The need for more HGV drivers and the abundance of career opportunities that await those who take HGV courses in Scotland is well known, but there may be some other major benefits from taking the course beyond the qualification and the satisfaction from passing.
Good training also helps people to become better drivers. This is an aspect of HGV training that is often overlooked, but it is extremely important, because the larger a vehicle is, the more danger it poses in any potential collision with another vehicle, a cyclist, or a pedestrian.
The consequences of what can go wrong were highlighted by a recent court case brought by the HSE against food product manufacturer Ginsters, which ended in the Cornish firm being fined £1.28 million over the death of one of its staff in 2021.
Paul Clarke, a 40-year-old intake operator, died in hospital from crush injuries when he was struck by a reversing delivery lorry at the Callington bakery where Ginsters makes its pasties.
However, the incident was not the fault of the driver, but of company owners Samworth Brothers, who had failed to carry out a risk assessment on the strip curtains introduced as a temporary measure in place of faulty roller doors.
Had this been carried out, it would have shown there was no safe system to move staff to a safe place when delivery vehicles were reversing.
Commenting after the case, HSE inspector Aimie Baker noted that workplace accidents involving pedestrians being struck by vehicles were the cause of 25 fatal workplace incidents in 2023-24.
Of course, not all of these involved HGVs and it is worth noting that without excellent driver training, the number of tragic accidents could be a great deal higher.
Indeed, official figures show HGV drivers have a far better road safety record than other road users. In 2023 just 587 deaths or serious injuries were recorded among HGV drivers out of an overall total of 132,000, which included over 50,000 car drivers.