What Is LGV Training All About?

The fact that you’re reading this blog post suggests you have probably been looking into a career as a commercial driver. We want to help. In one of our previous posts, we discussed PCV (passenger carrying vehicles) training; in this post, we will talk about LGV training. If you are thinking about a new career, professional driving is a great option.

Let’s get started by defining “LGV.” This acronym stands for one of two things:

• Large Goods Vehicle weighing in excess of 7.5 tonnes (EU and the UK)
• Light Goods Vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 tonnes (UK)

The confusing use of the acronym has led to some problems for drivers desiring to begin LGV training. We’ll attempt to erase some of that confusion by offering as simple an explanation as we can.

Light Goods Vehicle Training

A Light Goods Vehicle is usually a commercial cargo van or the smallest of lorries. They might be used for package delivery or something like car parts are construction materials. If you already have a full category C driver license for a standard passenger vehicle, you may not need anything additional to drive one of these LGVs. Nevertheless, you’ll need to check with the DVLA just to be sure.

If you need an additional entitlement, you will be able to use your current license to get a provisional so you can begin training. Yet even if you don’t need to upgrade your license, training is still a good idea. Many companies utilising the smaller vehicles still prefer to hire well-trained drivers for safety purposes.

Training for light goods vehicles includes general highway safety knowledge and practical skills. You will learn about proper vehicle safety, vehicle inspections, sharing the road with other vehicles, and so on.

Large Goods Vehicle Training

Large Goods Vehicles are also known in the UK as Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV). They are lorries in excess of 7.5 tons, sometimes with separate trailers and multiple axles. These vehicles definitely require an upgraded license in order to be driven legally.

As explained earlier, the training for these types of vehicles includes general highway safety and practical skills. Nevertheless, in order to keep pace with EU regulations UK law was recently changed to include some additional training. This additional training demonstrates an LGV driver has the necessary skills to drive safely on all roads throughout Europe.

Current LGV license holders must complete the additional training by September 2014. New drivers will automatically include the training as part of their preparation for licensing. The additional training must be repeated once every five years to retain an LGV license.

At the HGV Training Centre, we are here to help you prepare for, and pass, your LGV driver test. As soon as you have your provisional entitlement and pass your theory test, you can begin your practical skills training with us. Please contact us right away, if you have any questions. The sooner you get started the better.