HGV Refresher Course in Glasgow for Returning Drivers

Who an HGV refresher course is for

Refresher training is not a licence course. You already hold the entitlement; what you need is time back in a lorry with someone who can tell you honestly how your driving looks now. Drivers ask for it after years in another job, after a spell of illness or injury, after moving from rigid to articulated work, or simply because they passed a long time ago and have rarely driven since. Employers also ask for it when a new starter has the licence but limited recent experience.

• Returning HGV drivers who have been out of the cab for months or years.
• Licence holders who passed but never drove professionally.
• Drivers changing vehicle type, such as rigid to articulated.
• Employers who want a new or existing driver assessed before work.

Starting with an HGV assessment

The first session is an assessment drive. You drive, and your instructor looks at the things that tend to slip after time away: mirror use and observation, positioning on approach to junctions, planning for the length of the vehicle, use of gears and brakes, reversing and how you deal with vulnerable road users around a large vehicle. At the end you get a clear account of what is solid and what needs work. Further training is then built around that, so you are not paying to repeat what you already do well.

What the training covers

Sessions are one-to-one in the vehicle and are shaped by the assessment. For most returning drivers that means some combination of the areas below. If you are moving to a different vehicle type, we focus on the handling and manoeuvres specific to it.

Check your paperwork before you go back

Driving ability is only part of returning. Before you take a job, check three things: that your lorry entitlement is still valid on your licence, that your medical is up to date for your age, and that your Driver Qualification Card is current. If your DQC has lapsed, you will need 35 hours of periodic Driver CPC training before driving professionally; our courses are £55 per seven-hour day and can run alongside refresher sessions.

The returning to HGV driving guide has a full checklist of licence, medical, CPC and tachograph card steps.

Arranging refresher training

Tell us which licence category you hold, when you last drove professionally, and what kind of work you are going back to. That lets us plan the right vehicle and suggest how many sessions are likely to be needed after the assessment. If an employer is paying, we can invoice the company directly. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.