Newslink August

News - B + E Trainer row
B+E trainers up in arms as
criticism mounts over plans
MSA GB has stepped in to support
instructors who conduct B + E training
after the DVSA/DfT announced that such
tests would be reduced considerably in
the short term to allow for more LGV
tests, and potentially could be scrapped
in the long term.
One member said the plans
demonstrated the DfT/DVSA’s blatant
disregard for people’s livelihoods, while
others criticised a policy that could have
a major impact on lowering driving
standards. Chris Allen from Go Towing
told MSA GB that “the idea of a 17-yearold
passing their test and hooking up a
two-tonne caravan before driving down
the M1 on their first motorway drive is
utter madness.”
The policy has been suggested as a
solution to the current severe shortage of
LGV drivers in the UK, which is having a
disastrous knock-on effect on a host of
business supply chains, including for
food, medicines and fuel.
The driver shortage is being blamed on
a sharp fall in the number of EU
nationals working in the UK haulage
sector since Brexit. Since the end of last
year, when the UK formally left EU rules
on road haulage, LGVs cannot utilise
fully the cabotage scheme. This has
removed many European trucks from UK
roads which previously had completed
extra pick-ups and deliveries in addition
to their original load. Evidence also
points to many EU nationals who drove
in the UK but have now returned home,
citing concerns over Brexit and Covid-19.
Whatever the reasons, many businesses
within the retail, construction and
logistics sectors face acute difficulties in
What the trainers say...
obtaining the drivers they need for their
operations, with some retailers predicting
the scarcity of drivers will lead to
shortages in the shops, particularly food.
To help ease the shortage, the DfT
plans to increase LGV testing to get more
UK drivers behind the wheel – but at a
price. The number of B+E trailer tests
will be reduced so examiners can be
The driving licence regulations state
that if you passed your car driving
test on or after 1 January 1997 you
can:
• drive a car or van up to 3,500kg
maximum authorised mass (MAM)
towing a trailer of up to 750kg MAM
• tow a trailer over 750kg MAM as
long as the combined MAM of the
trailer and towing vehicle is no more
than 3,500kg
re-allocated to LGVs, and this plan is
causing huge concern for those ADIs
whose principal business is this testing.
More worrying, ADIs have been asked
for their views on ending the need to take
a B+E test in the future, allowing car
licence holders to tow a caravan or trailer
without further training or taking a test.
MSA GB national chairman Peter
Harvey said the decision to reduce B+ E
testing slots had caught many by
surprise. “When the news broke we were
inundated with complaints from members
who conduct B+E training. Coming on
the back of the pandemic, when many
ADIs have had little or no work, it has
come as a body-blow.”
Peter cited concerns over safety
standards and whether licence holders
were capable of handling the extra
challenges posed by towing a trailer or
caravan as reasons to question the
wisdom of both decisions, while noting
the disastrous impact scrapping B+E
trailer tests long-term would have on
those ADIs who focused on them.
He said: “It really feels as if the DfT is
planning to rip the rug from under the feet
of a number of dedicated road safety
professionals without real reason to do so.
“We do not agree with reducing B+E
testing, but at least a case can be made
to justify it in the very short-term. Axeing
them all together seems nonsensical.
“If, as appears, the Government and
the logistics sector have been caught out
by Brexit reducing the number of drivers
available, this is an issue that should
have been sorted out years ago – indeed,
it should have been considered before
the referendum in 2016. To only
acknowledge the problem now, five years
later, and to try to solve the issue by
introducing policies that will destroy the
livelihoods of driver trainers, is a dreadful
example of knee-jerk decision-making
and begs the question, is anyone in
Westminster taking note of the
Karl Hunt, B+E trainer,
in an open letter to MPs
“I appreciate that there is a need to
increase the testing capacity for LGVs
but I find it incredulous that the
Government is considering removing the
need for an additional test for B+E
entitlement.... this will not do anything
to maintain or improve driving standards
and reduce KSI figures. If anything it will
increase the number of incidents involving
vehicles towing trailers up to 3500kg.
“The national pass rate for B+E driving
tests was 69.6% for 2019/20 and only
58% for 2020/21 – therefore 30-42% of
people taking this test are unable to
demonstrate the minimum standard of
driving and competence to do so.
“A Government report – Trailer Safety
Report – identified 983 collisions
involving vehicles towing single, multiple
trailers and caravan (B+E category) of
which 358 were assigned to peoplerelated
contributory factors, ie, the driver;
this is five times higher than contributory
factors assigned to either vehicle or road
individually as contributory factors!
“This would indicate that there is a
need for formal testing of drivers with a
requirement to tow on the road, and that
the removal of such testing would do
nothing to help with improving driving
standards and safety on UK roads.”
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NEWSLINK n AUGUST 2021