Driving a truck at 18: an almost impossible challenge in Spain
An amendment to the General Drivers Regulation, imposed by the European Directive, lowered the minimum age to drive trucks weighing more than 7,500 kg GWM to 18 years. A measure that in Spain is conditioned by the long periods of obtaining permits.
In November of last year, by means of a European Directive, it modified the General Drivers Regulation and reduced the minimum age required for lead trucks of more than 7,500 kg of GVW at 18 years of age, as long as the prerequisite of having obtained the Certificate of Professional Aptitude (CAP) is met. Until then the minimum age was 21 years old.
Given this new measure, the AT Carrier Academy has carried out a study between driving schools and CAP companies, to find out the real possibilities that an 18-year-old person can get on a truck. The aforementioned study asked about the average timeframe for obtaining the different permits until reaching the ‘CE’, the license that accredits to carry trucks and trailers or semi-trailers of any power and MMA allowed.
First of all, it must be remembered that to obtain the C permit you must first obtain the B permit, to obtain the CE you must first obtain the C permit, to access the DGT exams before the age of 21 you must pass the Initial CAP of 280 hours. That said, these were the most significant responses for mean permitting times.
Average time to obtain permit B: between 60 and 70 days (50% of respondents).
Average time to obtain the Initial CAP of 140 h: between 2 and 3 months (47.9% of respondents).
Average time to obtain permit C: between 60 and 70 days (27.5% of respondents).
Average time to obtain the CE permit: between 60 and 70 days (39% of respondents).
An average of 345 days to obtain a license to drive a truck
With the results in hand, it is concluded that an 18-year-old person who wanted to obtain all the permits and authorizations to practice as a professional in the transport of goods in any truck would take an average of 345 days. All this taking into account that the different tests are passed to the first.
As AT points out, if we add to this the situation caused by the pandemic, in which there is a clear jam of practical exams, “getting on a truck at 18 seems like an impossible task to achieve,” they explain. Likewise, a transport sector is added that demands a workforce of new drivers. One of the main barriers, they point out, has to do with the work approach that obviates the transport of goods by road as a professional opportunity.
To put an end to this situation, AT, through the Conference ‘The FP of professional drivers. Attracting talent to transportation ‘, four fundamental principles are advocated:
Eliminate the requirement of previously having a driving license to obtain the Certificates of Professionalism (CP) related to the driver of freight or passenger transport.
Validate CAP authorization without exam for students who complete the CP for freight or passenger transport.
Create a capillary network of centers that provide FP for Drivers.
Facilitate obtaining a driving license in the field of vocational training, as is already the case with schools and military organizations and the General Directorate of the Police and the Civil Guard.