eagerbeaver:
It seems to me that the point is being missed here. I think the ‘lack of driving experience’ could be a problem rather than the actual age. Also,whats an upper limit on age got to do with it? Im sure older drivers have lots of exp so why is it a relevant comparison?
Ok so someone with no experience shouldn’t be allowed to drive a HGV,can you see how this may become an issue in say 20-30 years time when all those “experienced” drivers have retired and there is no one left to drive them because those with no experience weren’t allowed to do so all those years ago.
The only way to gain experience is by driving so when people claim 19 is too young but also cite lack of expericene as a possible cause but say age is not the issue then at what age should someone be allowed to gain this experience?
Every 18/19 year old isn’t a speed crazed clown that people like to make out,but then maybe these older drivers don’t like “young uns” coming into their line of work because they feel threatened by them,who knows.
Age discrimination is seemingly rife amongst older people not just in HGV driving but through many trades.
I’m 34 now so I’m not “fighting my corner” but I hate seeing young people who may be just as good as anyone else being written off because of people interpretations of what they are.
I agree with a lot of what you say. Im 42 by the way,hoping to be considered in the ‘young camp’ but probably in the ‘old ■■■■’ camp lol.
It seems a very complex issue doesn’t it? I have my motorcycle license and have done so since I was 19. I remember thinking to myself-“Christ,a couple of grand and 17 years old,pass your test and climb on a hayabusa”-MADNESS!!
A few years later after many tragic deaths,the system of age/engine cc/bhp output was addressed to try and halt this and I wonder if this sort of approach would be practical with LGV’S.
eagerbeaver:
I agree with a lot of what you say. Im 42 by the way,hoping to be considered in the ‘young camp’ but probably in the ‘old ■■■■’ camp lol.
It seems a very complex issue doesn’t it? I have my motorcycle license and have done so since I was 19. I remember thinking to myself-“Christ,a couple of grand and 17 years old,pass your test and climb on a hayabusa”-MADNESS!!
A few years later after many tragic deaths,the system of age/engine cc/bhp output was addressed to try and halt this and I wonder if this sort of approach would be practical with LGV’S.
Any thoughts■■?
Ok,My radical idea to completely overhaul a generation of drivers and in turn (I believe) will make the roads safer.
Completely scrap car tests,have every new driver learning to drive and taking their test in a 7.5tonne vehicle,You see many people learning to drive in Corsa’s,fiestas ect…in general small vehicles because basically it’s easier for them to master and pass their test.
Put all learner drivers in 7.5tonne and they will learn to drive and at the same time learn to respect other road users and be more aware of what’s going on around them due to their vehicle being bigger than the cars on the road.
I genuinely think this would raise the standard of car drivers as a whole and give the learners more respect for the road,then when they pass in the 7.5tonner they can legally drive a car on the road but would still need to follow the same route as we do now to obtain a HGV licenece.
For this to happen obviously it would mean massive changes and billions of pounds of investment from the government setting up new test centres and re-training driving examiners,so on that alone it will never happen but hey as Martin Luther king once said “I have a dream”
I feel extremely sorry for all involved in this terrible incident. As for the lad being too young well that doesn’t hold water for me.
He was skilled enough to pass his tests and he is going to have to live with this for the rest of his life. I for one don’t believe that anyone gets up in the morning thinking that they are going to hurt someone on the road today.
I now work with a few young drivers and all I can say is that they are good, and actually seem to take less risks as they are very aware that they are under the spotlight.
Certainly radical,however it is an interesting point you raise.
I am glad I have 12 months class 2 driving experience. Climbing straight into a class 1 one month after passing class 2,is in my opinion asking for trouble. I would suggest this should be changed.
Looks like they’ve updated the report as they’ve acknowledged that he passed a ‘more advanced’ LGV test and got rid of the picture with the Game of Thrones artic.
It is not age that is the issue but have we gone to far in dumbing down the training.
Some trainers adopt the idea of making passing a test as easy as possible using automatic 12 tonners. Is this the right way of approaching training as this devastating incident demonstrates what can happen when things go wrong.
eagerbeaver:
Certainly radical,however it is an interesting point you raise.
I am glad I have 12 months class 2 driving experience. Climbing straight into a class 1 one month after passing class 2,is in my opinion asking for trouble. I would suggest this should be changed.
Passed my class 2 new years eve and my class 1 this wednesday drove from Norwich to London Spitalfields in the artic last night and the only problem I had was stuffed the reverse onto the bay .
I’m 48 and in 30 years of driving have driven allsorts , my point being we are all different . That said someone passing their car test at 18 and then doing class 2 and then class 1 with no road experience does seem a bit strange and we all know that car drivers in general don’t understand the positioning and swing that hgv’s need .
Maybe as my instructor said to me when passing your car test you should ride shotgun in a hgv to see how they manouvre and handle .
IndigoJo:
Looks like they’ve updated the report as they’ve acknowledged that he passed a ‘more advanced’ LGV test and got rid of the picture with the Game of Thrones artic.
If that was a result of the email you sent then well done. They do acknowledge their error at the bottom of the article now.
Although i believe 18 is too young to be driving a truck the age itself is not the problem! It’s all down to a lack of experience on the roads. To my knowledge no motorway driving is tested on the car test or the LGV test. The shear nature of truck driving means a lot of motorway driving that you’ve never been tested on or proved you are capable of doing. However the main problem here is taking the C and CE without a load on. Driving a lorry unloaded compared to loaded can be a totally different experience hence why the Both tests should be in two parts in my opinion! Although i don’t know what caused this tragedy l feel i can comfortable comment on this subject as i currently drive a 32 ton tipper and l can assure all you newbies or wannabes that its different loaded than empty! Once you pass your test only then will you start to learn to drive.
Coolrider:
Although i believe 18 is too young to be driving a truck the age itself is not the problem! It’s all down to a lack of experience on the roads. To my knowledge no motorway driving is tested on the car test or the LGV test. The shear nature of truck driving means a lot of motorway driving that you’ve never been tested on or proved you are capable of doing. However the main problem here is taking the C and CE without a load on. Driving a lorry unloaded compared to loaded can be a totally different experience hence why the Both tests should be in two parts in my opinion! Although i don’t know what caused this tragedy l feel i can comfortable comment on this subject as i currently drive a 32 ton tipper and l can assure all you newbies or wannabes that its different loaded than empty! Once you pass your test only then will you start to learn to drive.
Agree re load , had my first load since passing and boy a fully loaded artic is a different beast to what you train on . Instead of the small load we train on maybe they should look at least a half load to give you an idea of how the vehicles behave .
Coolrider:
Although i believe 18 is too young to be driving a truck the age itself is not the problem! It’s all down to a lack of experience on the roads. To my knowledge no motorway driving is tested on the car test or the LGV test. The shear nature of truck driving means a lot of motorway driving that you’ve never been tested on or proved you are capable of doing. However the main problem here is taking the C and CE without a load on. Driving a lorry unloaded compared to loaded can be a totally different experience hence why the Both tests should be in two parts in my opinion! Although i don’t know what caused this tragedy l feel i can comfortable comment on this subject as i currently drive a 32 ton tipper and l can assure all you newbies or wannabes that its different loaded than empty! Once you pass your test only then will you start to learn to drive.
you’d be hard pushed to find one on the Isle of Wight and some remote areas of Cornwall Wales and Scotland
Coolrider:
Although i believe 18 is too young to be driving a truck the age itself is not the problem! It’s all down to a lack of experience on the roads. To my knowledge no motorway driving is tested on the car test or the LGV test. The shear nature of truck driving means a lot of motorway driving that you’ve never been tested on or proved you are capable of doing. However the main problem here is taking the C and CE without a load on. Driving a lorry unloaded compared to loaded can be a totally different experience hence why the Both tests should be in two parts in my opinion! Although i don’t know what caused this tragedy l feel i can comfortable comment on this subject as i currently drive a 32 ton tipper and l can assure all you newbies or wannabes that its different loaded than empty! Once you pass your test only then will you start to learn to drive.
I’m pretty sure you have to take your test now with some sort of load on the wagon.
Some sort of load?!?!?! It should be fully loaded to the max. Once loaded in an 8 wheeler your 32 ton instead of 12! You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know the vehicle will drive and behave totally different ie up and down hills, driving around bends, stopping distances, speed the list is endless! Like l said the age itself is not the most important thing but look at it like this at 17 you pass your test in a ford focus and a year later you can be driving around in a 32 ton truck. Give a few more weeks and you can be driving around 44 ton!! Something doesn’t seem right there to me. I would suggest if your 18 your not even experienced in driving a ford focus never mind an artic!! Ask the insurance company’s their opinion
Gillberry:
Agree re load , had my first load since passing and boy a fully loaded artic is a different beast to what you train on . Instead of the small load we train on maybe they should look at least a half load to give you an idea of how the vehicles behave .
It’s mandatory for testing vehicles to be loaded with large tubs of water, which has been the case since early 2014. This happened in between my taking my class 2 and class 1, and while finding a school for class 1, one school told me they’d taken a truck off the road because the load was making it less reliable and reducing their pass rates.
Coolrider:
Some sort of load?!?!?! It should be fully loaded to the max. Once loaded in an 8 wheeler your 32 ton instead of 12! You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know the vehicle will drive and behave totally different ie up and down hills, driving around bends, stopping distances, speed the list is endless! Like l said the age itself is not the most important thing but look at it like this at 17 you pass your test in a ford focus and a year later you can be driving around in a 32 ton truck. Give a few more weeks and you can be driving around 44 ton!! Something doesn’t seem right there to me. I would suggest if your 18 your not even experienced in driving a ford focus never mind an artic!! Ask the insurance company’s their opinion
you can pass your test in a Ford Focus walk out the test station and be behind the wheel of the fastest car in the world so where’s the difference .as I said in the past driving should be taught in school as part of the curriculum over a number of years
