For government agencies, regulating standards in various workings of society is better imposed by demanding the completion and possession of specific requirements. Pushing for even safer transportation and improved traffic, professional drivers of buses, coaches and trucks are mandated to hold a Driver CPC or Certificate of Professional Competence licence, apart from the vocation driving one.
Therefore, if you’re seeking to be in the “driving” profession, you would definitely need to undergo CPC driver training to receive your licenceand to be able to drive professionally. The training course and application for the CPC licence are really only for those who want to make a living off driving, so if that’s not your intent or if there are special conditions to the “driving” that you’re likely to do for work, try to find out the exemptions for Driver CPC licences first. Who knows? You may not need to complete certain requirements. Don’t be easily swayed by those people encouraging you to take the course and saying you may need it one day, considering the economic situation; thecourse demands a significant amount of time (existing drivers are required to allocate 35 hours of their time to periodic training to receive the driver qualification– that is almost an entire week) and money.
If you wish to know whether you are exempted or not, these are the special conditions for Driver CPC exemptions:
The vehicle:
• Has a maximum authorised speed under 28mph like road sweepers.
• Is used by the military or is under the control the armed forces, civil defence, the fire service and groups tasked to maintain public order and safety; meaning, even if you’re tasked to drive a massive lorry to transport a platoon of soldiers, there’s no need for you to procure a Driver CPC license.
• Is for test drives or road tests for “show,” technical diagnosis and development, and repair or maintenance requirements.
• Is used for non-commercial transport of passengers’ or goods – basically intended for personal use.
• Is customised or rebuilt and has not yet been used for service.
• Carries materials or equipment that the driver owns or uses for his job, provided that driving the vehicle is not really defined as part of the job or is not the driver’s principal activity.
• Is used for emergency purposes or designated for rescue missions such as fire trucks and ambulances
• Lastly, is registered to be used for driving lessons such as the ones used for high schoolers’ driver’s education classes and driving schools.
Author’s bio – Wayman is a car enthusiast. At such a young age, he has already attended close to a thousand car shows. To further intensify his knowledge in cars, he took a short course in Automotive. He is currently working for a car magazine and his column is about the latest automotive models available in the market as well as any issues concerning driving. He provides helpful insights to readers and now talks about driving jobs and getting licenses.
