one.
This is going to be an honest answer, I left school as soon as I could with very little to show for it. Now I’m only 47 and tbh I struggle to understand the tacho rules. When there is specialised solicitors for tachograph infringements and tacho experts out there what hope have I got of understanding the rules ? Basic rules yes but that’s it. The younger generation driver will probably know more about the tacho rules than I will ever know and well for them cause the way the jobs going they’re gonna need to know as much as possible.
Stop blaming DCPC or anything else. It is a drivers responsibility to know drivers hours or at least the basics. It is part of the job.
Some of the questions asked on here are very basic and any driver should make sure he knows drivers hours regs before driving a vehicle that requires a tacho.
It is like a Doctor not knowing how to take blood pressure or a Gardener not knowing how to cut grass.
As someone else said IT BEGGARS BELIEF.
Sometimes you get thrown a wobbler like the tacho resetting to zero if you do a 15 then put it onto POA while you wait for a trailer to be loaded, then finding that it hasn’t forgotten that you still need to do a 30 but you thought because it had reset you were clear for another 4.5hrs. Or a TM says you’ve to do a run such and such a way and you’re pretty sure they’re talking blx, sometimes things just come up that weren’t covered in the cpc module or aren’t absolutely clear in the tacho rule book.
I’ve still got a mate, who works for a company where they tell him he can work 2 out of 3 Saturdays (Mon - Fri contract), and because they’ve told him, no matter what I show him in black and white, he believes them 
I’m not talking the ‘odd one’ either, which we all know can be got around, but regular ones.
Luckily, he’s getting older now and doesn’t do them regular anymore, but other drivers at the firm do
Reading some of the postings that appear on TN its obvious that there are still "drivers"out there who still have no idea about hours even though they are doing the job as a “professional”
Glad i`m retired and out of it
Coffeeholic:
People may not have done a module on the driver’s hours regulations as part of their 35 hours, there’s no requirement to do one.
Therein lies part of the problem
It could be sorted if the authorities changed the rules
Make initial mod 2 a test on the regs
Make a drivers hours course a legal requirement every 5 years with a way to determine if each driver has assimilated the info correctly
ROG:
Coffeeholic:
People may not have done a module on the driver’s hours regulations as part of their 35 hours, there’s no requirement to do one.Therein lies part of the problem
It could be sorted if the authorities changed the rules
Make initial mod 2 a test on the regs
Make a drivers hours course a legal requirement every 5 years with a way to determine if each driver has assimilated the info correctly
Now that would solve the problem but then there really might be a shortage of drivers. LOL.
The Dcpc only covers basic tachograph rules.
For a first timer, using ferry mode can be confusing with the wording of it.
Using analogue tachos for seven days a week, even though six shifts is the maximum.
Three hour split breaks means nine off everyday.
the fub:
This is going to be an honest answer, I left school as soon as I could with very little to show for it. Now I’m only 47 and tbh I struggle to understand the tacho rules. When there is specialised solicitors for tachograph infringements and tacho experts out there what hope have I got of understanding the rules ? Basic rules yes but that’s it. The younger generation driver will probably know more about the tacho rules than I will ever know and well for them cause the way the jobs going they’re gonna need to know as much as possible.
No excuse. The newbies have been recently taught it so should know. The old timers, well the tacho rules have been almost the same for nearly quarter of a century. The only major changes have been to the splitting of the 45m break, spreadover using split daily rest and the removal of the requirement to compensate for reduced daily rest and a full weekly rest every other week. Four changes in nearly quarter of a century. Do you honestly expect me to believe that in a period equal to almost half your lifetime that you cannot learn a set of rules you use on a daily basis?
toby1234abc:
Using analogue tachos for seven days a week, even though six shifts is the maximum
No it’s not. There is nothing in the regulations which limits the number of shifts or not working on seven days a week.
Basic stuff that.
Bring back the log book!
As I see it at least they ask. The amount of experienced lorry drivers who think they know it all about drivers hours but can’t even get some of the basics right baffles me, not people asking for help.
toby1234abc:
The Dcpc only covers basic tachograph rules.
For a first timer, using ferry mode can be confusing with the wording of it.
Using analogue tachos for seven days a week, even though six shifts is the maximum.
Three hour split breaks means nine off everyday.
Are you assuming that the shift always starts at the same time each day?
What many fail to consider is a tramper who may utilise the max hours between weekly rests which often means starting shifts at different times each day and taking the minimum rest times between those shifts ending with 7, 8 or perhaps 9 shifts between two weekly rests
R143-500:
We have all done the minimum 35 hours dcpc so why are there still so many basic hours questions on this forum, was the dcpc a waste of time ?
no - but personally, I could’ve done with more time on that one subject, TBH. It is quite confusing, because there are lots of permutations and exceptions, and different scenarios. Granted, I don’t ever have a problem because I am agency [hach, spit!], so the chances of me having to do anything but “4.5 - 45 - 4.5, go home” are pretty slim, but I am looking to go full time somewhere in the not too distant future, so I am looking again at the way the hours work. Its been a while since my CPC (see sig block), so I am having to get my thinking cap on.
Of course, I could just take 30 minutes to read the course literature again, but that’s soooo last century!