Enriched Heavy Vehicle Driver Training Program

The Programme enrichi d'accès à la conduite de véhicules lourds (enriched heavy vehicle driver training program) is a program that aims to enable young probationary licence holders to obtain a Class 1, 2 or 3 driver's licence more quickly and with safety in mind.

Candidates must attend a training program to drive a truck, bus or straight-body truck offered by a designated training centre, and complete a supervised traineeship with a view to facilitating their employment integration.

Eligibility Criteria for Young Drivers

You must:

  • hold a Class 5 probationary licence
  • have a driving record with no demerit points and no licence suspensions or revocations in the last 2 years
  • meet the medical requirements for obtaining a heavy vehicle driver’s licence
  • meet the admission requirements of the training programs offered as part of the enriched heavy vehicle driver training program

Eligibility Criteria for Businesses

Your business must:

  • have a “satisfactory” safety rating
  • enter into an agreement with the Centre de formation en transport de Charlesbourg (CFTC) or the Centre de formation en transport routier (CFTR), which both offer and coordinate the enriched heavy vehicle driver training program. This agreement determines the specific conditions that all participants must meet

Program Objectives

The program aims to:

  • turn participants into professional drivers who adopt safe, cooperative and responsible behaviour on the road
  • render them capable of efficiently carrying out the duties of their profession
  • facilitate their professional integration
  • help them continually improve their professional knowledge

Duration

Participation in the program begins when students start their training and ends once the mandatory 24 months of driving experience with a probationary licence have elapsed. The duration of the program can therefore vary among participants. Classes 1, 2 or 3 can be added to a participant’s driver’s licence only once the program has been completed.

Particular Learning Conditions

As part of the enriched heavy vehicle driver training program, the SAAQ issues two types of attestations that set out assistance conditions that differ from those usually applicable to learner drivers. These attestations are subject to specific conditions. 

Attestation 1 

Attestation 1 may be issued to enriched heavy vehicle driver training program participants during their training at a transport training centre only if they hold a probationary licence and a learner’s licence bearing Class 1, 2 or 3, and if they have passed all the SAAQ road tests. 

This attestation authorizes participants to drive a heavy vehicle with the assistance of an authorized instructor who is either seated alongside them or driving an accompanying vehicle. 

Attestation 2 

Attestation 2 may be issued to enriched heavy vehicle driver training program participants during their traineeship with a business, as long as they are aged 18 or older and they have successfully completed the training program in a training centre and passed all the SAAQ road tests. 

This attestation authorizes participants to be alone when driving a heavy vehicle belonging to the business where they are completing their traineeship. However, it prohibits:

An attestation is never used on its own

In order to benefit from the special assistance conditions detailed above, participants must always have these three documents with them:

  • their valid Class 5 probationary licence
  • their valid learner’s licence bearing the class corresponding to the vehicle they are driving
  • their valid Attestation 1 or 2 of the enriched heavy vehicle driver training program (depending on the progression of their training)

End of the Program and Addition of a Licence Class 

Trainees’ participation in the enriched heavy vehicle driver training program ends upon the expiry of their probationary licence. The validity of Attestation 2 expires automatically at that time. Accordingly, participants are no longer authorized to drive a heavy vehicle alone until Class 1, 2 or 3 is added to their new Class 5 driver’s licence. 

To obtain a Class 1, 2 or 3 driver’s licence, participants must go to an SAAQ service centre after their probationary licence has expired. These licence classes cannot be added before that date. For faster processing, participants should have the following documents with them: 

  • their Class 5 probationary licence
  • their learner’s licence
  • Attestation 2
  • a certificate attesting the successful completion of the Diploma of Vocational Studies (DEP) in truck transportation (for Class 1 only)

To Enroll or for More Information

Contact either of the two transport training centres that offer the program:

Centre de formation en transport de Charlesbourg
Mr. Denis Audet
418-929-2489
denis.audet@cssps.gouv.qc.ca This link opens your default email software.

Centre de formation en transport routier de Saint-Jérôme 
Mr. Denis Houle
houled2@cssrdn.gouv.qc.ca This link opens your default email software.

Last update: March  3, 2023