I heard you sit down to ■■■■.
What’s strange about that then?
Pete 
Well I took my test in autos cause manual was fully booked but after I passed I paid for a day in a manual a couple of weeks after I’ve never driven a 4 over 4 before and I can say it was the biggest waste of money I’ve spent cause I didn’t find it any harder than driving the auto in fact I preferd the manual then the next day I drive a lorry with a slap over and that took me 2 mins to get the hang of it and a few weeks later I drove a manual 4 over 4 with split gears that took a few mins and was sorted so don’t get why people say take it in a Manuel cause u will struggle if u get a manual lorry at work if u can drive a manual car u should be fine in a manual truck in 5 mins it’s not rocket science to flick a switch on the gear stick now the Eaton twin split is ment to be different but I cant say cause I’ve never driven one
samledger1212:
Well I took my test in autos cause manual was fully booked but after I passed I paid for a day in a manual a couple of weeks after I’ve never driven a 4 over 4 before and I can say it was the biggest waste of money I’ve spent cause I didn’t find it any harder than driving the auto in fact I preferd the manual then the next day I drive a lorry with a slap over and that took me 2 mins to get the hang of it and a few weeks later I drove a manual 4 over 4 with split gears that took a few mins and was sorted so don’t get why people say take it in a Manuel cause u will struggle if u get a manual lorry at work if u can drive a manual car u should be fine in a manual truck in 5 mins it’s not rocket science to flick a switch on the gear stick now the Eaton twin split is ment to be different but I cant say cause I’ve never driven one
I agree with you Sam, as I did my tests in Auto’s!
What I’d like to highlight is, probably like me, you did a few weeks in an Auto before you went over to a Manual. So at that point, the only thing you HAD to think about was the gears, as everything else had already fallen into place…
Sine then I’ve driven plenty of Manuals, and am driving one now. I’ve even butchered an Eaton Twin Splitter a few of times!
No dint do any time on auto I paid for a day training on a manual after I passed my test in c+e but had to wait 2 weeks and it was a big waste of money cause I dint find it harder in the manual I preferd it and I did two shifts for agencie before I got took on at that other place and they was both manual one a slap over and other a 4 over 4 with spliter and them easy after a couple of mins haven’t been in a manual since I’m in a 65 plate reno now and I don’t like it I prefer the older shape 63 plate one to this
samledger1212:
No dint do any time on auto I paid for a day training on a manual after I passed my test in c+e but had to wait 2 weeks and it was a big waste of money cause I dint find it harder in the manual I preferd it and I did two shifts for agencie before I got took on at that other place and they was both manual one a slap over and other a 4 over 4 with spliter and them easy after a couple of mins haven’t been in a manual since I’m in a 65 plate reno now and I don’t like it I prefer the older shape 63 plate one to this
Was that you at the BP garage on the A63 around 4:15 today with a double decker on??
Ye that was me pal
samledger1212:
Ye that was me pal
I’ll give you a flash next time, was speaking to the oldish lad that’s on days now the other week… He’s a nice chap
Ye he his a nice fella ye have to next time pal
samledger1212:
Ye he his a nice fella ye have to next time pal
I drive the transwaste FH 
Right I’ll say hi next time I see u pal
I think this is getting abit out of hand to be honest…
Manual or auto can’t determine a driver to be “unsafe”
Auto purely makes it easier to pass, some trucks don’t have a car style straight 6 speed gearbox and trying to learn this new box after having it different for X amount of years combined with the size of the truck after driving nothing bigger than a Mercedes sprinter and then on top of that having a stranger watching over you and noting any mistake you may make is going to be hard for anyone!
I never failed my previous 2 tests on anything to do with gears at all but then when I sat the test again in a auto it made it easier, only because I could think about the job at hand more!
I got on with the manual 4 or 4 box pretty well for a novice but under test conditions I could imagine it being fairly easy for anyone to have trouble with it.
Auto or manual it’s your own personal choice. I’m happy I got experience in a manual and I’m happy I passed in a auto. You’d think I’d been driving with a 4 over 4 for years if you were to see me now.
Also since passing I’ve worked at a variety of places over the past week or so and only encountered 2 manual trucks! The rest have been auto.
Now as a qualified driver I prefer a manual but as a novice under test conditions I’d chooses auto every time.
I just passed my class 2 a few hours ago and did a week’s course in a manual DAF 4 over 4. Having never driven a truck before, I actually found it pretty easy but that’s because of the way I am. Others may be different. I agree with most on here. Do what you feel is comfortable. Book an assessment drive on a manual before booking your course and that way you will know if it’s something you can cope with or not. I found it really easy but others may not so don’t feel pressured to go manual if you’re not comfortable. Once you’ve passed on an auto, book a lesson on manual. You’re sure to pick it up eventually. You block change gears anyway so dont need to worry about going from 1st to 8th and vice versa.
I did my lessons in a 6 speed manual but mechanical failure on test day meant I had to do the test in an Auto and in my experience, the auto was much easier to “pass the test in”. You could pass in a straight 6 gearbox and have no idea how to drive an 8 speed so try and make things easier for yourself to pass the test and then if you need refresher courses afterwards in whatever gearbox, do it then.
yt03:
Don’t get me wrong mate I love a good w&d set up but not these stupid things from Leconfield that clog up the roads! B
Don`t even get me started on these, 1 of these caused me an issue on test yesterday, what an ■■■■■■ plank …
Back on topic, I can see both sides. Its easier to pass in an auto, I wish we had one (we dont) however, having cut my teeth on slap boxes and 4/4 Id expect someone to know how to drive any manual they were put in. All our interview candidates must have a driven assessment, so if you fluff that up youre kind of already on a hiding to nothing.
1 of these caused me an issue on test yesterday,
Really? Not your reaction to it then?
Don’t get me started!!!
Pete
Peter Smythe:
1 of these caused me an issue on test yesterday,
Really? Not your reaction to it then?
Don’t get me started!!!
Pete
No, it WAS him …
OK, so Im approaching a roundabout, I have 2 parked cars coming up in front of me, Im about 100ft off the give way to the roundabout and I see army guy (also on test) come off the round about, I check mirrors, slow up, then put my right hand indicator on to signal to others I shall be pulling out when the way is clear. Muppet boy who has the right of way, stops !!! We arent allowed to flash each other, and its his right of way, I know hes on test so will be nervous and mebbe not thinking straight (I was a bag of nerves too) so I give him a few seconds (5/10 secs?) for it to dawn on him its his right of way, he doesn`t move so I say “■■■■ it” and go … I got a mark for hesitation !!! How the frick is that fair? LOL
Trouble:
Peter Smythe:
1 of these caused me an issue on test yesterday,
Really? Not your reaction to it then?
Don’t get me started!!!
Pete
No, it WAS him …
OK, so I
m approaching a roundabout, I have 2 parked cars coming up in front of me, Im about 100ft off the give way to the roundabout and I see army guy (also on test) come off the round about, I check mirrors, slow up, then put my right hand indicator on to signal to others I shall be pulling out when the way is clear. Muppet boy who has the right of way, stops !!! We arent allowed to flash each other, and its his right of way, I know hes on test so will be nervous and mebbe not thinking straight (I was a bag of nerves too) so I give him a few seconds (5/10 secs?) for it to dawn on him its his right of way, he doesn`t move so I say “[zb] it” and go … I got a mark for hesitation !!! How the frick is that fair? LOL
It may have not been hesitation, just not reading the road/situation…
But you didn’t fail on that if it was just a minor, what exactly did he say you failed on?
Evil8Beezle:
Trouble:
Peter Smythe:
1 of these caused me an issue on test yesterday,
Really? Not your reaction to it then?
Don’t get me started!!!
Pete
No, it WAS him …
OK, so I
m approaching a roundabout, I have 2 parked cars coming up in front of me, Im about 100ft off the give way to the roundabout and I see army guy (also on test) come off the round about, I check mirrors, slow up, then put my right hand indicator on to signal to others I shall be pulling out when the way is clear. Muppet boy who has the right of way, stops !!! We arent allowed to flash each other, and its his right of way, I know hes on test so will be nervous and mebbe not thinking straight (I was a bag of nerves too) so I give him a few seconds (5/10 secs?) for it to dawn on him its his right of way, he doesn`t move so I say “[zb] it” and go … I got a mark for hesitation !!! How the frick is that fair? LOLIt may have not been hesitation, just not reading the road/situation…
But you didn’t fail on that if it was just a minor, what exactly did he say you failed on?
Thats what I mean, I did read it right, it wasnt my right of way (parked cars), give a few seconds for muppet boy to respond as hed come off the round about seen me and lost the plot, (didnt want to pull out to pass the park cars and then him go to set off at the same time lol) and when he didn`t respond I made my move. Hardly fair I get a mark for that, you tell me what else I could have done?
I aint saying what I got the "S" for, as it was a fricken rookie mistake that I aint proud of, and could kick myself round the bloody car park to be fair But nerves played a huge roll in it for me, massive, to the point I don`t even remember my own name.
Trouble:
Evil8Beezle:
It may have not been hesitation, just not reading the road/situation…
But you didn’t fail on that if it was just a minor, what exactly did he say you failed on?That
s what I mean, I did read it right, it wasnt my right of way (parked cars), give a few seconds for muppet boy to respond as hed come off the round about seen me and lost the plot, (didnt want to pull out to pass the park cars and then him go to set off at the same time lol) and when he didn`t respond I made my move. Hardly fair I get a mark for that, you tell me what else I could have done?I ain
t saying what I got the "S" for, as it was a fricken rookie mistake that I aint proud of, and could kick myself round the bloody car park to be fair
Forget about the minors. Beating yourself up and dwelling on it, will NOT help you for the future. It’s just another negative thought to obsess and stress about. Stop it!!!
OK, don’t say what you got the major for, just learn from it! 