Intro - and some weird CPC answers on drivingtheory4all!

Hello - I’m from mid-Wales, going straight for my Class 1 C+E.
The training company has set me up with an account on drivingtheory4all and so far the theory and hazard observation training and tests are going well.
Yes, the interface is a bit clunky and 2002, but as long as it works, that’s the point.

But then I switched to the CPC learning track, and it’s got weird very fast!

Before I make a ■■■ of myself dropping them an email, what are opinions on the following?

The exhaust braking system does what?
Select the BEST option below.

A. Creates resistance against the engine
B. Creates resistance against the exhaust path
C. Creates resistance against the driveshaft
D. Creates resistance against fuel

I answered: “B. Creates resistance against the exhaust path”
It says the correct answer is: “C. Creates resistance against the driveshaft” but that’s incorrect isn’t it? - that would be the answer if the question was about retarders
Wikipedia says: “An exhaust brake is a means of slowing a diesel engine by closing off the exhaust path from the engine, causing the exhaust gases to be compressed in the exhaust manifold, and in the cylinder.”

Next:

“How does an escape lane slow a vehicle down?”
A. By having a slight uphill gradient
B. By using a sand bed
C. By having a slight downhill gradient
D. By using a gravel bed

Well, the answers are of course, A,B and D, but you can only choose two, so I chose B and D.
But they want you to choose A and D, even though there are many escape lanes which also have downhill gradients. Yes, I know the question says “How does an escape lane slow vehicles” and not “what are features of some escape lanes”, but in either case, it should allow for 3 answers. Also:

sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/ind … scape_lane

The first section generally maintains a reasonably hard surface, the same as or similar to the main carriageway, to allow the vehicle to completely clear the road before coming to a halt. This is then followed by a softer area such as deep gravel or sand, into which the vehicle can sink.
Wherever possible, the escape lane is constructed on the level, or at least with an easier gradient than the road, which again helps the vehicle slow down.

Next:

Jacob always carries drinks with him. Which of the following drinks will most easily keep Jacob hydrated?
Select THREE of the options below.

A. Alcohol
B. Tap water
C. Bottled water
D. Tea
E. Coffee
F. Sugar-free caffeine-containing soft drinks

Well, I suppose this is a trick question - it asks what will most EASILY keep Jacob hydrated. After all, you’re not going to flip on the Teasmade on the M1, but surely when learning, we should be learning what is the BEST, not easiest, way to stay hydrated.
In which case, it’s the answers I put - B,C,D.
Whereas they want you to answer B,C,F - but F contains aspartame and caffeine which is quickly absorbed and then leaves you more tired after, whereas tea doesn’t have that crash, and has less of a diuretic effect (ie: you need to ■■■■ it out less than fizzy drinks!).

Finally, there’s a drawing of a truck going round a tight right hand curve. It shows a load in the middle as a rectangle, and asks where the load will fall if unsecured as the truck steers round the bend.
There are options for left, right, rear-left, rear-right. In the question, we’re not told whether the truck is accelerating or decelerating, so we have to infer steady pace.
So I put left, because… physics. But it said “rear left”, and then in the answer, explained that it was because an accelerating lorry will lose stuff off the back.
But we’re only told it was accelerating in the answer! If the question had said “is accelerating round a bend”, then rear left would be correct. But we don’t know that.

And that’s only in the first 3 of about 60+ modules. Can’t believe it’s been tested/checked properly.

So, opinion so far is:
Official Theory learning section: Great!
CPC training module: Absolute cack.

Not the first comment along these lines. You’ll help everyone if you contact them with your comments.

And good luck with all your trains tests.

Pete S[emoji16][emoji16]

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

Is this just a problem with the training? Or does it replicate the government test?

I think the problem might be with the training. Though the test isn’t faultless either.

Having said all that, there’s a good pass rate on it so it can’t be that bad.

Pete S[emoji16][emoji16]

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

stu675:
Is this just a problem with the training? Or does it replicate the government test?

I can’t remember where I read this, but from what I understand, the theory tests are from the official theory test question bank.
But apparently the DVSA don’t release CPC questions, so the training company just made some up.

I’ve come across some more this morning:

When using chains to secure a load, what must you ensure before driving away?
Select the BEST option below.

A. The chains do not break
B. All of the chain’s links are secure
C. That the chain is silver in colour
D. That the chains will not cause damage to the vehicle

I would have thought B and D were both things I should ensure, but you can only select 1 option, and apparently D is more important than B (which I chose first).

In the intro to “Safety while loading and unloading”, it says:

"You must ensure that you load and unload your vehicle in a safe manner, this includes wearing:
A hard hat
Gloves
A high visibility reflective jacket
Boots with steel toecaps and slip resistant soles
"

Question 1 of 9
What must you wear when loading and unloading your vehicle?
Select the BEST option below.
Use your mouse to click on the circle next to the best option.

A. Hard hat
B. Boots
C. High visibility jacket
D. Ear plugs

Surely the answer is A, B and C? Or at least A+C as a minimum. But as there’s only one choice, if you put A, it’s wrong. But later on, hard hat is the correct answer! So it’s just pure 50/50 guess on questions like that.

Question 6 of 9
Which of the following should be worn when loading or unloading a vehicle?
Select the BEST option below.
Use your mouse to click on the circle next to the best option.

A. Socks
B. A Hard Hat
C. Waterproof jacket
D. Shin guards

Just one other thing I noticed - one of the observation videos has a problem where it doesn’t matter if you click EXACTLY where the answer is, you always score 0/5.
I’ve got quite a collection going - don’t worry, I won’t keep posting them here! I’ll see what else I collect over the weekend, email them on Monday and let you know what they say…

hugh_lorry:

stu675:
Is this just a problem with the training? Or does it replicate the government test?

I can’t remember where I read this, but from what I understand, the theory tests are from the official theory test question bank.
But apparently the DVSA don’t release CPC questions, so the training company just made some up.

I’ve come across some more this morning:

When using chains to secure a load, what must you ensure before driving away?
Select the BEST option below.

A. The chains do not break
B. All of the chain’s links are secure
C. That the chain is silver in colour
D. That the chains will not cause damage to the vehicle

I would have thought B and D were both things I should ensure, but you can only select 1 option, and apparently D is more important than B (which I chose first).

In the intro to “Safety while loading and unloading”, it says:

"You must ensure that you load and unload your vehicle in a safe manner, this includes wearing:
A hard hat
Gloves
A high visibility reflective jacket
Boots with steel toecaps and slip resistant soles
"

Question 1 of 9
What must you wear when loading and unloading your vehicle?
Select the BEST option below.
Use your mouse to click on the circle next to the best option.

A. Hard hat
B. Boots
C. High visibility jacket
D. Ear plugs

Surely the answer is A, B and C? Or at least A+C as a minimum. But as there’s only one choice, if you put A, it’s wrong. But later on, hard hat is the correct answer! So it’s just pure 50/50 guess on questions like that.

Question 6 of 9
Which of the following should be worn when loading or unloading a vehicle?
Select the BEST option below.
Use your mouse to click on the circle next to the best option.

A. Socks
B. A Hard Hat
C. Waterproof jacket
D. Shin guards

Just one other thing I noticed - one of the observation videos has a problem where it doesn’t matter if you click EXACTLY where the answer is, you always score 0/5.
I’ve got quite a collection going - don’t worry, I won’t keep posting them here! I’ll see what else I collect over the weekend, email them on Monday and let you know what they say…

Nice collection of nonsense youve found there. :smiley: Glad I dont have to guess how the question setters mind is working. Ill stick to crosswords for that, where it`s only for fun.

Just to pick this one:

Question 1 of 9
What must you wear when loading and unloading your vehicle?
Select the BEST option below.
Use your mouse to click on the circle next to the best option.

A. Hard hat
B. Boots
C. High visibility jacket
D. Ear plugs

Surely the answer is A, B and C? Or at least A+C as a minimum. But as there’s only one choice, if you put A, it’s wrong. But later on, hard hat is the correct answer! So it’s just pure 50/50 guess on questions like that…

I would say, since you can`t choose all options*:
If tipping from inside your own trailer with a pallet truck…B
If tipping with a crane…A
If tipping in a yard with forklift trucks…C
If tipping a bulk tank with a compressor…D

  • the question specifies “choose best option”: “best” is a superlative. There is only one “best”. “option” not “options”

Absolute (that`s another superlative :smiley: ) ■■■■■■■■!

hugh_lorry:

stu675:

When using chains to secure a load, what must you ensure before driving away?
Select the BEST option below.

A. The chains do not break
B. All of the chain’s links are secure
C. That the chain is silver in colour
D. That the chains will not cause damage to the vehicle

I would have thought B and D were both things I should ensure, but you can only select 1 option, and apparently D is more important than B (which I chose first).

Seems reasonable, as long as your load slides off without damaging the vehicle you can stand there are the roadside and say with relief “at least my vehicle is not damaged”. :confused:

Thought I’d just check back in to say that I passed all three in one sitting:
HGV Theory: 97/100 Gutted - I was hoping for a clean sweep there! I’d been gettings several 100% in the mock tests, but there were a couple in the real test which I’d never seen before, and where two answers could have been equally valid so it was 50/50.
CPC Part 2: 47/50

But hazard observation: 73% - yes, I passed, but that was too close for comfort. I was wondering if I clicked either too early, or was worried about not clicking enough.
For example, there was one incident where a truck was heading to a junction like it wasn’t going to stop, AND a cyclist who would have had to swerve.
As soon as I saw the truck, I clicked, but not twice for the cyclist, because when I did that in the mock tests, I got a lower score.

A couple of the clips were weird - they lasted about 15 seconds, and nothing seemed to happen. I was on the lookout for weather, centre lines changing, hazard warning signs, bridges, low cables… anything. And then I saw on 2 clips that I’d got 0/5. I thought about questioning whether the clip had played properly, but I was happy to have all three passes in my hand so I took that and didn’t argue!

Anyway, I think in total I was allowed nearly 4 hours for all three tests. I started bang on 8am and was out of the building with my certificates spot on 9:15am.
Celebrated by treating myself to a Wetherspoons breakfast (I know how to live!). The woman at the test centre said it was unusual to get someone taking all three at the same time, so I was happy with that.

Regarding my earlier posts about strange questions in the training, I emailed DrivingTheory4All with some observations about some of the points above, but got an acknowledgment but no other response.

Practical training starts in August - will let you know what happens next!

An ambiguous question is a poor question. I’m sure it won’t have been the first time that’s been challenged and if they haven’t reviewed and changed them then that’s s sign of the type of company they are.
There is a real skill to wording multi choice questions, and many don’t have it!

I did my initial CPC back in February and it was EXACTLY as you’ve described. I spent a lot of time scratching my head wondering what the question was really asking.

I also did all mine back to back just as you did. Didn’t even have to leave my seat!

With regards to your hazard perception. That’s a tricky one. I actually failed a hazard perception test 10 years ago because I thought I could get penalised for clicking too early. I was deliberately waiting a second to make sure the hazard had “developed”. I was late on most of them and thus failed. I learned my lesson for the CPC HP but what I actually did was click as early as possible, but do at least one more click half a second later to make sure I wasn’t missing by being too early. I don’t think I lost any marks for clicking often though. As long as you’re not just spamming clicks all the way through it’s ok.

Either way, you passed. Most of it is common sense anyway so you can just move on.

Good luck with the practical, are you doing mod 3 or 4 first?

smog:
Good luck with the practical, are you doing mod 3 or 4 first?

They’ve not specifically mentioned module 4 yet; I know I’ve got 3A on a Thursday, and 3B on a Friday.
They’ve given me a “show and tell safety questions” sheet to learn - from a quick google, this looks like it might be module 4?

I’ve had some responses back from DrivingTheory4All, which I was a bit surprised about. For example, I asked them:

The exhaust braking system does what?

Select the BEST option below.

A. Creates resistance against the engine
B. Creates resistance against the exhaust path
C. Creates resistance against the driveshaft
D. Creates resistance against fuel

I answered: “B. Creates resistance against the exhaust path”

It says the correct answer is: “C. Creates resistance against the driveshaft” but that’s incorrect isn’t it? - that would be the answer if the question was about retarders.

Wikipedia says: “An exhaust brake is a means of slowing a diesel engine by closing off the exhaust path from the engine, causing the exhaust gases to be compressed in the exhaust manifold, and in the cylinder.”

They replied:

The correct answer is C and not B, as you selected.

“An exhaust braking system works by closing the exhaust path and stopping the gases leaving the system via the exhaust pipe. This causes pressure in the engine, which in turn recreates resistance against the driveshaft, which slows the vehicle down. This allows the vehicle to travel using its own inertia or momentum and therefore stops fuel being burnt.”

Ummmmm…

Regarding the hazard perception, on some videos it was impossible to get more than 0/5, even if you got it frame perfect.
I sent some in as an example, like the three below. You’ll note the images say “the green markers show your previous attempt when you scored 0/5”.

They replied with:

The screenshots of the hazard perception videos you provided show that you have not scored within the scoring window.  We would advise that you click when you see a developing hazard and then click again a little while later to increase your chances of scoring within the scoring window.

And yet other videos worked fine, and on those ones, if I clicked twice, it actually marked me down! I mean, is it just me? Surely my clicks are absolutely spot on?

Screenshot 2022-05-22 091450.png