Improved Medical Standards for HGV Drivers

A new HGV truck is checked by mechanics every six weeks. 
A HGV driver might go ten years without a medical check. 
How can this be allowed?

A Preventable Disaster

A Broken System

The DVLA admitted during the inquiry that the current system is flawed. Drivers self-declare their medical history, and exams can be carried out by either a GP or an occupational health doctor. The latter often does not have access to the driver’s full medical records. This creates a dangerous gap in safety, especially when drivers are not truthful about their health. 



Some medical checks are done quickly and cheaply, sometimes even from vans parked on industrial estates. Ten years after the Glasgow crash, nothing meaningful has changed.

Double Standards, Serious Risks

Airline pilots face strict, regular health checks because the consequences of a health failure are too serious to ignore.  Why don’t we hold HGV drivers to the same standard? 

These drivers are responsible for vehicles weighing up to 44 tonnes. A health-related incident behind the wheel can be just as catastrophic as one in the air. Yet medical oversight remains dangerously inadequate.