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A beginner’s guide to professional driving

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13 September 2023

Professional driver is a profession full of prospects, offering many job opportunities. This position provides interesting work and involves a fair amount of independence. However, before you embark on this career path, you need to meet certain requirements and gain the right qualifications. In this blog post, you will find out what steps you need to take in order to work as a professional driver.

Driving license

To start your career as a professional driver, you will need to obtain the right type of license depending on the type of vehicle you will be operating. Driving a truck requires a category C license, a truck with a trailer requires a category C+E license, and to drive buses, you will need a category D or D+E license - covering buses with a trailer. If you are particularly interested in working as a truck driver, for example, you must have a B driving license and be over 21 years of age. If you are of legal age and have an initial qualification, you can start the course earlier.

Medical certificate

Before starting the course, you must obtain a medical certificate stating that you are qualified to drive. This certificate is issued by a doctor who specializes in examining drivers. In addition to this, you also need a psychological certificate, which certifies that you are mentally fit to drive.

Candidate profile

The next step is to set up a Candidate Profile. You will need your Driver Candidate Profile number at the driving school which will notify you that you have started the course. The Driver Candidate Profile is created by the Transport Department of the Town Hall or District Office. It is necessary to fill in an application form, which is available on the Internet. It must be accompanied by a medical certificate and a psychological certificate. You will also need a photocopy of your driving license and a photograph.

Driving license course

You can take the category C and C+E driving license course separately or at the same time. If you choose the option separately, you will take 20 hours of theory and 30 hours of practice for category C. Once you have passed the category C test, you can then take the category C+E course, which includes 25 hours of practice. If you opt for the combined course, the theory remains the same (20 hours for category C), but the practice is 20 hours for category C and 25 hours for category C+E.

Professional qualifications

There is something else important besides the driving license itself - the professional qualifications needed to work as a professional driver. To gain these, you must take a course and pass a written test. Courses to gain an initial qualification are organized in both full and accelerated forms. The full course is required for those aged between 18 and 21 if they want to obtain a category C and C+E license, or from 23 for category D or D+E.

The full version includes 195 hours of theory (including 65 specialised hours for specific license categories), 16 hours of practice on the road and 4 hours of individual driving in more difficult conditions. The fast-track version includes 97 hours of theory (including 33 specialist hours), 8 hours of on-road practice and 2 hours of driving in more difficult conditions.

Periodic training

When you have completed a full or fast-track qualification course, you will be awarded your professional entitlements for 5 years. After this time, you must undergo periodic training again, which will allow you to renew these entitlements for another 5 years. This training includes 35 hours of theory. In the meantime, you also have to do a medical and psychological examination every 5 years.

Psychotechnical examination

The day before your certificate of professional competence is issued, you will also undergo your first psychotechnical examination. These examinations must be repeated every 5 years, as part of your periodic training.

The examination covers:

Spatial imagination,
Simple and complex reaction times (how quickly we react to certain stimuli or situations),
The ability to see spatially and judge distances,
Lower threshold of visual sensitivity,
Speed of visual adaptation to darkness after glare,
Personality predisposition,
Speed and accuracy of action,
Concentration, and
Divisibility of attention.

In addition, psychological examinations exclude the presence of medical conditions that make it impossible to perform the work of a driver, such as diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory or nervous systems, among others.

Driver card

Getting a driver card is the last step you need to take to become a professional driver. It helps to identify the driver and to record information about journeys in vehicles equipped with a digital tachograph. You can apply for the card at the Polish Security Printing Works. The card is valid for 5 years and is necessary to work as a professional driver. You can handle the entire application process online, just fill in this form.

Done! We have now outlined all the steps you need to go through if you want to work as a professional driver. Keep in mind that working as a driver provides professional stability, and can provide great satisfaction, but it also comes with great responsibility for road safety.

If you are interested in working as a professional driver, join our team at 24/7 drive. We are continuously looking for drivers to work in Poland and other European countries. Check out our current vacancies and don't forget to set up a job alert that will notify you by email of new job opportunities. Our employees do not have to worry about issues related to accommodation, insurance and timely payment of wages. In addition, we help with all documentary formalities. We are waiting for you to start your adventure as a professional driver!

Get in touch with us by calling our recruitment experts on +31 885 225 240 or send an email to jobs@247drive.com.