Road transport: training of professional drivers for the carriage of goods or passengers

PURPOSE : to present a proposal for a Directive on the training of professional drivers for the carriage of goods or passengers by road. CONTENT : strictly speaking, there is no obligation to undergo vocational training for the carriage of goods or passengers by road. This is confirmed by the fact that in most of the Member States today only a very small number of professional drivers (5-10%) undergo such training. Only France and the Netherlands have made basic vocational training compulsory. The vast majority of professional drivers therefore work solely on the basis of their driving licence. The demand on professional drivers today obviously call for solid basic and continuous training. Such training will help to improve road safety, safety during stops as well as the standard of service, and will help people taking up the occupation and boost employment. For both young people interested in becoming professional drivers and drivers who are already working, the introduction of harmonised compulsory training for all will underline the fact that the opening up of the transport market and growth in competition go hand in hand with the harmonisation of social matters and conditions of employment. This proposal for a Directive therefore develops a Community framework which encompasses the existing vocational training under Regulation 3820/85/EEC and provides answers to the specific problems of recruitment, quaility and competition. Lastly, the Member States are totally at liberty to decide how they wish to make the arrangements for the vocational training, in accordance with the requirements, so as to avoid any temporary distortions in training capacity.�