Drivers must carry their Driver Qualification Cards, warns DVSA
DVSA has reminded hauliers that with the passing of the Driver CPC deadline (10 September), all professionals must carry their Driver Qualification Card (DQC) with them or face a fine at the roadside.
As a temporary pressure, DVSA is taking a “pragmatic” approach to DQCs, at least for the next few days, in recognition that drivers may have completed their Driver CPC training but not received their card yet. This may be more likely over the next few days, as training centres have been granted a temporary extension to the usual 5-day deadline they work within to upload training in recognition of how busy this week will have been.
In these specific cases, DVSA officers will check directly with the agency that the driver has indeed completed their mandatory 35 hours of periodic training.
A DVSA spokesman reiterated: “We are taking a pragmatic approach to ensure that drivers who have completed their training before the deadline will not be penalised. Drivers who have not completed their CPC training will be issued with a £50 fixed penalty.
“Repeat offenders will be prosecuted and face a fine of up to £1000, as well as being reported to the traffic commissioner along with their employer.”
Under the scope of the Driver CPC, traffic commissioners may take disciplinary action against not just the driver, but the O-licence holder that employs them too.