Road safety risk if HGV driver training rules relaxed – Yorkshire Post Letters

AT the behest of the Government, the DVSA stopped all B+E (car and trailer) tests to free up vocational test 
examiners to carry out more lorry tests.

At some point the law will be changed to allow a newly passed car driver to tow a trailer up to 3.5 tonnes in weight with no compulsory training and no test of their competence or knowledge.

Given that a car licence (group B) allows a person to drive a car or van up to a maximum weight of 3.5 tonnes, this will enable a basically trained car driver to drive with a combined weight of seven tonnes, which is also articulated and therefore more complex than an equivalent weight rigid vehicle.

Considering they would have still to take a test to drive any rigid vehicle over 3.5 tonnes, it is utterly illogical and total madness. Only carnage on the roads will ensue.

It is a deplorable situation, not only for road safety but in human terms as well.

A not insignificant number of people who have trained hard and worked hard to build businesses have been cruelly treated at the hands of an incompetent Government that panders to social-media groups and vested interests rather than doing its best for road safety.

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