Posts Tagged hgv

Drivers’ hours: changes to fines for commercial drivers

Drivers’ hours: changes to fines for commercial drivers

Changes are coming regarding the fining of commercial drivers and the powers of DVSA Traffic Examiners

Rules to be changed so that drivers can be fined for the last 28 days worth of offences where they drive tired

According to the Government’s Vehicle Operators Licence pages, the law is soon to change with regard to the fining of Commercial Drivers. Rules will soon be changed so that lorry, bus and coach drivers can be fined for every time they are caught driving tired within the last 28 days.
Currently, the DVSA can only fine drivers for offences they commit on the day or ongoing offences such as tachograph record manipulation.

DVSA traffic examiners to get new powers to issue on-the-spot fines for up to 5 Driver Hours offences

If you are a professional driver and commit offences regarding your driving hours then you can be fined for offences within the last 28 days for up to 5 offences with on the spot fines by DVSA Traffic Officers.

It’s not just the United Kingdom. This includes elsewhere.

If the driver is not from the UK then they will have to pay immediately or risk the vehicle being immobilised until they do.

When is this change going to happen?

We currently don’t know an exact date for these changes but will let you know when we do. The GOV.UK website will also be updated. Click here for the link to the information we have currently.

Why is this change coming in to force?

Lorry, bus and coach drivers must take a 45-hour rest break at least every fortnight.

From 1 November 2017, DVSA will start to fine drivers up to £300 if they spend their full weekly rest break in their vehicle in places where it causes a problem. For example, if a lorry driver spends their full break in the cab of their lorry in a layby.

The DVSA will fine drivers who simply do not get enough rest. Drivers who have insufficient rest cause collisions as they can make mistakes. Driving tired is never acceptable.

The consequences of driving when tired

Crashes involving tired lorry drivers can be devastating. Almost a quarter of injuries in accidents involving lorries are fatal or serious.

About 40% of sleep-related accidents involve commercial vehicles.

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), driving while tired may be responsible for:

  • 1 in 5 of all accidents
  • up to a quarter of serious and fatal crashes

Share the GOV.UK page of information on Facebook

Posted in: Drivers Hours, DVSA, GOV.UK, Traffic Officers

Leave a Comment (0) →

HGV Driver walk around check

What you need to know as a Heavy Goods Vehicle Driver

This is the first in our series of helpful information for Vocational Licence Holders – HGV (LGV ) / PCV etc

TrainDrive heavy goods vehicle HGV driver tips

There are many responsibilities of a vocational driver and these include being professional and law abiding on the road and also things like daily vehicle checks. For every vehicle on the road, it is down to the driver to make sure it is roadworthy and legal. Ultimately, the driver is responsible for the vehicle they are driving. Therefore, it is very important that prior to driving on the public roads, each driver thoroughly checks the vehicle for any defects etc.

The driver should spend sufficient time checking all the major parts of the vehicle in respect of safety equipment and routine items. At the very least each time a vehicle is taken out of a depot for example, the driver should have checked the following:

  • Wheels (including nuts)
  • Tyres
  • Brakes
  • Lights
  • Bodywork in general
  • Trailer Coupling
  • Load safety and security
  • Mirrors

Nowadays, driving a large goods vehicle on the streets of the United Kingdom is a challenging task to say the least. Especially in built up areas such as London. When driving in city centres, drivers rely heavily on mirrors and these should all have been checked prior to commencement of the journey. Furthermore, the required mirrors should be in place for example:

  • Class II – normal rear view mirror
  • Class IV – wide angle rear view
  • Class V – side close proximity
  • Class VI – front projection

These are explained in more detail on the TfL Safe Lorry Scheme website.

Here are some links to the TfL PDF documents:

Safer Lorry Scheme poster

Full wording of the scheme’s Traffic Regulation Orders

List of vehicles exempted from the scheme

Exemption for trailers with sliding bogies

Exemption for HGVs fitted with indirect vision devices

Vehicle compliance guide: class V and VI mirrors

Vehicle compliance guide: side guards


 

Cyclists are all too vulnerable to heavy goods vehicles and drivers need to safeguard themselves to prevent collisions. This includes simple things such as ensuring the indicators work correctly, the audible reversing and turning alarms work as they should and that there is sufficient view out of each window / windscreen which is not blocked by items such as satellite navigation systems and TV’s etc.

Keeping good clear unrestricted vision all around the vehicle is essential to prevent collisions and ultimately prosecutions.

The Gov website offers a large amount of advice for drivers and those looking to become vocational licence holders. For more information on the Heavy Goods Vehicle Daily Walk Around Check, visit the following website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310146/hgv-driver-daily-walkaround-check.pdf

Or CLICK HERE

Posted in: 7.5 ton driver training, heavy goods vehicle in London, Learn to Drive a HGV / LGV Lorry

Leave a Comment (0) →