Training day

Headnote

A day of driver training with Mercedes-Benz confirms that not making eco-driving a mandatory part of the Driver CPC is a missed opportunity

Wentworth Park, just outside Barnsley, is home to the Mercedes-Benz driver- training operation. Just Jays before attending ihe ecu-driving training course, which adds another .seven hours towards the 35 needed for the Driver CPC requirement ahead of the 20 1 4 deadline, Wentworth Park was two feet of snow.

Knowing that Yorkshire, along with Cumbria, the North-East and Scotland. suffered the worst during the first pre-Christmas wintry snap. I had been checking eagerly to see if part of the Mercedes-Benz Driver CPC inciuded off-road or winter driving. Fortunately not. as the recent thaw had cleared nearly all the remnants of the first snowfall.

Wayne Cooper, driver training team leader, introduces the course. Some of the figures. sourced from Lhe Driving Standards Agency (DSA), provide scale to the problem the Driver CPC has given the industry. They show that 1.5 million people hold a heavy goods licence, with more than 450.000 drivers estimated to require the full 35 hours Driver CPC training to maintain their licence. Taking into account agency, casual and occasional truck drivers as well. Cooper believes the number of people who need training is more likely to be closer to 700,UOO.

From the outset, Mercedes-Benz has made a concerted effort to make itself a leading provider of Driver CPC training, focusing on truck technology and safety, eco-driving. driving safety courses, securing loads, roll-over and skid-pan, as well as ADR courses.

Cooper says...