Driver Competence & Experience – Client Compliance Statement

A driver is not necessarily incompetent because of a lack of experience, just as experience alone does not guarantee competence.

At Driver Require, our approach is to assess whether an individual driver is competent, compliant and suitable for the specific assignment, rather than relying solely on an arbitrary minimum period of licence-holding or driving experience.

We recognise that certain assignments may legitimately require specific experience because of the vehicle type, load, equipment, operating environment or particular risks involved. Where such a requirement is objectively justified, it should form part of the assignment-specific risk assessment and driver selection process.

However, where no such justification exists, automatically excluding an otherwise suitable driver simply because they have not held their licence for a prescribed period may unnecessarily restrict the available driver pool without, in itself, providing assurance of competence.

Our assessment considers the wider evidence available, including:

• Valid driving licence and appropriate entitlement
• Driver CPC and other required qualifications
• Driving and employment history
• Licence endorsements and relevant compliance information
• References and previous assignment performance where available
• Attitude, communication and professional conduct
• Relevant vehicle, load or operational experience
• Client-specific requirements
• Practical or competency assessment where appropriate

This allows Driver Require and our clients to make a proportionate, evidence-based assessment of risk.

Our position is therefore not that experience is unimportant. Experience can be extremely valuable and, for some assignments, essential.

Our position is that experience should be relevant to the risk and requirements of the assignment, rather than used as a substitute for assessing competence.

This approach allows us to maintain robust safety and compliance standards while also creating appropriate opportunities for newly qualified and less-experienced professional drivers to demonstrate their capability.

The question should not simply be: "How long has this person held their licence?"

The better question is: "What evidence do we have that this driver is competent, compliant and suitable to undertake this assignment safely?"