Changes to towing rules incoming

Good for me, been planning to do the test sometime so works out nicely. Have a mate who passed his test today though, ouch!
 
Firestar_3x said:
Makes it easier for me going forward, the 1997 cut-off was always a bit odd tbh.
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Will help us too. Currently I can tow but Vix can’t if I’m unable to for any reason. This change will mean we’ve got the peace of mind that we can share driving on longer journeys or can still get home if I get ill/injured at the track etc.
 
"HGV Tests will be made shorter, with the reversing exercise element removed and the uncoupling and recoupling exercise for trailer tests removed - and they will not have to be tested separately by a third party"
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The stupidity of this move defies logic, in other words, newly qualified articulated truck drivers will no longer be tested to see they can reverse a trailer safely, nor have to show they can couple or uncouple it correctly.
To remove two of the most safety critical aspects of a Heavy Goods Vehicle licence test is unbelievably short sighted , stupid and downright dangerous.
Not to mention the damage this will do to driver training schools, a crazy unthought through “solution” to a problem caused by historical poor pay across the industry.
Solve the driver shortage by qualifying drivers who don't need to know how to reverse? bravo, well done to our political “Leaders”
 
Scania said:
The stupidity of this move defies logic, in other words, newly qualified articulated truck drivers will no longer be tested to see they can reverse a trailer safely, nor have to show they can couple or uncouple it correctly.
To remove two of the most safety critical aspects of a Heavy Goods Vehicle licence test is unbelievably short sighted , stupid and downright dangerous.
Not to mention the damage this will do to driver training schools, a crazy unthought through “solution” to a problem caused by historical poor pay across the industry.
Solve the driver shortage by qualifying drivers who don't need to know how to reverse? bravo, well done to our political “Leaders”
Click to expand...
I can see lots of insurance companies objecting to this particularly, tbh I think they'll just make new passes pretty much uninsurable to get around it. Then we're back to square one.
 
shauncr91 said:
I can see lots of insurance companies objecting to this particularly, tbh I think they'll just make new passes pretty much uninsurable to get around it. Then we're back to square one.
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To be fair it's already hard for newly qualified drivers to get a start due to insurance requirements, I'm damn sure the insurance industry will double down on this - and quite rightly - it's an incredibly short sighted move by some pen pusher who clearly has never seen a 44tonner up close never mind tried to reverse it blindside onto a tight loading bay in a residential area....

This is going to cause carnage.
 
Scania said:
The stupidity of this move defies logic, in other words, newly qualified articulated truck drivers will no longer be tested to see they can reverse a trailer safely, nor have to show they can couple or uncouple it correctly.
To remove two of the most safety critical aspects of a Heavy Goods Vehicle licence test is unbelievably short sighted , stupid and downright dangerous.
Not to mention the damage this will do to driver training schools, a crazy unthought through “solution” to a problem caused by historical poor pay across the industry.
Solve the driver shortage by qualifying drivers who don't need to know how to reverse? bravo, well done to our political “Leaders”
Click to expand...

That's not going to bode well.. Madness
 
The reversing part of the test is a joke anyway. Its usually carried out in the test centre with cones laid out where you have to reverse into a spot about a trucks length behind you and 10 or 15 feet to the side of you and getting the back of the truck level with an area a couple of feet across. Its pretty easy to pass just by practice and remembering when to turn the wheel. It is in no way an adequate test and should have been ditched in favour of real life situations like backing between other trailers or reversing into a side road.

Not sure I agree with the coupling/uncoupling being ditched. There have been countless deaths of drivers because they havent hooked up in a safe manner, usually while trying to save time, it really should be a critical part of the test.

Reversing and coupling/uncoupling should be part of any decent companies assessment anyway, so it looks like they a passing the buck to business.

The changes really won't do anything to address the shortage, which as Scania points out, is down to poor pay, and even worse conditions.
 
Scania said:
The stupidity of this move defies logic, in other words, newly qualified articulated truck drivers will no longer be tested to see they can reverse a trailer safely, nor have to show they can couple or uncouple it correctly.
To remove two of the most safety critical aspects of a Heavy Goods Vehicle licence test is unbelievably short sighted , stupid and downright dangerous.
Not to mention the damage this will do to driver training schools, a crazy unthought through “solution” to a problem caused by historical poor pay across the industry.
Solve the driver shortage by qualifying drivers who don't need to know how to reverse? bravo, well done to our political “Leaders”
Click to expand...
Yes that shocked me a bit tbh. Quite a few of our drivers struggle with reversing already.
 
Really happy with this change, saves my wife having to get her father out to accompany whenever she takes daughter's horse to shows.

Although it does mean I risk being made to do it, as I won't have the license excuse.
 
Just imagine in a few months when there's an artic behind you or maneuvering near your property there's going to be a good chance he's had next to **** all training. The more I think about it the more comical it is.
 
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