Ok, besides the usual concerns and worries, ie is the trailor coupled correctly, will it be easy/hard to tip (bay access etc) my main other concern is going somewhere new and not knowing about a bad junction/turning.
On your training/test you are told how to navigate the route exactly, road position etc But in the big wide world how do you know whats coming? is it just a gamble?
I haven’t done a great deal of driving, but when I have my boss is very good and gives me detailed instructions, so upto now I have been ok.
Has anyone ever made a bad call?
You can do it in any vehicle, i did it a few times on the vans for Tesco, drive down a narrow drive then find there is no where to turn around and you’re blind reversing out again. You soon learn to reverse in if youre not sure or stop and take a wander.
Most of the time so long as you look out for road signs warning you of narrow roads etc you’re ok.
Biggest problem is people who park stupidly, making their own Chicanes or on corners.
I did a car dealership the other month, it was tight turning in due to all the parked cars on the road, but i got in ok. Trouble was getting back out some idiot hard parked there since id been in, so it was just a question of asking around and getting cars moved.
The drive round on the test routes should show you a range of different corners and roads and you can apply the same thinking to most situations, one road is much like another at the end of the day 
You can do it in any vehicle
Yes I agree, but not so easy in an artic!
The drive round on the test routes should show you a range of different corners and roads and you can apply the same thinking to most situations, one road is much like another at the end of the day
It shows you the range on test, but its what you can’t see when approaching them that is the problem.
If you dont know what is around the corner, ie narrow road, tight left hand turn at traffic lights, that maybe require you to position across 2 lanes.
I suppose its like most say, you dont start to learn how to drive till you’ve past your test!
i agree with what you say m623d, i’ve mentioned thismany times myself, you go around the test routes having already been told exactly how to negotiate all the turnings, bends etc. then you notice when you’re out on the road, things like an artic taking a left turn, and you think well i would have thought you would have needed to take more space to the offside to make this turn, or vice-versa etc.
i used to drive down a road on my old van driving job (near ilkeston) where there was a really tight right hand bend, on the inside of this bend right on the apex is a bollard, on the outside is a turning in to the left (t junction) i,d drive along behind an artic, and to get around this bend with a trailer, you have to drive into this road on the left to avoid knocking the bollard down, and i used to wonder if i would recognise this if i was driving one. This bollard used to get
squashed quite regularly, and was replaced with one on springs 
which i think emphasises our point.
I think a safe solution to this imo would be to be chaperoned on a run(s) and learn all the turns etc as when training, and then get to learn exactly how the vehicle behaves over a longer period of time.
p.s. i miss doing my old run in your area north lincs, nothing on the roads and nice scenery etc. only trouble was your post code DN is huge, starting at retford, and right up to the south bank 
I think a safe solution to this imo would be to be chaperoned on a run(s) and learn all the turns etc as when training, and then get to learn exactly how the vehicle behaves over a longer period of time.
Not exactly practical - in the year or so since I passed my test, working for about 20 odd companies through the agency there is only one where that would be practical.
G
sidan:
I think a safe solution to this imo would be to be chaperoned on a run(s) and learn all the turns etc as when training, and then get to learn exactly how the vehicle behaves over a longer period of time.
So how would that work then■■? do you really think you should be shown every turn junction etc on a run!! 
I do understand what the original poster is saying but it really does come naturally and if in doubt take more room at a junction than you need!!
and you will soon realise were you can fit and were you cant.
not really, just an idea of my own which makes sense to me especially if you work for a firm like i do were there is both rigid and articulated vehicles. obviously not practical on agency work etc. To repeat, just an idea of my own
re. road safety which i think would work for me.
Has anyone ever made a bad call?
Oh, not above a couple of thousand times. But don’t let it worry you. You get it sorted, learn from it and carry on.
Yes I agree, but not so easy in an artic
No. The very best is to drop one on your first trip with a wagon and drag as I once did in Istanbul 
David
Made quite a few bad judgements when I used to do machine work with the low loader. The arse end of the trailer is all well and good steering round corners for you in proportion to how much movement there is on the fifth wheel, but sometimes you just want it to keep on coming straight, then turning after you’ve passed the obelisk in the middle of the junction for example.
The little island just over the A1 as you come down from Thorp Arch Ind Est at Wetherby used to cause me some right headaches. The trailer simply would not turn left at that junction without clipping the plastic obelisk in the middle. I tried it every way possible and it wasn’t happening. The only way to turn left was to go round the island 450 degress and let the trailer “chase” you round with the rear steering. Used to get some right funny “what the [zb] is this [zb] doing??” looks but it solved the problem 
.
If you don’t apply some noggins and forward thinking in this game you can and will get yourself into all sorts of sticky situations where you just want the ground to open up and swallow you whole. 
m623d:
You can do it in any vehicle
Yes I agree, but not so easy in an artic!
Ehh? it’s not so easy to make a bad judgement in an artic?
no, sorry, was referring to the reversing back if you judge it wrong, Its easier to get out of a sticky situation in a car/van than an artic
m623d:
no, sorry, was referring to the reversing back if you judge it wrong, Its easier to get out of a sticky situation in a car/van than an artic
I remember getting my artic STUCK solid in the 3 Sisters yard at Wolverhampton. Two other drivers were sent down to unstick it and they couldn’t do it either. The drive axle tyres had slid on to the mud and then subsequently shifted sideways by about 4 ft and there just wasn’t enough space to maneouvre the trailer out. In the end they had to remove about 80 stacks of empty trays so I could drive forward to pull the trailer round. It was their own fault for filling the yard with all the empty trays. When the other drivers say it they said they wouldn’t have even attempted to get on the bay until they’d shifted them .
Has anyone ever made a bad call
That’s how i learned to reverse 
Any body who says they haven’t is either lying or has a very short memory.
I have found that working on the bin wagons for a few days gives you loads of practice at reversing 
I’ve now resigned from my regular job and, for the time being at least, I’m driving full time through a local agency. The first fortnight is with the local council driving the bin wagons - I’m treating it as a gentle re-introduction, as it’s been well over 12 months since I did any driving work.
m623d:
Has anyone ever made a bad call?
The easiest way to answer that, is with another question.
Is there anyone who has never made a bad call ?
Simon:
m623d:
Has anyone ever made a bad call?The easiest way to answer that, is with another question.
Is there anyone who has never made a bad call ?
Most of us probably could write a book on wrong turnings and backing out of places. Unless you are doing the same route each day it’s bound to happen.
my rules are if the road you are delivering down looks a bit suspect for getting in and out, then get out and have a walk down it. It might take 10 mins, but it’s can save loads of time a grief, especially when you find that you’ve been given an invoice address and the delivery point is somewhere more suitable.
It’s also worth getting out and having a look instead of just driving into the yard, if it looks like tight. Some places it’s far easier to reverse in off the road than trying to reverse out.
The main thing is to be patient, take your time and keep your sense of humour. You’d be amazed how helpful people will be if you are polite and ask with a smile and how obstructive they can be if you start shouting and demanding.
As for road positioning, you’ve been taught the basic of how the trailer cut’s in, so you just need to think about how much road you’ll need and take it. It does become second nature very quickly.