THE Driver Standards Agency (DSA) is leading the UK's involvement within the EU in the development of a training directive aimed at compulsory initial training and periodic retraining of professional drivers of lorries, buses, minibuses and coaches.

Once the terms of the directive are finalised, the DSA will consult about how to transpose it into domestic law. This directive entered into force on September 10, 2003, and must be transposed into domestic legislation by September 10, 2006.

The DSA is now engaged in a series of discussions with industry on how best to implement the directive.