Bit of a confidence knocker but I failed my first driving assessment. On the whole it didn’t go to bad. It was a new Volvo FH which was a bit higher up than the MAN I trained on 6 weeks ago but not to bad. Started off a bit slow in the yard as I was getting used to the bigger engine and position then out on the road for a lap of the local area. I had my eyes on the mirrors all the time however he mentioned a few times he didn’t see me checking. That was because he was looking out the window but nm.
After that he guided me into the yard and asked me to back into a bay between two trailers. He asked me to “go straight forward then reverse into that space”. As I was in learner mode I was following his instructions to the letter and stopped in a position that would have required a 90 Deg drivers side reverse. On stopping he said “I wouldn’t have stopped there” and then asked me to position so my back end was facing the bay so Id just have to reverse in. I did this and backed into the bay fairly well with one shunt to neaten it up a little but it wasn’t required.
The fail came after this. He asked me to pull out, turn right and then turn round and head left then try it again. In my head he was asking me to position for a blind side reverse so I set up as best as I could and checked his facial expressions. Everything seemed ok so I started reversing back. Unfortunately I went in a little shallow and he asked me to stop. at this point I new I had messed it up but his response was why did you try to blind side it. Turns out he wanted me to go left the swing round AGAIN and do the exact same thing again. I was a little annoyed in my head as I felt he didn’t explain that properly and if I had known I would have been ok with it but he made no effort to correct me before I started reversing.
On the whole im obviously gutted but it was my first assessment and my first time out in a class 1 after passing my test 6 weeks ago. I have another assessment on sunday with another company so hopefully that will go better or Ill be signing onto a few agencies I think. If anyone has had any similar experiences Id appreciate to hear them.
Don’t worry about it Jonny
I’ve failed two assesments in pretty much the same way. First one was at Asda, think I knew I wasn’t going to pass it when the assessor rolled his eyes when he found out I’d only had my class 1 for six weeks He got me to do a straight in reverse then allowed me to do my version of a blind side Didn’t even get out on the road with that.
To be honest, the guy you had sounds like a bit of a self-important ■■■■■■■■…“ooh look at me, aren’t I powerful” type, don’t let it get you down mate. The examiner thought you were safe enough to be allowed out on the big toys so stuff this guy, keep at it and you’ll soon pass with an assessor who knows you’re new and will be intelligent enough to see you can do it. There are some decent assessors out there. Good luck
Rat67:
Don’t worry about it Jonny
I’ve failed two assesments in pretty much the same way. First one was at Asda, think I knew I wasn’t going to pass it when the assessor rolled his eyes when he found out I’d only had my class 1 for six weeks He got me to do a straight in reverse then allowed me to do my version of a blind side Didn’t even get out on the road with that.
To be honest, the guy you had sounds like a bit of a self-important [zb]…“ooh look at me, aren’t I powerful” type, don’t let it get you down mate. The examiner thought you were safe enough to be allowed out on the big toys so stuff this guy, keep at it and you’ll soon pass with an assessor who knows you’re new and will be intelligent enough to see you can do it. There are some decent assessors out there. Good luck
To be honest he was a really nice guy but I don’t think he explained what he wanted me to do that well. On my part I should have taken more control of the situation so it’s all good practice really. He actually said please reapply in a few months after you get a bit of experience on agency. Cheers for sharing your experiences.
Somebody has got to give folk a go and it doesn’t necessarily follow that someone new will do a lot of damage. If everyone waited for drivers to get a bit of experience first they’d run out of drivers eventually.
Class2newbie:
You will nail it next time. Keep positive
Yup. Had the assessment today and passed. These companies seem to want you to be out of the box ready to go allot but I decided to just go for it and not allow him to feel he needs to guide me too much. I also tried to come across keen to learn and aware of my lack of experience. When reversing the trailer alongside another one in a packed Sunday afternoon yard he seemed to think I was struggling so I just politely interrupted him and explained what I was trying to do. He smiled and said crack on so I did and backed it in nicely.
I don’t know how well ill do with this company or if its just an experience building job but they have a very good reputation in N Yorkshire and hopefully ill enjoy working here. Classroom induction tomorrow with lots of power point then out on the road with a driver trainer for a few days.
I was driving a 8 wheel Tipper with 20 ton of sand in the back. 4 over 4 gearbox. I gave it my best shot but when I got to a sharp uphill bend in a village I messed the low gears up. Then I stalled it turning into the yard. It was a bit daunting though as I am used to 7.5 tonne auto. High range I was fine.
sammy770:
I failed one recently, know how you feel.
I was driving a 8 wheel Tipper with 20 ton of sand in the back. 4 over 4 gearbox. I gave it my best shot but when I got to a sharp uphill bend in a village I messed the low gears up. Then I stalled it turning into the yard. It was a bit daunting though as I am used to 7.5 tonne auto. High range I was fine.
sammy770:
I failed one recently, know how you feel.
I was driving a 8 wheel Tipper with 20 ton of sand in the back. 4 over 4 gearbox. I gave it my best shot but when I got to a sharp uphill bend in a village I messed the low gears up. Then I stalled it turning into the yard. It was a bit daunting though as I am used to 7.5 tonne auto. High range I was fine.
sammy770:
I failed one recently, know how you feel.
I was driving a 8 wheel Tipper with 20 ton of sand in the back. 4 over 4 gearbox. I gave it my best shot but when I got to a sharp uphill bend in a village I messed the low gears up. Then I stalled it turning into the yard. It was a bit daunting though as I am used to 7.5 tonne auto. High range I was fine.
Perhaps I should stick with 7.5 tonne auto
Not.
Don’t give up man.
I won’t. (That should be Don’t give up woman!)
Lies! There are no women on the Internet, just FBI agents posing as women
Still, you’ll get there. I found I preferred a slap over box compared to a 4 over 4.
sammy770:
I failed one recently, know how you feel.
I was driving a 8 wheel Tipper with 20 ton of sand in the back. 4 over 4 gearbox. I gave it my best shot but when I got to a sharp uphill bend in a village I messed the low gears up. Then I stalled it turning into the yard. It was a bit daunting though as I am used to 7.5 tonne auto. High range I was fine.
Perhaps I should stick with 7.5 tonne auto
Not.
In your defence, the ZF 'box can throw a strop, dropping from high into low. I double declutch it on occasions and drop from first high (5th) into 3rd. They also have a habit of locking out where you can’t get any gears once you have pulled up to a standstill. A flick of the range switch will sort this out.
He got me to do a straight in reverse then allowed me to do my version of a blind side 
Didn’t even get out on the road with that.
