First day C+E training. Could've gone better

Hi guys. Day one today going for my C+E and feeling a little down but unsure if I’m being hard on myself. I clipped a couple of kerbs on what we’re admittedly tight exits from roundabouts with bollards in middle of road. I also pap it at roundabouts because car drivers don’t indicate so I get stuck in that 'do I go now and risk pulling out or risk undue hesitation.

Any help or advice appreciated. I’ve got a full day again tomorrow. My general driving is fine apparently

Straightfoward stuff. If you’re waiting at a roundabout and traffic is coming from your right with no signal, they are going straight on - in other words, straight across you. So moving out would be daft.

If they then turn off prematurely, that’s not your fault and nothing would be marked on a test. But pull out on someone and you’ll be booking another test.

For the other fault, simply make sure you keep well away from the kerb on the approach and run it forward before steering left. Then steer towards the bollards on the exit road and keep it held out. Otherwise the trailer will be making friends with the kerb.

Hope this helps, Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Cheers man.

Dud loads better today. Feel better about it all already so fingers crossed for Monday now.

You’ll get there mate you are gonna clip some kerbs that’s what you are training for and not allowed straight out with no extra training it will come together :exclamation:

Is undue hesitation a minor fault?

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IronEddie:
Is undue hesitation a minor fault?

In most cases yes

Yeah it’s a minor but collectively…

It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.

So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.

Anyway as I say loads better today. Scuffed one kerb with the trailer tyres but I was told the examiner would let that slip because it’s a horrifically tight exit in a route they hardly use because it’s extremely tight.

Found out I have the 1330 test out of Garretts Green on Monday. Not sure if waiting around all day is a good thing or not lol

If you are really having a problem with roundabouts then take some time out and find a busy one where you can observe from a good vantage point then work out who is going where without the stress of driving

See what percentage you get right

It’s just the knowledge i think that a wrong call will cost me as opposed to in my job where if I pull out and a car whips around I’d give them bells and whistles for not indicating lol

toonsy:
Yeah it’s a minor but collectively…

It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.

So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.

Anyway as I say loads better today. Scuffed one kerb with the trailer tyres but I was told the examiner would let that slip because it’s a horrifically tight exit in a route they hardly use because it’s extremely tight.

Found out I have the 1330 test out of Garretts Green on Monday. Not sure if waiting around all day is a good thing or not lol

Oh Garrets green you’re a local lad to me. Tbh I totally get the roundabout thing, I sit long enough at plenty in the car trying to figure out what anyone’s intentions are. I can think of several nightmare roundabouts in and around Birmingham/black Country. Can only imagine the added pressure in a nice long lorry which is also slower off the mark. Will find out for myself in a weeks time.

Good luck with the test on Monday.

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It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.

So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.

… none of which would have any effect on your test result.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Roundabouts! beyond doubt the thing that causes most problems. No quick simple answer but I’ll try. The real skill is the planning on approach. If you don’t actually need to stop you’ve got a big advantage because forward momentum gives you a couple of seconds you wouldn’t have if stationary.
There are only 2 possible options on approach STOP or DONT STOP
The time to choose the option is approx 10-15 yards before the white line, No earlier
Try to be slow enough to stop but in the correct gear to go (if manual)
You WILL be marked on what you can see as you cross the white line. If there’s a car approaching or on the roundabout with no signal STOP. If not GO. Reading roundabouts is something that takes practice, patience and an amount of natural skill. I could write an entire book about this 1 thing
MAIN PROBLEMS ON TEST ON ROUNDABOUTS
1.Approaching too fast
2. Thinking examiner is impatient and wants me to go (a whole chapter in the book)
3. Worrying because nobody is signalling (let them all go then reassess)
4. Road markings/ lane positioning (talk to trainer)

Most test routes have between 8-12 roundabouts sometimes more. These can be test busters so 1 word is very important- CONCENTRATE

Good luck

Cheers everyone. As I said it was much better today managed to keep it all rolling more of the time.

It just feels horrible waiting for ages because you can never guarantee what cars are doing if they indicate or not. Guess a lot of it is down to luck on the day

It just feels horrible waiting for ages because you can never guarantee what cars are doing if they indicate or not. Guess a lot of it is down to luck on the day

It may feel “horrible” but that’s as bad as it gets. Remember that a vehicle not signalling is saying it’s coming across you. So don’t go. If he does something else, it’s no issue.

Bear in mind that this applies not only to test, but day to day driving. I don’t like the idea of the test being something totally set apart from the real world. That’s probably a can of worms opened, but that’s my view. Otherwise folks like me are really wasting their time.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

Yeah don’t get me wrong, I do this daily in coaches/coaches with trailer all over the UK and previously in a Class 2 in much the same arrangement and not once does it cause an issue.

It’s like if I make the call to proceed then I’m 100% sure in my normal job and I very rarely get it wrong but for some unknown reason I’ve started really panicking about it. I’m going to London tomorrow and I won’t even think about it as it’s second nature but as I say for some reason I’m doubting myself.

As I said earlier though, better day today. I’ve learned that if I enter a roundabout and it’s clear but something enters after me and I end up holding them up because the larger vehicke is slower it won’t count against me so that’s one part of my worry over.

You will always hold someone up due to length and weight. It can be clear and your half way round with the front and the back hasn’t got on the round about.

Just relax. Enjoy. And listen to your instructor and Pete’s comments on here.

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toonsy:
Yeah it’s a minor but collectively…

It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.

So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.

Anyway as I say loads better today. Scuffed one kerb with the trailer tyres but I was told the examiner would let that slip because it’s a horrifically tight exit in a route they hardly use because it’s extremely tight.

Found out I have the 1330 test out of Garretts Green on Monday. Not sure if waiting around all day is a good thing or not lol

Roundabouts are a pain these days ive noticed alot of car drivers these days seem to use the left indicator incorrectly by indicating left way before they’re exit when they are actually turning right
i did my C two days ago and came to a roundabout the main A road was off set with one other minor road i was turning in to, it was all single carriageway cars were streaming across the roundabout on the A road and it was hard to tell if one would suddenly turn right across me, What i did was pick one car three cars back from the roundabout as the driver entered he looked at me then looked up the A road this usually indicates thats his chosen course as in 90 out of 100 cases people look in they’re direction of travel and it was fine i got out ok the examiner stretch across the cab to see if id impeded any other vehicles, Luckily not

Remember that you’re not being assessed on how well you predict what is going to happen, you’re being assessed on how you deal with is happening.

Approaching green lights at a junction that have been green for a while? You don’t ease off because you predict they might change, you ease off because they have been green for a long time and it’s likely that they will change before you get there.

Waiting at a roundabout, you don’t have to predict what the ■■■■ in the Audi coming around the inside lane with no indication is going to do, you don’t go because you don’t know.

My first test for class 2 at a busy roundabout I waited there for some time before the examiner said “come on Joe we can’t wait here forever it doesn’t matter if you slow somebody down just go” but still gave me a minor for hesitating. You can’t win most of the time.

toonsy:
Yeah it’s a minor but collectively…

It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.

So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.

Anyway as I say loads better today. Scuffed one kerb with the trailer tyres but I was told the examiner would let that slip because it’s a horrifically tight exit in a route they hardly use because it’s extremely tight.

Found out I have the 1330 test out of Garretts Green on Monday. Not sure if waiting around all day is a good thing or not lol

Hi There
Just curious if the tight roundabout you on about is the one at Tile Cross shops? I live near there and watch many CAT C+E clip/scrub the kerb, hopefully i will not be one of them :slight_smile:

I start my C+E on Saturday, where as i am nervous I am excited to.

When i done my Cat C the roundabout by the test centre with the McDonalds on near the test centre is mad as they seem to appear so fast as with the one at the NEC.

Anyway, good luck with your test and all the best.