Hi everyone,a question for all you class c + e drivers new and experienced,im interested to know what your first days and weeks driving an artic were like,the reason i ask is i passed my class c + e back in april and have like many had no luck with getting a job yet due to the dreaded 2 year rule although tescos near me at snodland were quite promising saying try and get even a few weeks experience then call them back,Anyway my point is although positive about getting a start one day the thought of being given a set of keys,coupling up and the usual blind reversing feels me with fear to be honest,after how many days or weeks did you start to feel more confident,look forward to hearing your stories good and bad,cheers
Have you done any cat c work 
as that may help with some things
You could sign up with the agencies in your area but be a little economical with what yo tell them 
If you do get the chance to drive just remember what you were taught on your test
Ok not quite the same but a number of years ago I was a swimming coach ( we had to do the rescue test for swimmers ) this session the children were doing there warm up as they did every session ( I had 2 lanes ) was watching most of the pool when I noticed 1 of the children catching my eye to tell me he had collided with another ( that being my son ) who was holding his head couldnt see his eyes due to goggles but knew something was wrong by the look on his face
So proceded to lift him out of the water he fainted ( called for help ) removed his goggles & all the while had the voice of the rescue teach in my head going through the procedure of what to do this did come back to me very easy
Rushed son to hospital where they kept him in overnight as had to be careful with secondary drowning he was also delirious he didnt know what day it was
Yes he is fine now but just take your time & remember what you were taught all those mth ago it will come back quite easy
Thank you for the advice animal,and yes i have done quite a bit of class c work since passing my test nearly 4 years ago ,but nothing permanent due to one reason or another,at present im like many people im sure i work full time driving vans but i am desperate to get class c + e preferebly but would take class c work if permanent,i work different shifts including weekends so it has been hard to even get some agency work but i will keep plugging away to something comes up.
With regards to my mention of tesco at snodland the chap i spoke to was very helpful and told me to call him back once i have got even a couple of months experience c + e so there is hope for future.thanks again and i cant wait to get that lucky break…
Hi Ruddio, I’m class one near seven year now, done all sorts, steel concrete, tippers, low loaders, flat beds, etc etc. In answer to your question about the confidence thing it depends on what job you are doing mate. When your given the keys for the first time your heart is in your mouth (well it was for me). You have so much stuff going on in your head, the size of it, reversing, the route, the list goes on. Its right you should feel this way, there is no way around it, if you didnt give a zb it would be pretty odd. You just have to grab the bull by the horns and get on with it. First and foremost TAKE YOUR TIME in EVERYTHING you do until you get the feel of what you are driving, the unit, load weather conditions, route etc. Also, you will have a cab phone, ASK of ANYTHING you are unsure of and dont feel daft for doing so, better that than make a ■■■■ up, always double check yourself and make sure that cab brake is on if when you leave that cab and trailer brake on when you drop one. You will no doubt leave a few plates on trailer you swop I did.
Once you have got use to a particular job and gain confidence its up to you if you fancy a change in respect of getting out of your comfort zone, the process could then start all over again in some respects but hopefully you will have got some miles under your belt by then so the driving aspect should be a bit less stressful.
To sum up for you if you get say a decent trunk job (preferably on nights) I’d say you start to get more confident after a month or so. Your reversing should come on abit and you should be ok with your route and other aspects like how they do things where ever they send you, paperwork, procedures etc, it all amounts to an easier shift for you overall.
It will all come together for you, you just need a start. Hope you get one soon and always remember we ALL have to learn driving machinary this big is something that has to be learnt over time, some pick it up quicker than others. If your a slow leaner like me stick with it, you will be fine.
Matt
I’d been driving C’s for around two years when I got my C+E which I think has helped a lot because I was more comfortable with the “related tasks” like securing the load, tachographs, vehicle checks and guessing weights etc.
My first shift on C+E was about two months ago now and I was grateful not to have time to sit and worry about it, I’ll see if I can find links for the diary I did of my first day and the 6week mark. I didn’t have time to be nervous - just heres the paperwork, keys are in it, do you want a map of where the depot is?
I’ve gone the agency route to gain experience but I’ve also been sending odd letters and application forms off in the hope of getting something better and a more regular start time. I’m much better at reversing than I was but it took time, from about a month to six weeks it started coming together and I’m quite happy with it at the moment - it’s still rare for me to get it in one go but one small shunt’s normally all I need. I hadn’t hit anything until I scraped a car the other day, in my defence I couldn’t see the damned thing, everyone was really good about it though. I think the fact of the matter is even experienced drivers have the odd “incident”, as long as it’s a major catastrophy and you dont make a habit of it you’re o.k.
ok my own experience
I’ve been an artic driver for 14 months, 13 of which have been as a bulker, ( i love it).
To start with, dont be scared of the thing, being confident in the 1st place will only breed confidence, just dont be overly confident.
Dont worry about things you have no control over, such as blind side reversing, you have to do it at some point, so take it nice and slow, if in doubt get out and look, then double check. dont look a ■■■■ take a shunt.
The more you do the more your confidence will grow.
Watch other drivers around you, ask questions, phone people.
You never stop learning
Thanks for the excellent advice and stories chaps,ive just got to be patient i know im fortunate to be working full time but could earn a lot more than i do driving artics,i know everyone on here will agree its just very frustrating the transport industry that there are hard working,reliable,honest people out there who cant even get to interview stage because of lack of experience,everyone starts somewhere,anyway rant over i promise i knew what i was getting in to,thanks again and i will keep plugging away until i get that lucky break… 
To be honest, I think you’d be lucky to earn much more than you already are nowadays, class 2 wages seem to be staying roughly the same but class 1 is dropping all the time. I’ve seen class 1 jobs advertised for £6.25/hr with the dreaded “extensive experience essential”.
My own experience; when I started out, class 2 was almost always £8 hr and class 1 was £10 hr sometimes more. I started on £6.25hr expecting it to go up with experience but it didn’t, another agency were paying me £8/hr for class 2 work just before I got my class 1 and yet another agency are paying me (and all their class1 drivers) £8.50hr flat rate, including nights but Sunday nights are £13/hr.
Not trying to dampen your spirits mate but the moneys not what it was even a few years ago, the one saving grace is the sheer amount of hours you end up doing, the week before last I did 58hrs which was worth £660 iirc before the tax man got his paws on roughly a fifth of it! The ■■■■■■■■