The standards that shape every journey

The Highway Code — not just for learners

Most drivers last read The Highway Code before passing their test — yet it is updated regularly, and the rules it contains are the benchmark every professional driver is measured against. Its core safety rules are unambiguous:

• Drive at a speed that lets you stop well within the distance you can see to be clear — at 30 mph that means being able to stop within 23 metres.
• Leave at least a two-second gap to the vehicle in front on high-speed roads — at least doubled in the wet, and up to ten times greater on ice.
• You MUST NOT use a hand-held mobile phone while driving — including when stopped at lights or in a queue.
• Give vulnerable road users room: at least 1.5 metres when passing a cyclist at speeds up to 30 mph, and at least 2 metres when passing horses — at no more than 10 mph.
• Plan a minimum break of 15 minutes after every two hours of driving.

Drivers' hours — the professional framework

Professional goods-vehicle drivers in Great Britain work within the retained EU/AETR drivers' hours rules. The headline limits are well known to every transport manager:

• 9 hours maximum daily driving — extended to 10 hours no more than twice a week.
• 45 minutes of break after 4.5 hours of driving — splittable as 15 then 30 minutes, in that order.
• 11 hours of daily rest — reducible to 9 hours no more than three times between weekly rests.
• 56 hours maximum driving in a single week; 90 hours across any two consecutive fixed weeks.

Road Transport Working Time

Alongside drivers' hours, mobile workers are covered by the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005: working time averages must not exceed 48 hours over the reference period, no more than 60 hours may be worked in any single week, night work is limited to 10 hours in each 24-hour period, and a 30-minute break is required after six hours of work.

Driver CPC — keeping competence current

Professional HGV and PCV drivers must hold a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence and complete 35 hours of periodic training every five years to keep it. DriverStandard's knowledge checks complement — but do not replace — that requirement.

The employer's duty of care

Health and safety law applies to driving for work. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers must manage the risks of work-related road driving just as they manage risks in the workplace — that means assessing drivers, developing weaknesses, and keeping records that show it happened. Structured assessment is not bureaucracy; it is the evidence base of a responsible operator.

The fault classification behind every assessment

DriverStandard assessments use a structured classification familiar to any professional: positive observations worth recording, coaching notes for finesse points, driving faults below the expected standard, and serious and dangerous faults where safety or legality is genuinely compromised. Patterns are surfaced for the assessor's judgement — never escalated automatically — and a serious fault against a positive overall result demands written justification. The human decides; the record keeps everyone honest.