So I have been driving class 2 for years but last month past my class 1, I am very lucky that a company has taken me on and I have even been out with a driver on my first week to help show me the ropes (very rare these days), but I gotta say the difference between the test & the actual real world are in fact worlds apart ! I am not ashamed to admit it, but my reversing is ■■■■■ ! hopefully this will come with time, why did they not show me how to reverse on my training before I took my test ! all this s shape crap was a complete waste of time, never did once reverse on a docking bay during my training, this is the real world ! what is the driving standard agency playing at giving out a class 1 willie nillie, the training for class 1 is nothing like the real world, it needs updating ! Also not mention of steep inclines using exhaust brake, lucky for me I used to drive 32 ton tipper trucks so I am used to not burning out the brakes going downhill, but what about these other poor drivers who have no idea how to use this ! Also raising the trailers suspension to get it onto a bay that has wheel locks, if nobody had told me to do this, my mud guards would of been ripped off. The class 1 test is seriously out of date and needs addressing soon as !
Rant Over … Thanks
The cat C+E test is the same as any other motoring test, you do the test to show that you’re safe to continue learning on your own.
If you want a comprehensive training program I imagine some trainers would be happy to provide it, but I’m pretty sure the cost will be more than you paid for the training you have for the test.
I can’t comment on whether or not the test needs to be updated but like most things in life you get what you pay for 
as i have always said, they don’t teach you to drive, they teach you to pass a test 
tachograph:
The cat C+E test is the same as any other motoring test, you do the test to show that you’re safe to continue learning on your own.
As above.
I have read before that the British LGV C+E (or Class 1, as everybody in the real world calls it) driving test is the most severe and difficult driving test in the world.
i would agree with this… I must admit though my instructor did show me how to drive in a real life environment, but then it was quickly followed by dont do this on your test!
But in reguards to getting on bays i would agree completely. Even on your training i think they should mock a work sheet and your drive to those locations etc.
I also think that the trucks should be loaded as well once you have learnt how to handle the wagon (so maybe the last half of your training), as i have no idea how a loaded truck handles compared to an unladen one, and im sure its pretty different, in actual fact id put my life on it that it was massivly different!
This makes me very nervous, i can only imagine what my first day will be like out on my own with 10tonne of cargo on the back!
i may have an opportunity to drive the bin wagons, but im really unsure weather to go for it or not. I wont have drove a lorry for about 6 weeks if it all comes together and i dont want to make an ■■■ of my self in front off all the other people and secondly i wouldnt want to hold them back doing there job while i was ‘learning’ to drive a truck. Advice on this one welcome!
Edited… meant to say that its class 2 test that i did! will be doing class one next year
i think the whole thing should be state run.
a complete training program.
basic mechanics.
load security,
roping and sheeting.regular assesements throughout the course.
classroom work to cover CMRs, Tforms, map reading, the endless rules and regs spewing out of the EU.
skid pan training.
then with all this, and maybe a follow up course after say 12/24 months, then you should be given an o’licence to operate 1 vehicle.
further training to operate a fleet.
i agree as im a newish driver and i think you should have to take the test with a loaded trailer as its a different world driving on test and in the real world
everyday is a school day.
you never stop learning in this game.
just take everyday as it comes and remember to remember everything you learn as you go about your day as you dont know when you will need to use that bit of knowledge you thought you wouldnt need to use again.
drummerkev:
i may have an opportunity to drive the bin wagons, but im really unsure weather to go for it or not. I wont have drove a lorry for about 6 weeks if it all comes together and i dont want to make an ■■■ of my self in front off all the other people and secondly i wouldnt want to hold them back doing there job while i was ‘learning’ to drive a truck. Advice on this one welcome!
We’ve all had to learn sometime and most of us have had to go on the road for the first time without any experience except for the training, so just go for it you know you want to
As for making an ■■■ of yourself in front of other people is concerned, speaking as someone with a considerable amount of experience in the subject I can reassure you that you get used to it 
Kansas:
So I have been driving class 2 for years but last month past my class 1, I am very lucky that a company has taken me on and I have even been out with a driver on my first week to help show me the ropes (very rare these days), but I gotta say the difference between the test & the actual real world are in fact worlds apart ! I am not ashamed to admit it, but my reversing is [zb] ! hopefully this will come with time, why did they not show me how to reverse on my training before I took my test ! all this s shape crap was a complete waste of time, never did once reverse on a docking bay during my training, this is the real world ! what is the driving standard agency playing at giving out a class 1 willie nillie, the training for class 1 is nothing like the real world, it needs updating ! Also not mention of steep inclines using exhaust brake, lucky for me I used to drive 32 ton tipper trucks so I am used to not burning out the brakes going downhill, but what about these other poor drivers who have no idea how to use this ! Also raising the trailers suspension to get it onto a bay that has wheel locks, if nobody had told me to do this, my mud guards would of been ripped off. The class 1 test is seriously out of date and needs addressing soon as !
Rant Over … Thanks
About the braking bit going down hill, do you have any tips?. It got me thinking the other day when i had 4 heavy pallets on the back of the van which made the braking rather crap. I didn’t want the van to run away whilst going down hill so i kept on tapping the brakes, but it got me thinking about braking in a lorry. I don’t want to have a problem of brake fade and burning them out as i am going down hill.
Just like you i didn’t get trained on going down hills or going up them so i would be learning that when i am out on my own.
I would be grateful for any tips and advice 
What do you think they done a few years ago before they updated the test to what it is now 
Just think you could pass your test with a flat bed unloaded with a single axel trailer didnt have to do the uncoupling/coupling the reverse area was bigger
You wonder sometimes why employers dont like taking newbies on
If they do all of these changes how much do you think it is going to cost as they will have to use different loads so you know all
shuttlespanker:
as i have always said, they don’t teach you to drive, they teach you to pass a test
Then you learn to drive always been like this
animal:
What do you think they done a few years ago before they updated the test to what it is nowJust think you could pass your test with a flat bed unloaded with a single axel trailer didnt have to do the uncoupling/coupling the reverse area was bigger
Yep, I went straight from having a car licence to having a Class 1, no theory test, no rigid test first, no hazard perception, just nine half-days in a day-cabbed Ford Cargo with a single-axle 20’ flatbed trailer.
It’s far harder now than it ever was, but it will never prepare anyone for an actual job as a truck driver.
Harry Monk:
animal:
What do you think they done a few years ago before they updated the test to what it is nowJust think you could pass your test with a flat bed unloaded with a single axel trailer didnt have to do the uncoupling/coupling the reverse area was bigger
Yep, I went straight from having a car licence to having a Class 1, no theory test, no rigid test first, no hazard perception, just nine half-days in a day-cabbed Ford Cargo with a single-axle 20’ flatbed trailer.
It’s far harder now than it ever was, but it will never prepare anyone for an actual job as a truck driver.
+1
animal i get what your saying, but in the real world your driving a HGv vehicle that will cause damage if it hits something. I would pay the extra few quid to have that extra training knowing what to do when braking etc
Downhill…for starters if you know there is a steep downhill section coming shave off some speed before you reach it, pointless hitting the top of an incline flat out. Look out for signs to indicate steep hills or long downhill stretches of motorway.
Engine brakes are pretty effective if you change down to build up the revs (the rev counter may have a blue or amber band to indicate the best rev band to use), exhaust brakes less effective. Either way round a fully freighted artic may well over run an engine on the steepest drops. They are not designed to replace the footbrake but should be used to keep the service brakes cool (by reducing the need to use them) and avoid brake fade through overheating.
If you get off the main drags in winter be wary with engine brakes, they work to slow the engine and therefore slow the drive axle, in ice and snow they can almost lock up the drive wheels, bit of a bummer with an artic as it can be a jack the knife endng.
Cheers for that.
A good LGV trainer will do other sorts of reversing with you if/when the opportunity arises
Sounds like you’ve landed on your feet there Kansas.
You’re only down the road from me (Ashton Under Lyne) and Airfix on the boards who lives in Hyde.
Don’t worry too much about not being told everything, you’ll pick up what you need to know, or just do like the rest of us did and ask.
1st time after I passed my C+E, I was given my keys (Renault Premium) pointed towards the truck, then told “you’re trailer’s that 1 on that bay - don’t forget to raise the suspension before you pull off the bay or the under-run bar catches the guide bars” - a nice 16’3 double deck fridge trailer 
… me: “how do I alter the trailer suspension?”
There’s thousands of places I haven’t been or jobs I haven’t done, so still ask questions, it’s just part of the job
drummerkev - also local - just get on with it mate, you’ll be fine. Take your time, people will watch out for you (work mates), don’t worry about it, it’s just like driving a car 
The test is nothing like it used to be , I went from a car lisence to
class 1 in a week .
Always remember if in doubt ASK . Someone will always be there
to put you right when reversing or doing a difficult move .
I learnt the hard way and thought I could do it all and dumped
6 pallets of fibreglass into a ditch because I thought I knew how to
rope and sheet properly . I didn’t . The whole lot slipped of the trailer
into a ditch. The factory must have phoned the guy I was working for
because the yard foreman drove past me 6 times untill it looked like I
was nearly finished and then he stopped asked if I knew what I was doing
I told him I thought I did , he then showed me how to rope and sheet it
properly and gave me a bollocking for not asking for help.
NEVER BE AFRAID TO ASK !!!
quirky
waynedl:
Sounds like you’ve landed on your feet there Kansas.
You’re only down the road from me (Ashton Under Lyne) and Airfix on the boards who lives in Hyde.
Yes, seems there is a few local drivers on here 
I suppose the best advice is to ASK, never be ashamed to ask, especially if it will save life’s and also take ya time, there is no Rush !
Better to be late than DEAD on time
drummerkev:
i would agree with this… I must admit though my instructor did show me how to drive in a real life environment, but then it was quickly followed by dont do this on your test!But in reguards to getting on bays i would agree completely. Even on your training i think they should mock a work sheet and your drive to those locations etc.
I also think that the trucks should be loaded as well once you have learnt how to handle the wagon (so maybe the last half of your training), as i have no idea how a loaded truck handles compared to an unladen one, and im sure its pretty different, in actual fact id put my life on it that it was massivly different!
This makes me very nervous, i can only imagine what my first day will be like out on my own with 10tonne of cargo on the back!
i may have an opportunity to drive the bin wagons, but im really unsure weather to go for it or not. I wont have drove a lorry for about 6 weeks if it all comes together and i dont want to make an ■■■ of my self in front off all the other people and secondly i wouldnt want to hold them back doing there job while i was ‘learning’ to drive a truck. Advice on this one welcome!
Edited… meant to say that its class 2 test that i did! will be doing class one next year
Go for the bin wagons, you don’t have to worry about the load getting damaged & the crew will help you with manouvering, you will get used to driving big wagons with the view to progressing to Class 1s. Don’t let Sprog Fetchers & late rush hour knobs bully you into making hasty decisions, take you time, it’s easier to explain a hold up than damage or injury.
Try to choose a training company that uses full size trailers not silly little 20ft light weight trollys. I was lucky, being trained by my Brother in Law in an Iveco with a 16 speed crash box & what seemed like a 200ft long fridge on the back (very steep learning curve) we would pick up full loads of Dairy products on a friday night then deliver it to NDC’s on a Sunday ( while he was with me I did’nt earn anything) Only started to get paid after I passed my test & did the work on my own.