C1 License consultation....please sign!

[Melody Grey]

Some of you will know that restoring Grandad rights to driver licensing is a subject close to my heart!

There is a consultation for gathering evidence which closes in Oct and is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consu...ng-regime/driving-licensing-call-for-evidence

Will likely take a few minutes so grab a cuppa (it's quite detailed!), but is a good opportunity to air your views if you, like me, would like to be driving a 7.5t lorry without taking an additional test......hopefully enough like-minded respondents will carry some weight.

The survey talks about general driving license reform, so bits about mini buses and milk floats too if they're your thing!

 

[nagblagger]

I'm on the fence. I don't like 'tests' of any kind.
I have the luxury of granddad rights and have had 7.5 lorries in the past. i was lucky that I bought my first off my blacksmith because he took me out for a 'driving lesson' in it. From driving a car to then have air brakes which stop you dead and no rear view mirror, relying on side mirrors, it is a completely different experience.
I will forever be grateful he made me practice empty, stopping and reversing before letting me loose.
Maybe a shortened type of lesson would be adequate.

 

[sport horse]

I drove a 7.5 ton on grandfather rights for many years. I then did my HGV and wow did I learn a lot about how to drive a lorry on the road and in traffic safely! It is now quite a few years since I did my HGV but I have taken the opportunity to have regular brushing up sessions. I gather the major logisitcs companies do put their staff through these refresher courses regularly.
The roads are so busy now, maybe training is important?

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Nope sorry, i think you should take the test. You can get long and short wheel base 7.5tn and i think the general public should not be able to just hop in one and go. I actually think you should have to do your class two for both.
For a 7.5t my local companys teach you in an ambulance. My 7.5t is 19 ft. How is that getting the experiance?
For your class two you learn in a proper lorry.

Dad and sister have their class one and i am saving up for my class two.

 

[SilverLinings]

Thanks for posting the link, I have just completed it.

We have minibuses and larger vehicles at work so I have also passed the link to colleagues.

ETA I fell the wrong side of the change age wise by only a couple of months annoyingly. I am struggling to understand though why if when they scrapped the grandfather rights on towing (>750kg) and lorries (>3.5t) in 1997 for safety reasons then why is is safer now, when the roads are busier? Or, they only introduced the 1997 rules to raise more funds (test taking and licences), in which case people my age and younger have been conned out of £££. TBH I see plenty of incredibly dangerous car drivers these days (in cars that can go a lot faster than any larger vehicle), so maybe driving safety needs to be re-though in general.

 

[ycbm]

I'm on the fence. When I started using my right to drive a 7.5t without another test I was gobsmacked that anyone would let me do it. But I'm also not aware of any accident caused by anyone driving a 7.5t without having taken a test.
.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

I've just signed up to do the C1 test just I case they remove it and I can't get training. I wouldn't want to be driving something like that without training.

 

[Melody Grey]

You can comment further within the survey- I'd put that I think the C1 restriction should be lifted for leisure users, not commercial driving and that B license holders should have a minimum of 5 yrs driving experience. I do have 7.5t driving experience....many years ago when we didn't realise it wasn't allowed on post 97 licenses!

 

[Melody Grey]

I'm on the fence. When I started using my right to drive a 7.5t without another test I was gobsmacked that anyone would let me do it. But I'm also not aware of any accident caused by anyone driving a 7.5t without having taken a test.
.

Just in the process of buying a 7.5t and asked my HGV license holding friend about this (and asked him to potentially go and pick up and bring home my purchase!)....his opinion was that horsebox drivers are different in that they (generally) drive very carefully, don't tend to go far and are generally out and about on Sunday mornings. I think commercial driving is a completely different prospect and should be licensed differently.

 

[Melody Grey]

Nope sorry, i think you should take the test. You can get long and short wheel base 7.5tn and i think the general public should not be able to just hop in one and go. I actually think you should have to do your class two for both.
For a 7.5t my local companys teach you in an ambulance. My 7.5t is 19 ft. How is that getting the experiance?
For your class two you learn in a proper lorry.

Dad and sister have their class one and i am saving up for my class two.

There's a company here in Leicester that do the C1 teaching in a long wheel base van.....definitely not the same either!

 

[Melody Grey]

I'm on the fence. I don't like 'tests' of any kind.
I have the luxury of granddad rights and have had 7.5 lorries in the past. i was lucky that I bought my first off my blacksmith because he took me out for a 'driving lesson' in it. From driving a car to then have air brakes which stop you dead and no rear view mirror, relying on side mirrors, it is a completely different experience.
I will forever be grateful he made me practice empty, stopping and reversing before letting me loose.
Maybe a shortened type of lesson would be adequate.

Not nit-picking in any way, but 3.5t also are reliant on side mirrors, as are many smaller 'work van' types.
I do have experience under supervision, so I agree that gaining experience is important, but licensing reform could allow people to do this. For example, those with Grandad rights (who may well be competent, experienced 7.5t drivers) cannot supervise C1 learners nowadays (but could years ago as i understand it).

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Duplicate

 

[ROG]

I've just signed up to do the C1 test just I case they remove it and I can't get training. I wouldn't want to be driving something like that without training.

Are you doing C1 in a large van over 3.5 tonnes or a proper 7.5 lorry?
Perhaps going for C might be a better bet and it costs about the same !

Ex LGV instructor

 

[ROG]

Not nit-picking in any way, but 3.5t also are reliant on side mirrors, as are many smaller 'work van' types.
I do have experience under supervision, so I agree that gaining experience is important, but licensing reform could allow people to do this. For example, those with Grandad rights (who may well be competent, experienced 7.5t drivers) cannot supervise C1 learners nowadays (but could years ago as i understand it).

You are correct - only those who have passed a test in a category can supervise a learner in that category as long as they have held it for 3+ years and are over 21

 

[Melody Grey]

You are correct - only those who have passed a test in a category can supervise a learner in that category as long as they have held it for 3+ years and are over 21

Thanks ROG, clarification appreciated. My friend is a fully qualified HGV driver (for 40 ton artics, tipper trucks etc). Can he supervise me as a learner in the 7.5t? He has held the HGV license for about 20 yrs. I did try to look in DVLA but got a bit mindboggled with all the different classes!

 

[moosea]

I think that most people on the road can't drive a car properly so for me it's a no to grandfather rights.

It's not ok to be an awful driver in a 7.5ton just because you only go out on Sundays and are generally more careful.


If anything I think there should be more restrictions on what you can drive without extra instruction and more regular testing for everyone.

 

[tda]

I think that most people on the road can't drive a car properly so for me it's a no to grandfather rights.

It's not ok to be an awful driver in a 7.5ton just because you only go out on Sundays and are generally more careful.


If anything I think there should be more restrictions on what you can drive without extra instruction and more regular testing for everyone.

Very much this.
I have grandfather rights, but was only allowed out after my father (HGVdriver) was satisfied I was in control , without a horse aboard.
It's a pretty big step up from a small car to a 7.5ton wagon. Maybe not so much a test to be passed but some mandatory training is definitely required

 

[Jango]

Sorry but I think it's right that you have to take a test for 7.5t. I had to take it and learnt a lot. 3.5t and vans are so much smaller. The roads are so busy and if anything else its safer for the horses if people have had to take a test!

 

[honetpot]

I had a very old Bedford TK, very slow with a top speed of 48mph, and no power steering, you really had to think what you were doing and when. The lorries now have so much power, a bit like the teenage tractor drivers that regularly tip over in the village with a trailer, it is easy to overestimate your competence. There is a large roundabout near us where lorries regularly fall over, they go over with a huge bang, and I have seen an arctic wedged length ways in a fen drain on its side, just from underestimating the bumpy road. It's a skill, that should be taught.

 

[ROG]

Thanks ROG, clarification appreciated. My friend is a fully qualified HGV driver (for 40 ton artics, tipper trucks etc). Can he supervise me as a learner in the 7.5t? He has held the HGV license for about 20 yrs. I did try to look in DVLA but got a bit mindboggled with all the different classes!

YES as long as had the LGV licence for + years

Insurance might be an issue

 

[millitiger]

I had to take the test and absolutely don't think they should put grandfather rights back in, bonkers.

 

[Vodkagirly]

I have grandfather rights and I would absolutely not want to drive one without training. A friend added me to her insurance as a just in case, after 10 mins in passenger seat I realised there was absolutely no way I could of drove home with horses on board.

 

[luckyoldme]

Just in the process of buying a 7.5t and asked my HGV license holding friend about this (and asked him to potentially go and pick up and bring home my purchase!)....his opinion was that horsebox drivers are different in that they (generally) drive very carefully, don't tend to go far and are generally out and about on Sunday mornings. I think commercial driving is a completely different prospect and should be licensed differently.

I don't agree with your hgv holding friend.
I think it's quite ridiculous to rely on any one group of road users to ' drive very carefully ' to 'not go far' or 'only drive on Sundays'.
There is no reason to allow anyone on the road with a 7.5 tonne vehicle without ensuring that they are capable of driving it and making sure it is roadworthy (ie carrying out a basic daily check)

 

[Melody Grey]

I don't agree with your hgv holding friend.
I think it's quite ridiculous to rely on any one group of road users to ' drive very carefully ' to 'not go far' or 'only drive on Sundays'.
There is no reason to allow anyone on the road with a 7.5 tonne vehicle without ensuring that they are capable of driving it and making sure it is roadworthy (ie carrying out a basic daily check)

I’m not suggesting anyone goes out without capability in either driving or checking the vehicle being roadworthy.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

As an ex professional class 1 driver, I'm quite against anyone driving livestock in a 3.5 to 7.5 without taking a test.
Have seen some pretty poor driving at events in recent years plus poorly maintained vehicles. This morning saw a 3.5 which hadn't had a visual check done prior to leaving its yard (rear light out and under inflated rear tyre) this was less than half a mile from their yard.
Nope, grandfather rights shouldnt be re introduced.

 

[luckyoldme]

I’m not suggesting anyone goes out without capability in either driving or checking the vehicle being roadworthy.

So how do we know that drivers are capable of driving a 7.5 tonne truck if they are not tested ?

 

[Goldenstar]

There was never any evidence that the accident rate dropped after the removal of the right to drive up to7.5 tons on a standard licence or when they imposed the trailer test .
It was an EU thing I see no reason not to go back to how it was.

 

[conniegirl]

This weekend i hired a 3.5ton luton van that was no different to drive than any 7.5ton I’ve ever driven, infact it was considerably more powerful and not speed limited (it liked to sit at 80, you took your attention off your speed for 30secs and it crept up to 80+)

i have a full HGV and would support the right to drive up to 7.5tons, I honestly can’t see it making thst much difference.

 

[ROG]

Are some on here saying that todays drivers are less capable than those who passed pre 1997?

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Are some on here saying that todays drivers are less capable than those who passed pre 1997?

I think the roads have changed a lot since then. Vehicles and roads have changed and we now have a better understanding of environmental impacts.