thinking of going in for coach licence, not that i’m planning on using it just fancy another picture on my card!
is there much difference between driving a coach and a rigid? because hopefully i’ll only need a few hours out in the coach to get used to 10-to-2 driving again and should be fine.
or am i expecting it to be too easy? bearing in mind i passed my car and class 2 and class 1 first time as well with 2 minors each!
cheers all.
You must have money to burn then if you’re not planning on using it 
As far as the test goes, from what I’ve gathered from instructors it’s basically exactly the same as the LGV test except they’ll ask you to stop in bus stops etc. and they’e a bit more on the ball with ‘smoothness’ since you’ll be carrying passengers. Also it doesn’t matter whether you learn in an auto or a manual bus since you’re class 2 supercedes it and you’ll automatically get a manual bus/coach licence.
I would imagine that driving them in real life is a bit of a different story to be honest, similar to the lgv, they’re obviously going to use the easiest/smallest possbile vehicle really for ease of passing the test. Going to be a bit of a learning curve again when you get out on to the road I imagine since some coaches are nigh on 50 foot long.
I took my class D seven years ago, having bought a coach to take the test in. Still got the coach and use it for shows etc. Because it is now over thirty years old it can be driven on car licence if test passed before 1997.
Regarding the test, I failed on three items, stopping opposite the entrance to a garden centre. Being in too higher gear on downhill start and giving right hand turn signal when taking third exit from roundabout.
Bear in mind that if you fail the test you may well get the same examiner next time, depending how busy the test centre is, so be careful what you say to him/her.
Also remember that on most coaches you have overhang front and rear, my coach was the longest legal length at the time, 12 metres.
Good luck with it and enjoy holding up traffic at bus stops. You will also find that you will empathise with bus drivers when you’re out in the LGV.
chris_89:
You must have money to burn then if you’re not planning on using itAs far as the test goes, from what I’ve gathered from instructors it’s basically exactly the same as the LGV test except they’ll ask you to stop in bus stops etc. and they’e a bit more on the ball with ‘smoothness’ since you’ll be carrying passengers. Also it doesn’t matter whether you learn in an auto or a manual bus since you’re class 2 supercedes it and you’ll automatically get a manual bus/coach licence.
I would imagine that driving them in real life is a bit of a different story to be honest, similar to the lgv, they’re obviously going to use the easiest/smallest possbile vehicle really for ease of passing the test. Going to be a bit of a learning curve again when you get out on to the road I imagine since some coaches are nigh on 50 foot long.
Smoothness goes out the bloody window when they have got their licence then because some of the bus drivers I have had chauffer me around lately have been shocking I am sure some of them do it on purpose.
Depending on the bus, it’ll probably have a bit more front and rear overhang, so watch the tail-swing. Brakes always seemed to me to be hit-the-windscreen sharp. Test is much the same, but with random stops at bus stops (along with door opening) en-route. Not all places use the smallest /easiest vehicle to satisfy test vehicle requirements.
Nothing else sticks in my mind. Had cat D for over two years now and never used it.
Don’t do it!!!
At least when you’re driving an hgv, the load in the back doesn’t moan about being too hot,too cold, the seats being uncomfortable…the list goes on and on and on-ask any other ex coach or bus driver and they’ll probably tell you the same thing…
driving a coach will feel strange due more to the position of the front axle , its a long way behind you if you think about it , but you should be fine .
and you can have my licence if you like i hav’nt touch a bus or a coach for 15 years and i have no plans to do so . yes your load gets off on its own but with hgv your load doe’snt offer to beat the living crap out of you . we all at some point need stag does and hen partys in our life … shocking behaviour makes me shiver just thinking about it . pahhhhhhhhhhhh
tashlad666:
thinking of going in for coach licence, not that i’m planning on using it just fancy another picture on my card!is there much difference between driving a coach and a rigid? because hopefully i’ll only need a few hours out in the coach to get used to 10-to-2 driving again and should be fine.
or am i expecting it to be too easy? bearing in mind i passed my car and class 2 and class 1 first time as well with 2 minors each!
cheers all.
Not much difference really, the usual daily check questions for the outside and you have to be able to point out where the emergency exits are, where the emergency hammers are for the glass and I think where the first aid kit is and they will ask you to pull in to a bus stop and you have to be in it square on, if the front is over a patch of grass then so be it, and most of all they will be looking for a much smoother drive than on a car or HGV test 
2 words which will give shudders to some drivers…school run
Did that for a time when i first got my bus licence seems like most drivers start off doing school runs then slowly progress up to having there own coach(if you are lucky) smoothness is the key to passing and also stopping at bus stops and not sailing past them 
Took my coach to the Newmarket carnival a couple of days after passing my test. Picked up a couple of kids who ran around the coach and kept kicking the back of my seat. Vowed never to have such things on again and seven years on I have kept that promise.
I would have to be pretty desperate for money to drive a bus or coach to earn a living.