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Are you looking to kick-start your career with LGV Driver Training in Liverpool? 

DriverLink Training provides LGV Training in Liverpool, helping you to explore a new career and increase your earnings.

This latest blog will explain everything you need to know on the benefits of LGV Driver Training and how to start your career with DriverLink Training.

What is an LGV Driver?

An LGV (Large Goods Vehicle) Driver is a professional driver who operates a heavy goods vehicle. 

The term LGV encompasses a range of vehicles that are often referred to as lorries, trucks, or articulated vehicles. 

They are used to transport goods over long distances, either within the UK or between countries in the EU.

Top 5 Benefits of LGV Driver Training in Liverpool

Safety

The most significant advantage of LGV training is the increased safety and reduced risk for drivers and other road users.

Completing the DriverLink LGV Driver Training Course in Liverpool will ensure you learn the correct skills and procedures needed to drive an LGV on the road.

It also educates them on safe driving practices, which go a long way to preventing accidents and injuries while operating an LGV.

Confidence

Increased confidence is one of the most important benefits of DriverLink’s LGV driver training. 

Being comfortable behind the wheel of an LGV helps drivers maintain their composure and make sound decisions even in stressful situations. 

As a result, drivers are better equipped to navigate challenging roads, traffic, and weather conditions, ultimately improving safety and productivity.

Maintenance

Driver training educates candidates on the best practices to follow when driving an LGV. This improves the level of your driving, reducing the strain and wear and tear on your vehicle. 

This helps reduce the amount you will have to spend fixing issues such as tyres, brakes and clutches, as well as damages from poor driving, such as damages from potholes and bridge strikes.

Job Opportunities 

DriverLink’s LGV driver training course provides certification that meets industry-standard requirements, making our candidates more desirable to potential employers. 

Furthermore, our training equips individuals with transferable skills that enable them to thrive in many logistics and distribution roles.

Career

Having an LGV driver’s license opens up multiple career progression opportunities, and DriverLink’s training courses prepare candidates for the next level of expertise. 

Drivers who complete our LGV training courses may go on to earn certifications in ADR, HIAB, or other specialised equipment, leading to higher-paying and more fulfilling job opportunities.

LGV Driver Training Liverpool Course Requirements

If you plan to enrol in the LGV Driver Training Liverpool Course, you need to fulfil a few crucial requirements before commencing the course.

• Must be 18 or over
• Have a UK car driving licence
• Bring your driving licence with you when taking tests
• A valid photo card licence.

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DriverLink boast a 100% pass rate, and each delegate receives a free ADR booklet that they can take home with them

Are you searching for LGV Driver Training in Liverpool? Look no further with Driver Link Training!

If you are looking to change your career and try something new, then Driver Link Training can provide LGV Training Liverpool.

This latest blog will explain everything you need to know about our LGV Driver Training Courses in Liverpool!

LGV Driver Training Courses in Liverpool

At Driver Link Training, we offer LGV driver training courses that are designed to equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to operate LGVs safely and efficiently.

Our courses are tailored to suit the needs of learners with different levels of experience and provide a comprehensive range of theoretical and practical training to ensure that you are fully prepared for the job.

Our LGV courses cover everything from the basics, such as the application process for obtaining an LGV licence, to more advanced topics, such as vehicle handling and driving in adverse weather conditions.

We provide a thorough grounding in all aspects of LGV driving, including the latest technologies and safety protocols that are essential for safe and effective driving.

The LGV training courses at Driver Link Training are delivered by experienced instructors with a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise.

They will guide you through the process, from theory and practical training to passing your driving test and obtaining your LGV licence.

With our LGV driver training, you can drive any rigid or articulated vehicles.

This will open up a world of opportunities, enabling you to explore new career paths and increase your earning potential.

LGV Training Liverpool Course Requirements

If you are interested in taking the LGV Training Liverpool course, there are several requirements that you must fulfil.

Firstly, you must be 18 years of age or over in order to participate in the programme. This age requirement aligns with legal obligations and ensures that all participants can legally drive an LGV upon certification.

Secondly, it is mandatory that you have a valid UK car driving licence. This requirement demands that you have passed the necessary driving tests and held your licence for a certain period of time.

A driving licence demonstrates your driving ability and experience, which is crucial when learning to drive an LGV.

Lastly, it is important that you bring your driving licence with you when taking tests. This is necessary for both proof of identity and to ensure that you meet the driving licence requirement for the course.

A valid photo card licence is also required, which serves as an official form of identification for the course.

What if you don’t pass your LGV Driver Training test?

In the unfortunate event that you do not pass your LGV test, please do not worry! We will offer a retest and any additional tuition required to focus on the weaker points which caused the unfortunate result.

Furthermore, if you feel that you require additional training, our team is here to support you. We can provide further training to ensure you are fully prepared and confident for your retest.

Our focus is on helping you succeed and achieve your goals. We understand that passing your LGV test can be challenging, but with our expert guidance, our aim is that you will be ready for your retest in just two weeks.

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For more information on LGV Driver Training Courses in Liverpool, call us today on 01942 826133 for more details!

Leave the EU, no more CPC, Right?!!

Wrong!! Though I think that we can all agree that making this decision isn’t easy considering all of the ‘flannel’ that our Politian’s spout, with all of the confusing nonsense that they throw at us, it would be easy to try to pick on one element that we ‘think’ might make our lives easier and pin the decision on that.

But if you are pinning anything on CPC being dropped as a result of an exit, think again. I realise I am talking from a training companies perspective, but as the UK would remain in the UN and all of its connected agencies, vehicle and driver common rules would remain to ensure continued free movement.

It may even be that without the EU holding us back, the government will look to add elements to the requirements and remove some of the issues which have given driver training the bad name it now has.

Joanne Witheford, senior solicitor at DWF states:

“We are getting it right and it’s unfortunate other European countries aren’t as rigorous. But I really don’t believe that, if we left the EU, we would take a step back and throw out all that legislation,” she said.

A report in the Express today sees countless comments from BREXIT drivers picking up CPC as a ‘waste of time’, ‘costs too much’, ‘we do this job every day we don’t need training!’

But if you drive what is essentially a killing machine everyday, DCPC is called refresher training, I think all road users would also insist on rules being adhered to about driver tiredness, safe loading of your killing machine, to keep our beloved families safe on the road.

You might do a job every day but it doesn’t mean that you do it well or safely and that has nothing to do with the EU!

Tim Ridyard, partner at Woodfines Solicitors, agrees. “EC Regulation 1071/2009 underpins the Standard O-licence, but would the UK abandon its fundamentals and repeal the UK legislation, eg shedding the need for formally qualified transport managers?

There would surely be a continuation of a pretty similar model,” he said.

The operators CPC was actually invented by us, here in this country, not something put together by Europe that we have to adhere to, The EU used our model to take out to the rest of Europe.

For the import and export industry to work successfully it must remain as it is, to work alongside our trading partners requirements, whether we are in or out.

There is no doubt that this situation throws up more unknowns that knowns, but most of the main transport associations will tell you that as far as existing legislation goes nothing will change.

The majority of the EU regulations have improved our road safety and given the haulage industry the freedom from the documentation and barriers that existed when we were a single market. When these barriers are re-instated if we leave the EU, we can only expect Europe to respond with ways of making our lives more difficult, whether it be out of necessity or to prove a point!

Suffice to say that our core legislation is tried and tested and as we still recover from very hard times the last thing we need is to see everything grind to a halt.

So expectations of major changes need to grasp reality and understand that controls are in place because they make sense, they protect us, and improve us.

Transport lawyer Richard Pelly, director of Pellys Transport and Regulatory Law, says that the UK’s transport and road safety laws are unlikely to be amended dramatically in the light of Brexit.

“The fundamentals of safe and compliant operation are not going to change,” he states.

We are faced with so many facts, figures and emotions it can be easy to be swayed by the idea that such a major change will solve all of our problems, but maybe take a moment to look at the wider picture, take some of the emotion out and put more of the common sense in!

The issue has been raised recently that many people fall foul of parking charges unnecessarily because they simply don’t know the difference between the two.

Official council parking fines are called ‘Penalty Charge Notices’ and can be issued by the council parking inspectors (Traffic Wardens), or the police.

Private companies issue tickets which look virtually the same, but the requirements are very different.

An official parking ticket will be called a Fixed Penalty Notice,  Penalty Charge Notice or Excess Charge Notice. If you have an official car parking ticket then you have been fined and will have to to pay, unless you have grounds to appeal.

But what was a surprise to me, and many others I would imagine, is that Private Parking tickets are not Fines, they are invoices and do not hold the same rules as the council and police tickets.

Believe it or not, private companies do not have a legal right to fine you, all they can do is issue you with a notice of ‘breach of contract’ and invoice you on that basis.

Also good to note is the fact that private parking companies themselves have no legal powers to clamp or tow a vehicle themselves, only when sub-contracted by the police or council. There are plenty of cowboy firms out there who will tow a vehicle away illegally and charge a princley sum to release it, with no legal grounding at all. So before you part with your cash, ask them to produce proof as to who has given permission and if they can’t, it’s time to call the authorities!

In fact don’t pay anything until you are sure that you have an official fine and if a private company are charging you, you might not need to pay at all. It’s also worth checking the appeals for official fines and also to contact a landlord direct if you have an invoice from a private firm. The landlord might not agree with the circumstances in which you were ticketed and could instruct the company to cancel the invoice anyway.

Transport Manager CPC – Why does it matter to me?

This is probably a question that many within the transport industry might ask themselves and maybe also, who does it apply to?

Well, whether you are already in a Transport Manager or supervisor role, an aspiring Transport Manager or own a company that see haulage as an integral part of day to day running, this qualification is should be part of you training schedule.

Equally, if you have individuals within the company that show the commitment and skills to one day take on a transport manager role, investing in this course will give the comprehensive knowledge that will move business forward and protect the company in the future.

It is always disappointing to hear that the 2 weeks required for the course is ‘too much to take out of the business’ and ‘there’s no way the company will pay for that’.

This is both an insult to the staff that work hard day to day to keep the business running and to the drivers that rely on them for support and direction to get the job done. We have all heard of the cliché of short term pain for long term gain, but this is a perfect example of how this applies.

Organise 2 weeks cover for your valued staff member and ensure they have support to do the home study required (which they do in their own time) and in the long term you have a manager who can confidently take care of :

Your operators licence

Drivers hours and be fully aware and adhere to working time legislation, saving the infringement charges that this can incur.

Maintain effective record keeping overall, which will immediately work towards a smoother running business.

Driver licensing, to ensure all driving staff have appropriate licensing and that these are kept up-to-date.

People management and employment legislation, to have the confidence and knowledge of employment law in disputes and employment issues.

Health & Safety, a key part of the day to day duties, to ensure the working environment is safe and protecting the employers reputation. Preventing a situation where an employee is injured due to neglect or the business is forced to close following a failed inspection.

Contracts of carriage, having the full knowledge about how good should be carried and the rules and regulations that must be followed for the many different circumstances that may arise.

Domestic and International operations, who knows when business may expand and you will already have a manager who is fully aware of International law.

Investing in staff and giving them the tools they need to do their jobs effectively is a sure way of keeping good people in the business!

Equally, if you are looking to further your career as an individual, I am sure that sacrificing 2 weeks of your well deserved holiday time might seem hard to bear, but when you think of how this qualification could boost your career (and employers will favour you over those who haven’t been forward thinking enough to invest in training themselves for a better future) it seems a small price to pay!

So start thinking long term and reap the benefits!

…………..Before you maintained your vehicles?

No….then why would you leave your driver’s in charge of their own CPC training??

I can give you many valid reasons why this is a very bad idea, but here’s my top ten…

1.      IT WILL NOT HAPPEN!!!

2.      IT WILL NOT HAPPEN!!!!!!!

3.      Each year the prices will increase for courses and by 2019 they will have soared, we will fix the price when we organise the courses for you and you will save £££’s.

4.      The impact on business when all drivers have left their training until the deadline, AND THEY WILL. We have already had countless conversations with self employed drivers who are leaving it until 2019. You will have all of your drivers taking 5 days out of your schedule to get the training done and will then have to pay for that extra cover. Is that cost effective, is that efficient?

5.      Availability, the later you leave it the less chance there will be that places will be available, plus if you book drivers in early you can make sure they take 5 different courses and prioritise the training that they need the most. If you are having issues with driver hours or Digital Tachographs get the courses organised now, rather than later.

6.      If you aren’t in control of your driver’s training, your drivers won’t get trained. You can still make an arrangement with your drivers where they pay for their training at an agreed amount each month out of their salary and must pay the balance if they leave before they are complete. We have seen this in action and it works! Companies add this as a clause to their contracts and if drivers want to work they have to agree.

7.      The very nature of CPC is that it is refresher training and should be taken one course per year, during an inspection you will often be required to show that you are organising the training in this way. If you are leaving the training to the drivers you have no way of showing that you have put any plans in place.

8.      If you can’t find places before the deadline in 2019 can your business function with half your workforce off the road?

9. We are now fast approaching year 3 of phase 2, have any of your drivers taken even one CPC course yet, have they asked you about CPC, do they know that they need to organise it? I would suspect that the answer may be no to most of those questions and of so, I think now might be the time to reconsider.

10. Oh, and finally…….driver’s organising their own CPC…. IT WON’T HAPPEN!!!!

If you disagree, lets hear why!

As we all know for this time of year, we are due to have many long days & nights of consistent & persistent rain L, so as usual we just get on with whatever the weather throws at us.

Unfortunately, what does seem to happen when the rain does fall is that the standard of driving does seem to go down the drain like the water, with some drivers not being able to adapt or cope with the change in weather or road conditions, thus putting themselves & other road users at risk.  Take one example, motorways, why do some motorists insist on maintaining their overly high speed as soon as the road gets wet, without factoring in the cause of ‘Aquaplaning’, increased stopping distances & poor visibility – to name but a few!!

Most people will not know what ‘Aquaplaning’ is or means, but in simple terms, when the tyres on your vehicle are no longer in contact with the tarmac on the road, they are now riding on top surface of the water, meaning you have little or no steering or braking ability, so you are now effectively a boat!!  This danger increases further when higher speeds are made, so why maintain a high speed or go even faster when the road conditions are not suitable?  (This does not mean slam on the brakes either!!)

Modern cars have an array of driving aids to help stop people crashing, but to my knowledge, none of these can stop you from ‘aquaplaning’ other than you and how you drive?  Drivers should always adjust their speed according to the road conditions, but this rarely happens, as they feel too safe in their vehicle to notice the consequences of what they are doing!

For me, this is down to the driver being less involved with how a vehicle reacts & interacts with the inputs being made, as these aids are basically covering up the flaws of most drivers’ inability to operate a vehicle safely.  What is wrong with making a driver feel more vulnerable if they are to make a mistake, surely that would be a better learning curve rather than after the accident has happened?

I’m sure there will be different views about this topic, but to make my main point about driving in wet conditions, please slow down, make allowances for how your vehicle reacts, and take your time, as this time of year does make it more dangerous, and I do not fancy being involved in someone else’s accident due to poor or bad judgement on their part!!

Safe Motoring to you all!!

This is likely going to be a touchy subject, but below is a different view on this ongoing issue.

Cycling in general seems to be on more the agenda this year due to various programs & schemes that are running, mainly in London and other major cities in the UK, to encourage more people to use a bicycle as their main method of transport.

There have been various high profile appearances that have been made on news channels & other shows that are trying to encourage people using bicycles more, but they also seem to be encouraging that the government should spend tens of millions of pounds on creating more cycle lanes to help make this happen??

I’m not sure this is the way to go, as there are possible issues with doing this, here are a couple which come to mind; Space or lack of on the roads already; No person using a bicycle currently pays any form of road tax or duty to use the roads, yet these cycle lanes are to be built at the cost of the motorist, is that fair?

For me a lack of discipline by a large number of cycle users already will not be resolved by creating more cycle lanes, which in most cases are never used by the people they are intended for.  Case in point, as I see this every time I head into town where there is a designated cycle lane, yet they are using the road causing traffic to back up as know one can get past safely!!

Surely, the amount of money that would be spent on these cycle lanes could better used?  For instance, whatever happened to the ‘cycle proficiency test’ that was done at schools?  I know this does happen in some schools still, but surely this would be a good starting point in teaching children the do’s & don’ts of cycle use?  Should this be part of the curriculum for all schools?

When it comes to adults, why should this training not carry on for riders who are going to use their bicycle as there main method of transport to commute to work? Or if you are part of a bike club (that uses all of the roads over a weekend)? to ensure you are not a danger to other road users?

Without any research and being just a hunch, I would be pretty sure that most accidents that occur involving a vehicle & bicycle, would very likely be down to the rider putting themselves into a dangerous position without even knowing it?

Disagree? I’m sure this may not be to some peoples liking, but it is becoming more apparent that the government & cycle groups seem to be ensuring that the motorist is always to blame and always accountable, meaning cyclists can pretty much do what they want, and behave how they like, as they know they can get away with it!!  Look with what has happened in London earlier this year with HGV’s, it may be a good idea in principal, but without the cyclist being given the right tools to ride safely, what’s the point of enforcing it?

I’m sure there will be plenty of opinions that will be made about my view on this matter, but for anyone who doesn’t know this already, I am a regular mountain bike user, so I am seeing it from both sides of the table as I know the motorist is accountable as well!

This is a topic very relevant for me, as unfortunately I live near a roundabout, in where I see & hear on daily basis drivers who appear to not have any clue as to how to approach or deal with a roundabout?

We’ve all been there before, you arrive at a roundabout and no one is making the first or correct move, but then you all end up setting off at the same time!!  It appears as if most people ‘freeze’ or ‘panic’ when they approach a roundabout?  Why is this?  Why is it so hard to understand?

Their does appear to be an ignorance towards roundabouts, with how most drivers react when they are having to slam on their brakes, because they have failed to slow down in giving way to the right, or heaven forbid someone is using the roundabout for going round on, or not paying attention to the signal that an oncoming vehicle is making or worse still, they are making the incorrect signal to other road users, whilst carrying on with their own selfish driving.  To be honest, the list for this can and is probably endless!!

I have seen many a close incident & accident on the roundabout near me, which is down to bad driving, poor judgement, not slowing down sufficiently, or not allowing another vehicle(s) in executing their manoeuvre.  I wouldn’t mind, but this is only a 2 junction roundabout, in which you can carry straight on, turn right or go round it and back down the road you’ve come from (not too tasking is it?).  But time and time again, I hear the sound of heavy braking, horns beeping and on occasion metal crunching when it goes very wrong!!

I know this may have mixed reactions, as there are many different types of roundabout that exists, in which different approaches have to be made.  Mostly though, ignorance is a major factor, along with arrogance that some drivers believe it is always their right of way?

Anyone unsure of Roundabout Rules, take 5 minutes to read section 184-190 of the Highway Code, you may actually learn something that you should already know??

This topic is fresh in my mind after spending the weekend away in the Lake District.

I’m sure it is not just me that finds this, but in general there seems to be a decline in the discipline of vehicle owners who do not take due care & attention when it comes to lane discipline!

Using a mixture of Motorways, A & B roads when going to & from Cumbria, there were several occasions where I found a complete lack of awareness when it came to using a lane safely.  One example is hogging the middle lane on a motorway for no good reason whatsoever!!  Another would be using 2 lanes of a dual carriageway in a small car!!  Thirdly being cut up by a driver cutting across the lane I’m in on a one way, 2 lane road!!

Now, I am aware that some drivers do not have the ability to distinguish what a line in the road may be for, or if they do, they do not care.  But it is becoming more of an issue on busy roads, especially in town centres, where there is always confusion or unawareness on how to take the correct line through the flow of traffic.

This could be down to ability, and or size of vehicle, but either way, it is ultimately down to a driver being unaware of how careless or inconsiderate they are driving towards others!!

We all know there is less space on the roads for various reasons, but we all still have to get round somehow.  So a great way to work round this, is by taking more care in how you position your vehicle and being more aware of others around you??  Surely it’s not that difficult to do if you try that little bit harder when using your vehicle, but I’m sure there will be a difference in opinion??