Kenny_C:
That’s not natural to car drivers, and I don’t think 16 hours over 4 days is enough to teach that. With reversing taking up about half the time.
He now needs to book another 4 hours plus a test which will be another few hundred. I don’t even know if that’ll be enough for him.
I know this is how they did it years ago, I just wondered what the general thoughts are on this?
Rigids basically corner just like a car, you’re not driving straight forward and then tight left and then straight forward for 20-30ft in a rigid to make a tight left bend, you do it in a continuous arc. It’s not natural to rigid drivers either, especially on a tight roundabout making a left turn where you’re going to have to go well into the hatched area then hug the white line for 40-50ft after to get the trailer round without going up the kerb.
As you said, it’s the way it was done years ago right up until 1997 and it worked fine then.
We’ve a massive shortage of lorry drivers , shelf’s empty /no fuel and things to get much worse & were failing future lorry drivers who could keep this nation moving or fed on clipping a bloody roundabout / a bit of lane discipline
Have these bloody so called test examiners been out in the real world of late , there is no lane discipline at all , barriers on corners to protect pedestrians flattened , tyres blown out hitting metal bollards protecting people
This potential driver seems better than 99.9 of the idiots I have to share the roads with ,
I’d of not accepted that result , test examiner wants firing & someone with realistic expectations put in his place , drivers like me who have been there & done it & know the score .
Going straight to class 1 worked well for me but I had a good teacher and I was allowed to do some shunting in the yard when I worked in the warehouse. Some people take to it easily and others just take time.
No doubt some will be fine with it, but some definitely will not - the difference nowadays is the roads are busy as ■■■■, with knobheads everywhere you look, I’ve reversed off main roads in places like Handsworth where the people there see nothing wrong with driving behind your trailer while you’re manoeuvring into some tight gates, because they refuse to wait.
Society isn’t like it used to be, people are more selfish and everything is rush rush rush, but I suppose it depends on the individual whether they let this kind of stuff get to them.
Iandrummer81:
No doubt some will be fine with it, but some definitely will not - the difference nowadays is the roads are busy as [zb], with knobheads everywhere you look, I’ve reversed off main roads in places like Handsworth where the people there see nothing wrong with driving behind your trailer while you’re manoeuvring into some tight gates, because they refuse to wait.
Society isn’t like it used to be, people are more selfish and everything is rush rush rush, but I suppose it depends on the individual whether they let this kind of stuff get to them.
+100 for the absoloute ignorant morons
2 examples yesterday but then i was in kingston and epsom soo…no supprise there being london
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Rigids basically corner just like a car, you’re not driving straight forward and then tight left and then straight forward for 20-30ft in a rigid to make a tight left bend, you do it in a continuous arc. It’s not natural to rigid drivers either, especially on a tight roundabout making a left turn where you’re going to have to go well into the hatched area then hug the white line for 40-50ft after to get the trailer round without going up the kerb.
As you said, it’s the way it was done years ago right up until 1997 and it worked fine then.
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I dissagree, some rigids are nearly as long as an artic and aren’t able to bend, (Max 39. 37ft), artics can also spin around on the trailers rear axles, where a rigid you have to do half a dozen shunts. I do admit that an artic needs more room, but when you’re driving a 39ft rigid you’ll need almost the same amount of room on corners and roundabouts, which is exactly what I was taught when doing my class 2!!
Rigids basically corner just like a car, you’re not driving straight forward and then tight left and then straight forward for 20-30ft in a rigid to make a tight left bend, you do it in a continuous arc. It’s not natural to rigid drivers either, especially on a tight roundabout making a left turn where you’re going to have to go well into the hatched area then hug the white line for 40-50ft after to get the trailer round without going up the kerb.
As you said, it’s the way it was done years ago right up until 1997 and it worked fine then.
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I dissagree, some rigids are nearly as long as an artic and aren’t able to bend, (Max 39. 37ft), artics can also spin around on the trailers rear axles, where a rigid you have to do half a dozen shunts. I do admit that an artic needs more room, but when you’re driving a 39ft rigid you’ll need almost the same amount of room on corners and roundabouts, which is exactly what I was taught when doing my class 2!!
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You are quite correct Stephen. I have seen artic drivers make a right hash of driving a rigid.
They are completely different but neither are that difficult. It’s like everything else. Proper training and plenty practice. I have seen teenagers pass a class one in two days. No experience but it proves it ain’t too difficult a test to pass.
A lot depends on natural ability. I have taken car drivers who hadn’t driven since passing their test out on the road in an artic for an assessment. Some were lethal although most had a decent grasp after a few miles. Lack of confidence doesn’t help but neither does over confidence. I agree with whoever said society has changed. Very few manners, very little courtesy and rush rush rush.
Stephenjp:
I dissagree, some rigids are nearly as long as an artic and aren’t able to bend, (Max 39. 37ft)
39ft isn’t even the standard length trailers were before they brought in tri-axles and upped it to 45ft and that’s not even accounting for the extra 8-10ft the unit adds.
Typical artic is 53ft long, that makes the max length of a rigid not even 3/4 the length of an artic. And that’s even before we start to examine the biggest important factor in cornering which is the wheelbase.
But hey you’re the expert when it comes to how artics corner despite not actually having driven anything other than some small crappy short 25-30ft urban trailer designed to get you through the test. My 25 years driving them counts for ■■■■.
Exactly Stu, Conor comes across like an artic snob who looks down on lorry drivers who don’t drive one. I’d love to see him turning an old long wheel base lorry with no power steering in a tight space or put an A frame drawbar on a rigid then his few years would count for nothing.
I just get enough arguing at work, and come on here for education and entertainment. I’m really happy to learn from Conor, and everyone’s experience. Not sure it needs to be a pitched battle to get your point across always, unless it’s xarryfast talking ■■■■■■■■ getting everyone frustrated [emoji57]
