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All motorway drivers will benefit from competition on pricing for electric vehicle charging at motorway services after exclusive agreements were ruled out as part of Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation.

Gridserve, which acquired the Electric Highway from Ecotricity in June, has offered legally-binding assurances, known as commitments, to the CMA.

It says that it will not enforce exclusive rights in contracts with Extra, MOTO or Roadchef, after 2026, which currently cover around two-thirds of motorway service stations.

In doing so, Gridserve has committed to reducing the length of the exclusive rights in the current contracts with MOTO by around two years and Roadchef by around four years (the contract with the third operator, Extra, is due to end in 2026).

Furthermore it says it will not enforce exclusive rights at any Extra, MOTO or Roadchef sites that have been granted funding under the UK government’s Rapid Charging Fund (RCF).

This means that, where funding has been granted, competitor charge point operators will be able to install charge points regardless of the exclusive element of the Electric Highway’s contracts.

Each of the motorway service station operators – Extra, MOTO and Roadchef – and Gridserve have also offered commitments not to take any action that would undermine the above commitments.

Andrea Coscelli, CMA chief executive, said: “One of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting people to switch to electric cars is the fear that they won’t be able to travel from A to B without running out of charge.

“Millions of people make a pitstop for fuel at motorway service stations every day, so it’s crucial that people can trust that electric charge points will do the same job.

“Healthy competition is key to ensuring that drivers have a greater choice of charge points where they need them, and for a fair price.”

The CMA believes that opening up competition on motorways, while ensuring the sector has greater investment, is the right direction of travel – and good news for current drivers of electric cars and for people thinking of buying one.

“We’d now like to hear from businesses and drivers themselves on these proposed commitments,” added Coscelli.

In July, the CMA launched a competition investigation into the Electric Highway’s contracts with MOTO, Roadchef and Extra, alongside publishing the findings of its market study into the electric vehicle charging sector.

The CMA’s investigation examined the Electric Highway’s long-term, exclusive contracts with Extra, MOTO and Roadchef for the motorway service stations they operate.

In particular, it was concerned that provisions in those contracts granting exclusivity to the Electric Highway may be: preventing competitor charge point operators from operating at motorway service areas; could impede the successful roll-out of the Government’s anticipated RCF; and may result in drivers losing out on competitive prices and reliable charge points as a result of a lack of competition at motorway service areas.

The CMA believes that the commitments offered by Gridserve will address its competition concerns and open up competition in the market ahead of the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

Significant new investments are due to be made by Gridserve ahead of expected demand between 2021 and 2025. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

New rules about towing a trailer or caravan with a car, expected to take effect from Monday (November 15), have been delayed.

No reason was given by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which said on the Government website that the new towing rules will now be introduced at a “later date, and as soon as possible”.

It announced in September that car and trailer driving tests would no longer be required, with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) updating driving licence records automatically.

The category B+E, it said, would be added to photocard driving licences when they are renewed. Tests, it added, would no longer be available after September 20, 2021.

Jonathan White, legal and compliance director from National Accident Helpline, said: “We welcome the delay in the introduction of these changes and hope that the Government makes use of the extra time to consider them in more detail, ensuring that the safety of drivers is considered as the top priority.

“The changes will see millions of drivers simultaneously given the right to tow a trailer of considerable weight, without needing any previous experience or training in driving while towing a load – all at a time of year when visibility and conditions are at their poorest, bringing an increased element of risk to drivers.”

What are you currently allowed to tow?

You will not be affected by the changes if you passed your car driving test before January 1, 1997.

You are usually allowed to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8,250kg maximum authorised mass (MAM). You are also allowed to drive a minibus with a trailer over 750kg MAM.

MAM is the limit on how much the vehicle can weigh when it’s loaded.

If you passed your car driving test from January 1, 1997, to January 18, 2013, you can currently drive either of the following:

• A car or van up to 3,500kg MAM towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM (up to 4,250kg in total).
• A trailer over 750kg MAM, as long as it is no more than the unladen weight of the towing vehicle (up to 3,500kg in total).

You would have had to pass a car and trailer driving test if you want to tow anything heavier.

If you passed your car driving test from January 19, 2013, you can currently drive either of the following:

• A car or van up to 3,500kg MAM towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM (up to 4,250kg in total).
• A trailer over 750kg MAM as long as the combined MAM of the trailer and towing vehicle is no more than 3,500kg.

You would have had to pass a car and trailer driving test if you want to tow anything heavier.

What you can do until the towing law changes?

Until the law changes, you must continue to follow the current rules about what you are allowed to tow based on when you passed your car driving test, says DVSA.

You can be fined up to £1,000, be banned from driving and get up to six penalty points on your driving licence if you tow anything heavier before the law changes. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

About 300 deaths and more than 6,000 serious injuries were prevented due to lighter traffic in 2020, compared with 2019, new analysis from Brake suggests.

The decline in deaths and serious injuries – the first in several years – should herald a renewed road safety focus said Brake at the start of Road Safety Week (November 15-21).  

Road deaths and serious injuries declined across Britain, with the biggest drops seen in Scotland, followed by Wales, South West England, and London.

The areas with the biggest reductions in those killed or seriously injured in percentage terms were Scotland, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber, North East England and the East of England.

There were, however, still 1,460 deaths and more than 22,000 serious injuries on roads in 2020. Across the country, South East England was the only region to see an increase in deaths last year (239 up from 214 in 2019) – an increase of 12%.

Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, said: “Reductions in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads – due to lockdown restrictions last year – are to be welcomed but should also inspire more action to make roads safer as traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels.”

As traffic levels rise again, Road Safety Week celebrated the work of road safety heroes across the country who work to tackle deaths and serious injuries and turn the one-year drop into a downward trend.

This year’s campaign also celebrates the invaluable efforts of the emergency services, including those who police the roads and save lives, at the roadside and in hospitals, and the work of the National Road Victim Service, caring for the emotional and practical needs of road victim families, as well as community services including mental health services and disability and peer support charities.

Wakeford said: “Road Safety Week is the UK’s biggest annual road safety campaign and is a great opportunity to speak up for road safety.

“This year everyone can acknowledge and celebrate the heroic efforts of people working to save lives on roads across the country – and recognise that we can all be road safety heroes by using roads safely and taking actions for road safety in our families, schools, communities and where we work.

“We would urge everyone to visit the Road Safety Week website for loads of ways to take part in the ongoing campaigns.”

Brake, which co-ordinates the annual campaign, is calling for individuals, communities and organisations to share stories of their own road safety heroes – through social media, in schools, in company team meetings or special events.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “While the UK has some of the safest roads in the world, we’re always working to make them even safer – and we very much welcome the drop in casualties during the pandemic.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to help see further reductions, including through our Think! campaign, which tackles behaviours that can lead to serious road incidents and our ongoing review of roads policing.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Used car values reached the second highest on record at BCA in October with the average car selling for £3,000 more than a year ago.

October used car values averaged £11,295 at BCA, maintaining the pattern of consistently high average used car values this year. Year-on-year, average monthly values are up 38.6%.

Stuart Pearson, COO BCA UK, said: “October felt like the first month for a long time, where the market started to behave exactly as it usually would at this time of year. Whilst prices remained resilient, many people took the opportunity to get away which shifted the supply and demand dynamic back in favour of the buyer for the first time in a long time.”

The weekly data highlights the stability of average values at BCA throughout October.  Values remained around £11,700 for much of the month, before dipping just below £11,000 at the end of October.  At the highest weekly point in October, year-on-year values were ahead of the same week in 2020 by 49%.

Pearson added: “The market may have eased back from some of the frenzied activity seen in recent months, however with very little certainty around new car supply, average used car values remain robust.  It doesn’t feel like it would take a lot to change for the market to reignite, particularly as we move towards the opportunity that the New Year presents for retailers.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Mercedes-Benz is facing fresh allegations of using illegal defeat devices to cheat emissions tests, this time affecting its Euro 6 compliant six-cylinder 3.0-litre BlueTec engine.

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (Environmental Action Germany) has published a report identifying eight previously unknown defeat devices in certain Mercedes E-Class E350 diesel models.

In DUH’s view, these defeat devices result in nitrogen oxide emissions on the road being up to 500% above the legally prescribed limit.

Jürgen Resch, DUH’s national director, said: “It shows us for the first time how the company succeeds in complying with the legal limits in the test laboratory, while literally flooding our cities with harmful nitrogen oxides during real road use.

“The manipulation of the exhaust gas purification is not carried out because it is necessary for physical reasons or for the purpose of engine protection. The reason is as simple as it is cynical: it is about maximising profits at the expense of the environment and the health of city residents.”

The DUH tested a 2016 Mercedes E350 CDI Estate and found evidence of multiple ‘defeat devices’. It said the devices activate in driving situations that are common in road use conditions and stated that even under normal driving conditions, at least one defeat device almost always actively prevents the improvement of emissions

Three of the defeat devices identified by the DUH are said to depend on an “ageing factor” that reduces the amount of Adblue used as the vehicle’s milage increases. The report stated: “There is no plausible physical reason for the existence of any of them.”

The German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) said it sees no evidence of previously unknown defeat devices at Mercedes-Benz in the DUH report.

“In the report, eight defeat devices of the relevant model with the OM 642 diesel engine are named. We are aware of these,” said a KBA spokesman on Friday. They have already been checked and found to be “not inadmissible”.

The KBA had already demanded a software update for the model under investigation in the DUH report. The defeat devices were removed in the updated software and the nitrogen oxide emissions were subsequently also below the legal limit value during road testing.

Mercedes is among a number of car makers facing legal action for emissions misrepresentation.

The DUH report suggests that other Mercedes vehicles with comparable engines and technologies contain comparable illegal defeat devices.

Mercedes-Benz told Car magazine: “The outlined calibrations are known. In our view, these are not to be assessed as illegal defeat devices in the interaction and overall context of the highly complex emission control system.

“The vast majority of rulings in German regional courts and higher regional courts continue to be in Daimler’s favour: In approximately 95%of cases, the courts rule in favour of the company.

“At the regional court level, there are more than 15,500 decisions dismissing lawsuits in favour of the company; in only about 900 cases was the decision against the company.

“There are now around 900 decisions in our favour at the higher regional courts, and only three decisions against us.

“The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has also confirmed key points of Daimler AG’s legal opinion in several decisions.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Transport academics and specialists have been queueing up in recent months to publicise their conversion to the idea that some form of road pricing or travel taxation to replace our current system of fuel duty and vehicle excise is not only desirable, but inevitable.

Increasingly, as the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has said, doing nothing is now not a viable option, economically or politically – and perhaps even socially…but the road to an acceptable new equilibrium is uncharted and full of potholes.

It’s been widely observed that Government has to find a way of filling the £40bn+ gap in revenues from the current system of taxing motoring. It’s clear, too, that fuel duty and road tax (VED) are blunt tools that haven’t been able to deal with the real social costs of driving, from emissions to congestion.

Without other action to tackle car use, the lower cost of running EVs is likely to mean greater vehicle use with associated congestion and space occupation currently blighting many cities.

The recent Oxford CREDS report highlighted that we’re not going to be able to meet net zero targets without reducing car use in addition to transforming the technology we use to power those cars. (Some policymakers are already committed to change; Scotland aims to cut national car mileage 20% by 2030 while London is targeting 80% of journeys to be non-car by 2041.)

As Zemo’s lifecycle work shows, tailpipe emissions are only part of the story. The manufacture and disposal of vehicles and creating the capacity to supply energy to them all have an emissions impact.

As in many areas of life, for transport, efficiency must be a main focus of any new approach.

Road pricing has a back-story, of course, and as a label carries a great deal of baggage, so we’ll need to communicate much more effectively than in the past why it’s needed now; how proven (GPS and associated) technology is now commonplace, and how its introduction can be fair, reduce traffic congestion and accelerate a necessary transition to the cleanest, most efficient (and, perhaps, smaller) vehicles (some of which will still be cars, of course).

Importantly, the public is much more aware that we’re facing a “triple whammy” of emergencies in climate, air quality and congestion. But, because of the collective memory of the terms ‘road pricing’ and ‘road user charging’, perhaps we need a new term to describe the benefits a new approach could bring in terms of climate, air pollution and space.

More and more people are arguing that the time for road pricing has arrived. They say it has the potential to influence how, when and where we travel.

It could help to promote active travel choices, speed the introduction of EVs and other zero/low emission vehicles and provide policymakers with an effective lever to manage congestion.

It will have to be fair and not discriminate against those with fewer resources and limited travel choices. And it must be clearly understood if it’s to be accepted and effective.

As the Institute for Global Change says, the transition from our current system of vehicle taxation is under way whether we like it or not.

The transition offers us a huge opportunity to rethink our relationship with our cars and the incentives we put around their use.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Windsor, Swindon and Stockport have the least number of rapid chargers per electric cars, according to analysis of official statistics by the Liberal Democrats.

The research showed electric car drivers in these areas are most likely to be stranded by slower charging points, taking at least 13 hours to charge a Nissan Leaf – whereas rapid chargers take 30 minutes.

In the local authority area of Windsor and Maidenhead, there are 1,474 electric cars registered in the area for every rapid charging point.

In Stockport, there are 16,568 registered electric cars, sharing just 16 rapid charging points.

372 new rapid electric vehicle (EV) chargers were installed within the last three months across the UK, as part of 1,553 new chargers installed.

The statistics reveal that less than one in five (19%) of all EV charging points in the UK are rapid chargers, whereas nearly 6,000 public charging points fall into the slow bracket (3kW-5kW).

The Government cut the plug-in car grant by £500, earlier this year.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for VAT cuts for cheaper priced EVs from 20% to 5% as well as increased in investment in EV charging points, particularly in rural areas.

Sarah Olney MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for transport, said: “Too many electric car owners face the anxiety of being marooned in a car park for hours on end because the Government is installing the wrong kind of charging points.

“The Government needs to get on with it now or risk a new wave of electric car owners becoming stranded, or worse still, going back to diesel.

“For all the big talk we have heard from the Government at COP26 on electric cars, the reality of their lack of investment shows a completely different picture.

“Instead of vague words, Liberal Democrats are calling for a cut in VAT on the lowest cost electric vehicles and a massive expansion of rapid chargers, particularly in rural areas.”

A freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed that 52% of UK councils made no investment in EV charging infrastructure, last year.

They are also calling for the Government to replace its own current vehicle fleet with ultra-low emission vehicles by 2022, and encourage the rest of the public sector, including local authorities and the NHS, to set their own targets. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A landmark deal on zero emission cars and vans has been unveiled to coincide with Transport Day at COP26, with leaders committing to working towards 100% zero emission new car and van sales by 2040 or earlier.

Twenty-four countries, six major vehicle manufacturers – GM, Ford, Mercedes, BYD, Volvo and JLR – 39 cities, states and regions, 28 fleets and 13 investors all jointly set out their determination for all new car and van sales to be zero emission by 2040 globally and 2035 in leading markets.

In this group, companies like Sainsbury’s and countries including Uruguay, El Salvador and New Zealand are today making new commitments to 100% zero emission vehicles.

They follow proposals made by the EU, Chile, Canada and a number of US states this year to ensure all new cars are zero emission by 2035.

Also announced, a number of emerging markets and developing economies have committed to work to accelerate the adoption of zero emission vehicles in their markets, including India, Ghana, Kenya, Paraguay, Rwanda and Turkey.

The full pledge and signatories are available to view online, but includes:

• As governments, we will work towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero emission by 2040 or earlier, or by no later than 2035 in leading markets.
• As cities, states, and regional governments, we will work towards converting our owned or leased car and van fleets to zero emission vehicles by 2035 at the latest, as well as putting in place policies that will enable, accelerate, or otherwise incentivise the transition to zero emission vehicles as soon as possible, to the extent possible given our jurisdictional powers.
• As automotive manufacturers, we will work towards reaching 100% zero emission new car and van sales in leading markets by 2035 or earlier, supported by a business strategy that is in line with achieving this ambition, as we help build customer demand.
• As business fleet owners and operators, or shared mobility platforms, we will work towards 100% of our car and van fleets being zero emission vehicles by 2030, or earlier where markets allow.

Helen Clarkson, CEO of international non-profit, Climate Group, said: “COP26 marks the end of the road for the internal combustion engine.

“We’re seeing significant commitments from manufacturers, investors, fleet operators, countries, cities, states and regions.

“The voices of the people in the streets at this COP are very clear – there is no more time for delay, or excuses to be made. We need to decarbonise our economies at pace and at scale. Those not at the table on Transport Day are on the wrong side of history.”

Vehicle leasing company Zenith joined the EV100 initiative in 2020, promising to switch its entire internal fleet to electric by 2025 – five years ahead of the 2date required by the EV100.

Commenting on the COP26 announcement, Tim Buchan, chief executive officer, Zenith, said: “The transition to net zero underpins everything we do at Zenith. We are working closely with customers and partners to accelerate change. The EV100 declaration at COP26 is a milestone for our industry and one that we are proud to be a part of.”

Zenith has already made significant progress on the road to net zero, with 42% of its own fleet now fully electric. The transition of customer fleets continues to accelerate, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounting for 17% of the car fleet.

Salary sacrifice leads the change, with 79% of current orders being for a BEV, while the customer LCV order book is now 37% BEV.

Alfonso Martinez, managing director of LeasePlan UK, said: “Back in 2017 when we became one of the founding members of the EV100 and committed to accelerating the worldwide switch to EV, everyone said we were being too idealistic.

At the time, we were just one of a few lonely voices telling everyone that the EVolution was just around the corner. But now, the excitement for EVs among businesses has reached fever pitch and there are very few people left to convince.

“Years of debate around range, cost and model availability have subsided. Passenger issues have been solved. Now, companies want to go electric; their regulators are pushing them, their investors are requesting it, and their customer are demanding it.

“Three years ago, one in 100 of our new orders were for an EV. Now it’s one in five. The whole mindset around EVs has changed. Our message to business leaders and fleet managers is simple: it’s possible, you just need to get started.”

Zero-emission HGVS from 2040

The UK Government has also announced it will phase out new, non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) weighing 26 tonnes and under by 2035, with all new HGVs sold in the UK to be zero emission by 2040.

It had previously announced that it would end the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030.

Transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “We have reached a tipping point in the transition to clean road transport. It is inspiring to see governments and industry come together, to decarbonise road transport within a generation.”

New business commitments to electrify fleet vehicles by 2030 through Climate Group’s EV100 initiative have also been announced to coincide with COP26’s Transport Day.

EV100 has welcomed seven new members who committed to electrify their combined fleets of over 250,000 vehicles by 2030.

New joiners include UK-based companies M Group Services – the fifth largest fleet operator in the UK – and Kier, SK Networks from South Korea, Nichicon Corporation from Japan, and US-based Gilead Sciences Inc., Mack-Cali Realty Corporation and NRG Energy Inc. Gilead Sciences, Inc. is also joining RE100 by committing to 100% renewable electricity by 2025. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The UK faces an electric vehicle (EV) skills gap, with too few technicians to service the volume of zero emissions vehicles predicted to be on UK roads by 2030, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).

It says that 90,000 technicians will be required to provide a sufficient workforce ahead of the Government’s Road to Zero deadline.

However, whilst the automotive sector is working hard to retrain and upskill, because of the accelerated adoption of EVs, the IMI is predicting that there will be a shortfall of 35,700 technicians by 2030, with 2026 marking the point at which the skills gap will materialise.

Steve Nash, CEO of the Institute of the Motor Industry, explained: “As of 2020, there were 15,400 qualified TechSafe technicians in the UK. That number represents just 6.5% of the UK automotive sector and was already giving us cause for concern.

“Our new analysis paints an even more challenging picture. The pace of EV adoption is accelerating, even while the issues around infrastructure remain a barrier.

“Once the charging network is fit for purpose, combined with electric vehicles becoming more financially accessible, the next big challenge will be how to ensure we have a workforce adequately qualified to provide the essential servicing, maintenance and repair to keep these vehicles safe on the roads. And that’s where we believe Government attention – and funds – should be focused now.”

Plug-in cars are expected to account for more than a fifth (21.5%) of all new car registrations next year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 

New plug-in vehicle uptake rates have accelerated so rapidly that more EVs will join Britain’s roads in 2021 than during the whole of the last decade, says the SMMT.

A total of 271,962 new BEVs and PHEVs were registered between 2010 and 2019. However, the SMMT now expects Britain to break its plug-in records, forecasting that businesses and consumers will take up around 287,000 of the latest zero-emission capable cars during 2021 alone – around one in six new cars.

Based on current forecasts, BEV registrations are also expected to exceed those of diesel by the end of 2022.

The rise is even more remarkable given that 2021 is expected to be a relatively weak year for new car registrations, some 30% below the average recorded over the past decade.

Nash said: “Whether it’s looking at incentives to retrain the existing workforce or ensuring that school-leavers and people changing the direction of their career are excited about the prospects of working in such a fast-moving sector, there needs to be a mind-shift in how to fix the widening skills gap.

“Significant investment is being ploughed into infrastructure, but the government still seems to be ignoring the fact that without a skilled workforce, it will fail in its decarbonisation ambitions.”

Using the SMMT’s upper scenario on EV adoption, the IMI predicts that the number of TechSafe qualified technicians required by 2030 is 90,000.

As of 2020 there were 15,400 qualified, and using current forecast trends, by 2030 there could be a shortfall of 35,700 qualified technicians, risking the safety of technicians and undermining confidence that EVs can be serviced, maintained and repaired by a garage with the right skills.

The forecast also indicates that the gap could materialise as soon as 2026 thus risking the Government’s 2030 green ambitions.

Faced with the potentially fatal consequences of an inadequately skilled workforce, the IMI is repeating its plea for the Government to commit funding to support EV skills training.

It is suggesting a £15 million boost would play a critical role, contributing towards training for up to 75,000 technicians. In the context of the £1.9 billion investment committed by Government in the 2020 Spending Review to supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles for charging infrastructure and consumer incentives, the IMI believes this is a modest figure.

It would make a significant difference, particularly for the independent sector which historically has less training opportunities compared to the franchise network which is supported by manufacturer academies, with the result that consumers will have less choice, says the IMI.

“The current gaping chasm in EV skills not only presents a safety threat for those who may risk working on high voltage vehicle systems without appropriate training and qualifications; it also means the premium on skills could add to costs for motorists, creating another, unnecessary deterrent to the switch to EV”, concluded Nash.

“The Government wants the adoption of EV to continue at a pace – the investment in EV charging needs to be matched by an investment in EV skills training to help employers ensure the workforce is EV-ready and electrified motoring doesn’t come at a premium.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The Government has launched a review into HGV driver training with the aim of reducing the burden for existing and returning heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers.

HGV drivers currently need to undergo five days of periodic training every five years to ensure they remain fully qualified to drive heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and buses professionally and up to date with road safety standards.

The training is an EU initiative and is compulsory within what is known as the Driver Certificates of Professional Competence (DCPC) regime.

Some drivers are left to pay for the training themselves and are not paid whilst attending their training course. Feedback from industry suggests this puts off many drivers who have left the profession from returning.

The review will look at how the process can be updated to reduce the burden on drivers – both returning and new – and ensure it does not act as a barrier to working in the sector.

The announcement is the latest in a long list of measures introduced by the Government to tackle the shortage in HGV drivers, which the Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimates is some 100,000 drivers.

Covid-19 and Brexit have exacerbated the issue in the UK, leading to the Department for Transport (DfT) extending drivers’ hours temporarily, before introducing a raft of measures as the crisis deepened.

They included a streamlined HGV driving test, which ministers claim will provide additional capacity for 50,000 HGV tests per year, recruiting more examiners and issuing temporary visas for foreign drivers.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’re listening to industry leaders who have told us about the issues HGV drivers face with CPC arrangements.

“Now we’ve taken back control of our own laws and regulations, I’m delighted to say we’re launching a review into these training rules.

“We understand it’s vital for drivers to remain fully qualified – but we’re looking to ensure they can do so in the most efficient way possible whilst maintaining road safety standards.

“No driver should be out of pocket or out of work through no fault of their own.

“This is the latest in a raft of 30 measures we’ve taken to support this vital sector and encourage drivers to return to the job or kickstart a new career in the industry. These measures are working.”

A recent freedom of information (FOI) request from Driver Hire Training suggested that almost two-thirds (62%) of HGV test centres across the UK had a waiting list of at least 11 weeks, with some test centres facing a 24-week wait.

The research revealed that the average waiting time across all UK test centres was nine weeks.

The highest waiting times were found in Aberdeen, Lerwick and Machrihanish, where there is a currently a waiting time of 24 weeks for a HGV driving test. Cumbria, the Isle of Wight and South Yorkshire were revealed as the UK counties with the average shortest waiting times of just one week.

Shapps said: “There is no backlog of HGV licence applications and we’re seeing over a thousand more people than normal apply for a licence each week.”

Government says that the number of weekly HGV tests available has increased by 90% and training for up to 5,000 new drivers through skills bootcamps has been announced.

The DVLA, says the Government, has processed over 40,000 HGV and vocational licence applications in four weeks, with applications that do not require complex medicals being turned around in five working days.

DVSA is providing 1,350 more tests than normal a week at sites all over the country, with vocational licence applications being processed in normal five-day turnaround times with no backlogs, says the Department for Transport (DfT).

Over the past three weeks, it reports around a 90% increase in the number of people requesting application packs for vocational licences each week.

Temporary lorry park sites identified

The Government is working with key stakeholders to identify a number of lorry parks across the country where short-term facilities such as temporary toilets, showers and catering can be delivered in the coming months. 

The Government also emphasised the expectation that councils consider new proposals for these vital facilities constructively and has committed to review guidance that will assist this.

This follows the £32.5 million recently committed in the Chancellor’s budget to provide better facilities right across the country for HGV drivers, in an effort to improve standards of roadside parking and facilities for hauliers and further safeguard driver wellbeing, comfort and safety.

In addition, £500,000 will also be added to the existing Mode Shift Revenue Support Fund for 2021 to 2022, in another boost to the country’s supply chains.

The £20m grant scheme provides funding to private-sector freight companies to encourage them to move more freight from the country’s roads to either the railways or inland waterways.

The additional funding equates to taking a significant 29,000 lorry loads of goods off the roads up until the end of March 2022 and will help to generate more environmentally friendly modes of transporting freight, says DfT.

Director of policy at Logistics UK Elizabeth De Jong said: “The measures announced today will support our members in their efforts to attract and retain new HGV drivers to the sector.

“Inadequate driver facilities across the roads network have led to a negative impression of our industry, creating a barrier to entry to our sector and are an issue that Logistics UK has been campaigning on for many years; we are pleased that the Government has listened to our concerns and will move forward with a rapid programme of improvements.

“Logistics UK and its members also welcome the review of Driver CPC, to ensure that continuous education for drivers is as effective as possible while upholding all necessary safety requirements.

“Meanwhile, the extra funding for the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme will help the industry to reach net-zero emission targets while reducing road congestion.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News