Juddian:
Automatics have no place in the world of training, if someone can’t pass a lorry (with power steering) test unless they have an automatic they have no place on the road, the gearbox together with the steering is the prime method of controlling the vehicle on the road.
At the same time this bloody brakes to slow gears to go mantra should be made a hate crime, this is not how you control a lorry, lorry control is determined by the correct gear and throttle balance, utilising PRIMARILY any auxillary retarding systems the vehicle has fitted, ie exhaust brake.
The bit in bold is ludicrous for two reasons:
-
Nearly all trucks are autos. So why train them on a completely different system than they will drive?
-
I’ve jumped into a manual with a splitter after passing in an auto - and if anything they are easier. You can control reversing a lot more with a clutch. I had no special training - I just looked at it and did it.
What you really mean (I think) is you want new drivers to pass on about the most complicated and difficult gearbox in production (which is probably not still in production) - so they have acquired a skill they will then never use, costing the trainee a large amount of money and making the test even less like real life than now.
I think some changes to testing would be good - I’m just not sure about the tests you suggest.
I also had no more problem with picking up a fully loaded trailer than I do an empty one. I go under it, I lift the suspension. It’s exactly the same.