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Teenagers to Drive HGV's

HGV Driver young teenager

 

Could teenage drivers help to solve the shortage of HGV drivers? 

Plans to reform European driving licence laws have just been formally agreed by the European Parliament’s transport committee. The changes will allow 17-year-olds to drive Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) under an accompanied driving scheme. This is seen as a way to reduce the current HGV driver shortage in Europe. Currently, only Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland and Spain allow teenagers as young as 18 to drive HGV’s. 

With the UK still facing a massive shortage of van and HGV drivers the UK Government is also considering a similar law change to allow newly qualified drivers behind the wheels of HGVs, vans, and minibuses. A request for comments during the UK’s consultation, launched in Aug 2022, has resulted in more than two thirds (69%) of respondents saying drivers should be automatically entitled to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes when they pass their driving test. 

The UK law preventing newly qualified drivers from operating certain vehicles was introduced 25 years ago when the UK first signed up to EU standards. Changing this rule could go some way to filling the current gap of around 60,000 HGV drivers. 

Younger drivers in the UK who passed their test after 1997 can currently only drive vehicles up to 3,500kg, or with up to 8 passengers or a trailer up to 750kg. In order for them to drive a HGV or van up to 7,500kg, younger drivers must currently pass theory and practical tests. Usually, the driver must be 21 or older and have held a driving licence for a minimum of 2 years. 

“Reinstating the licence rights previously held by drivers before 1997 is certainly the fastest and easiest way the government can try to address the van and HGV driver shortage. However, reputable businesses will know that handing over the keys of a seven-tonne lorry to a newly qualified driver is not as simple as it sounds. Significant and meaningful training will still be required to ensure road safety standards don’t fall.”  Said Edmund King, president of the AA. 

As well as being easier to drive than 25 years ago trucks are now fitted with numerous safety devices and driver behaviour can be tracked with telematics devices to promote safety.

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