Evening All 
I have my Class 2 test next week in Botley and kind of figured a quick scout of the area may come in handy 
Has anyone on here had their test at Botley and remember the test routes? Any tips? Iāve heard when you get out of the test centre, your asked to plan your route to the M27, how far do you go? Thanks for reading 
I wouldnāt worry about it if I were you. Your trainer will make sure youāve seen what you need to see. With regards to planning the route, this isnāt ever the case. But you will be asked to follow signs towards a motorway or town. Or you will be given a series of directions eg end of the road turn right, take the 2nd road on the left and then turn right - 3 exit - at the roundabout. In any event you can ask for a reminder of the requested route. If you go the wrong way itās fine as long as you do it properly. eg if you should have turned left but you turn right, no problem provided you were positioned correctly, signal correctly and itās legal to make the turn. The whole purpose behind the āindependent driveā is to take the prompt away from being given directions all the time. Nothing at all to worry about. And you certainly wont have to plan a route.
Hope this helps and the very best with your training and test. Pete 
Peter Smythe:
I wouldnāt worry about it if I were you. Your trainer will make sure youāve seen what you need to see. With regards to planning the route, this isnāt ever the case. But you will be asked to follow signs towards a motorway or town. Or you will be given a series of directions eg end of the road turn right, take the 2nd road on the left and then turn right - 3 exit - at the roundabout. In any event you can ask for a reminder of the requested route. If you go the wrong way itās fine as long as you do it properly. eg if you should have turned left but you turn right, no problem provided you were positioned correctly, signal correctly and itās legal to make the turn. The whole purpose behind the āindependent driveā is to take the prompt away from being given directions all the time. Nothing at all to worry about. And you certainly wont have to plan a route.Hope this helps and the very best with your training and test. Pete
Happy Days Pete and thanks for the reply! āPrior Planning Prevents ā ā ā ā Poor Performanceā 
āPrior Planning Prevents ā ā ā ā Poor Performanceā
+1
Pete
I done mine from there, out off the test centre and left along the botley road into Shedfield and a right into wickham I joined the motorway at fareham and was off at burseldon so not far. There is a route coming down towards botley from Fairoak where there is a 7.5 tonne limit it will be left to you to take the right hand turn into woodhouse lane before the limit as the examiner wonāt tell you and if he does itāll mean a fail. On the way back I came through burseldon and up Kaneshill thereās a motor home sales on the left and a turning to your right just past there called church road now your instructor canāt take you down there but the examiners have permission to take you down there towards hedge end village then you turn right back to the test centre. If you go that way hell tell you to turn right etc just acknowledge its a 7.5 tonne limit theyāll like it that you have noticed. I done mine a 5/6 years ago now so may be different who are you learning with?
Karl86:
I done mine from there, out off the test centre and left along the botley road into Shedfield and a right into wickham I joined the motorway at fareham and was off at burseldon so not far. There is a route coming down towards botley from Fairoak where there is a 7.5 tonne limit it will be left to you to take the right hand turn into woodhouse lane before the limit as the examiner wonāt tell you and if he does itāll mean a fail. On the way back I came through burseldon and up Kaneshill thereās a motor home sales on the left and a turning to your right just past there called church road now your instructor canāt take you down there but the examiners have permission to take you down there towards hedge end village then you turn right back to the test centre. If you go that way hell tell you to turn right etc just acknowledge its a 7.5 tonne limit theyāll like it that you have noticed. I done mine a 5/6 years ago now so may be different who are you learning with?
Thanks for that reply Karl86! I just kind of figured if I knew the area a little better it will allow me more time to stare into my mirrors continuously acknowledging trucks that have gone past and cars that have pulled out of junctions behind me and pedestrians that may have stepped out as Iāve gone past etc etc
Lets be realistic - the DSA removed the test routes from the public because they want drivers who can cope with any situation they are faced with especially if they do not know the area - in other words what they will be faced with after passing the test
Even if a driver knows the roads then every time they use them the situation is likely to be different
The instructor should point out any tricky bits in the area they do the testing but thatās all that is needed in regards to those areas and for the rest of the drive the driver should be trained to cope as part of the general training
MickeyG:
Karl86:
I done mine from there, out off the test centre and left along the botley road into Shedfield and a right into wickham I joined the motorway at fareham and was off at burseldon so not far. There is a route coming down towards botley from Fairoak where there is a 7.5 tonne limit it will be left to you to take the right hand turn into woodhouse lane before the limit as the examiner wonāt tell you and if he does itāll mean a fail. On the way back I came through burseldon and up Kaneshill thereās a motor home sales on the left and a turning to your right just past there called church road now your instructor canāt take you down there but the examiners have permission to take you down there towards hedge end village then you turn right back to the test centre. If you go that way hell tell you to turn right etc just acknowledge its a 7.5 tonne limit theyāll like it that you have noticed. I done mine a 5/6 years ago now so may be different who are you learning with?Thanks for that reply Karl86! I just kind of figured if I knew the area a little better it will allow me more time to stare into my mirrors continuously acknowledging trucks that have gone past and cars that have pulled out of junctions behind me and pedestrians that may have stepped out as Iāve gone past etc etc
No problem I donāt know If its changed but if your told to make your way to the motorway and at any junction or route off your choice I would seriously consider the Sheffield,wickham then to fareham route itās one long road to Sheffield a right turn a right at the wickham roundabout then one long ā ā ā road into fareham youāll hit 2 roundabouts and there small and will easily eat up 25 minutes atleast off your test . And that 7.5 limit I mentioned by the motor home sales the road is St. Johnās road church road is off that I got confused just incase you go that way. Who are you training with I done all mine with by-pass.
Cheers for that Karl and its with 2Starttraining in Portchester, already had five days with them about six weeks ago, kindly funded by the Navy after 24 years service, but I decided I wanted a few more days road time before taking the test, so I start again next Wednesday with exam on Friday.
I agree with the comment off Rog was it? You should be capable of dealing with any given situation! Still be nice to have a little bit of luck on your side
MickeyG:
Cheers for that Karl and its with 2Starttraining in Portchester, already had five days with them about six weeks ago, kindly funded by the Navy after 24 years service,
Has the training company explained the driver cpc requirements for your situation ?
ROG:
MickeyG:
Cheers for that Karl and its with 2Starttraining in Portchester, already had five days with them about six weeks ago, kindly funded by the Navy after 24 years service,Has the training company explained the driver cpc requirements for your situation ?
Iāve already completed 35 Hours CPC and full ADR training with them. I like to do things back to front
MickeyG:
ROG:
MickeyG:
Cheers for that Karl and its with 2Starttraining in Portchester, already had five days with them about six weeks ago, kindly funded by the Navy after 24 years service,Has the training company explained the driver cpc requirements for your situation ?
Iāve already completed 35 Hours CPC and full ADR training with them. I like to do things back to front
Fair play and a good idea to get it all done with your pre 1997 LGV C1 licence before getting C
At least when you pass C you will be set up until 09/09/2019 
Well chuffed Took my class C this morning and passed Despite fluffing the reverse I managed to straighten up and pull it off without panicking. Then really enjoyed the Hour drive with the Examiner, because for the first time I dint have the Instructor in my ear, lol. Happy Days
From one ex-matelot to another, congratulations
Well done mate congrats glad it all went well for you just to find a job now then.
Karl86:
Well done mate congrats glad it all went well for you just to find a job now then.
Many thanks to you all! Not in too much of a hurry yet to get a Job. Thanks to the Navy resettlement funding I still have the HIAB to do and debating whether to get Moffet in aswell. Atleast Ive got the main thing done now
HĆĀ©raultais:
From one ex-matelot to another, congratulations
Cheers Shippers
