First 2 weeks as a class 1 driver

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Well at 42 ive just started to drive class 1. Love it, but i have had some problems.
First week went upto glasgow, god what an amateur i am. Got lost on the way to grangethorpe decided to follow the sat nav, BIG MISTAKE, took me over the moors single road then came to a 90 degree turn over a small bridge, made the turn, just, it took me down a road with terraced houses parking on one side it got narrower and narrower, i eventually stopped. A guy got out of his car and told me there was a 10 foot bridge at the end of the road, GREAT, he suggested i turned up the road in-front, sharp turn, ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE, crunch, couldnt make the turn, side bar on the trailer pushed in, oops!!!. So i reversed back down this lane couldnt get back the way i came, why is that, it fits one way but not the other!? anyway an hour later the POLICE turn up, oh ■■■■, points on my licence big fine, all the usual’s stuff going through my mind, anyway they stopped all the traffic backed me down this road, as i am reversing i notice a sign saying 14 foot and 12 foot, wheres that for? Any way got to the bottom and the officer says “how tall is your truck?” 14 foot 9 i replied, as the rigid i was previously driving was that tall and i thought they were all the same height. The officer informs me the bridge is 14 foot, ■■■■! He says lets give it a try, did he know something i didnt ? anyway, he did, just managed to get under it, expecting him to say pull over now and give me a ticket, he says on your way driver, did i just hear that, i love the scottish police.
Then next time, i went to a farm with xmas trees from dundee to york, pitch black in the farm yard, tight as hell, got the load off the farmer says ill watch you back, great, spins it left starts backing up, CRUNCH, gets out the cab bloody log pile at the side of me with a great big tree stuck in my wheel arch, oh and the step missing,Great!
Then, next i am backing onto a dock at the pop factory at Leeming, nothing to tie the back doors back with, in the darkness feels a thud, great backed up to the dock, gets out and the guy says pull it out, i had only gone and squashed the side of the canopy, oop! They took photos and made me make a statement. Oh dear.
Then Thursday night send me for a back load out of some manure bagging plant, got near so put the sat nav on to guide me to the yard, takes me down this narrow country lane, it must open up to a farm, perhaps, NO!, 90 degree turn in a village full of million pound houses, all the side verges immaculate, not anymore, got around the corner and i could see the trees and bushes narrowing the lane toward the top of the truck, i rang up the office, asking what to do, he said, “i can see where you need to be on the tracker”, so can i! what bloody help is that, doesn’t he have some words of encouragement. Any way, went for it, got through, with a few trees stuck in the top of the truck. Apparently they pick up there at least once a week, and there is only one way in, could of told me that.
Oh, and i keep leaving the trailer reg on the trailer, i keep cardboard and a marker on me all the time.
And does the reversing get easier, if you see a T J Smith truck making a ■■■■ of the reversing dont watch and laugh, help me?!!!

Moneys great stress is not.
Happy trucking, i persiver :confused:

2

An interesting fortnight by the looks of things.

I used to leave the trailer plate behind. Just need to remember the N in BLANK then you will be fine.

As for Sat Nav Fails, If you rely totally on Satnav you will almost certainly come unstuck on a regular basis. Even the best Truck Satnav’s are ot perfect. Double check your route on a map or Google Maps. The office would rather you take a longer safer route than damage the truck taking a short cut.

Tying your door back can usually be achieved with a buckle from the curtain if no other option is available

The only other point I picked up was where you are reversing and struggling - GOAL - Get Out And Look.

Good on you for keeping at it. Better luck next week :slight_smile:

3

Get yourself an AA truckers atlas, then check the route your sat nav gives you against the atlas, if the sat-nav route takes you on a road that’s not in the atlas…

If the road ahead looks a bit iffy, STOP before you over commit, get out and walk down the road even if it’s 400 yards. I’ve got myself into little jams, usually because I’ve ignored my instincts. Better to get some exercise than waste half an hour shunting or worse. I had a delivery in Durham, the private lane looked a bit iffy so I went passed it and stopped, glad I did as there was a substantial tree branch at about 10’ it would’ve been a blind blindside reverse out as well.

If it’s dark or your not absolutely sure where you are in relation to obstacles around, GOAL, Get Out And Look, even if your being banked in, it doesn’t how many times you have to do this, no matter who is watching or any snide comments. If your getting flustered, take a deep breath and walk around your unit & trailer, it’ll give you time to calm down and take in your surroundings.

I used to forget the numberplate regular, usually remember when uncoupling and the trailer is on a bay :blush: , Get yourself into a un/coupling routine and stick to it, a good one as already mentioned is BLANK, Brake, Legs, Air-lines, Numberplate, Kingpin & clip. Obviously do the numberplate before dropping trailer on a bay. When doing the suzies get the trailer no and height off the headboard (usually there).

Complacency will catch you out, but if you do things by the book they soon become second nature and will save embarrassing moments.

Things do get better, Honest :wink:

4

I did the same as you with regards to using a sat nav ( i believe it is now in a farmers field near Ash in Kent) on my first day out in an artic it sent me down a lane and i had to reverse about a qtr of a mile to get myself out of it and caused absolute chaos since then i havnt used one. I use the big truckers atlas with the bridge heights in it and then when i get close i check the last bit of the route on google maps on my phone. The reversing just seems to click eventually. its all a learning curve ive been driving class 1 for 3 1/2 years now and class 2 for a year prior to that and still make stupid mistakes from time to time. it all gets better with time! except the wages…

5

Give up driving, you’re ■■■■■■■ useless

6

Okey-Didley-Dokely:
Give up driving, you’re [zb] useless

…Says the perfect driver :smiley:

7

dar1976:
The only other point I picked up was where you are reversing and struggling - GOAL - Get Out And Look.

As a new driver you really have to do this , the more reversing you do the more you will get the feel for where the trailer is going but at first you must GOAL , thinking it is ok will result in you hitting things ,
take it very slow and then if you GOAL you will see your too near something pull forward and start again , small adjustments of the wheel will take the trailer quite far over so if you have only turned the wheel a small amount not to hard to get it back on track ,
this month on the 29th will have had my class 1 a year and I still GOAL even if theres masses of room , I can access where the trailer needs to be to get it going back with the right angle , and with me not being too tall quite a few times I stop parking break on and hang out the window to see where my back wheels are(just using mirrors can distort your view) , only takes seconds so isnt a problem to anyone else , your boss will be glad you took an extra five mins to reverse than keep picking up the bill for damage on the lorry ,
just take your time until you have the reversing , its a skill that takes time , any old timer will tell you they still have a bad reverse and ■■■■ it up but they have the experience to know its not going in so will start again , theres no shame in taking a few shunts to stop you hitting things :wink:

8

is this a ■■■■ take :confused:

9

Best thing you can do is buy a smartphone with Google Maps

Tap in your destination and work out the best route yourself sticking to the most main roads possible. Cross-ref this with your truck atlas for low bridges and then use a combination of satellite images and street view to see where you need to be, how tight yards are etc.

Seriously will make your life so much easier. You won’t be going anywhere blind.

10

Okey-Didley-Dokely:
Give up driving, you’re [zb] useless

Of course you never made 1 mistake :unamused:

11

the trick to reversing is to take your time,dont worry about holding anyone up…if your unsure whats behind you get out and look (goal)…give it a couple of more weeks and it gets easier…Even experienced drivers make mistakes…if they tell u otherwise theyre liars… :slight_smile:

12

animal:

Okey-Didley-Dokely:
Give up driving, you’re [zb] useless

Of course you never made 1 mistake :unamused:

Yeah, but I didn’t tell the world and his wife [WINKING FACE]

13

Don’t worry about c0cking up your reversing,I don’t when I make a mess of it. :laughing:

14

Farms are just a liability full stop with all sorts of crap often left lying about everywhere. Even in daylight you’re not safe not long ago I pulled some bit of plastic trim off the front bumper when it caught on some rusty old farm implement hidden in the grass.

Also the trailer sidebars will inevitably get stoved in at some point during their working lives it’s far from the worst bit of common damage cost wise. Although, obviously all damage should be avoided.

Reversing in the dark somewhere that isn’t a well lit yard, with marked bays, is tricky at all times regardless of experience. Putting the hazards on, even if no-one else is around, can provide a fair bit of extra useful illumination. If hard to get your bearings get out and put a torch on the ground where you’re ultimately headed.

15

I was satnav reliant first few weeks, but if you have a regular area and get to know it, things turn 100% better,

You definately won’t forget or next time.

16

Everybody had awkward moments like that,last week I was coming back from carluke I dont know road and I put sat nav on,I came a town and sat nav says turn left and its sharp left and going down hill,after I turned and get my trailer strait I ve seen a lovely low bridge I said S*HITE! but too late stoped and checked size of the bridge it was 14 .3 or something like that it was ok luckly.

17

i can’t agree more with the Get Out And Look option, i would also suggest keeping a small torch for when it’s dark and you can leave the torch sitting on the ground facing partially towards you and the area you are aiming for when you are reversing so you have a better idea of where to aim for.

i also park way off from where i’m reversing to and open up the barn doors of the trailer, it can stop some of the sarcastic comments from idiot reach truck drivers… while you walk down the drivers side of the vehicle you can have a good look round and then open up the passenger side barn door and walk back up the passenger side to get a good view of that side of the truck.

18

philmots:
Best thing you can do is buy a smartphone with Google Maps

Tap in your destination and work out the best route yourself sticking to the most main roads possible. Cross-ref this with your truck atlas for low bridges and then use a combination of satellite images and street view to see where you need to be, how tight yards are etc.

Seriously will make your life so much easier. You won’t be going anywhere blind.

exactly what i do with my iphone, I do use my sat nav but only if going to RDC’s at ind estates or using it for mileage and estimated arrival times

19

now try doing it in a foreign country lol

yurt:
Well at 42 ive just started to drive class 1. Love it, but i have had some problems.
First week went upto glasgow, god what an amateur i am. Got lost on the way to grangethorpe decided to follow the sat nav, BIG MISTAKE, took me over the moors single road then came to a 90 degree turn over a small bridge, made the turn, just, it took me down a road with terraced houses parking on one side it got narrower and narrower, i eventually stopped. A guy got out of his car and told me there was a 10 foot bridge at the end of the road, GREAT, he suggested i turned up the road in-front, sharp turn, ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE, crunch, couldnt make the turn, side bar on the trailer pushed in, oops!!!. So i reversed back down this lane couldnt get back the way i came, why is that, it fits one way but not the other!? anyway an hour later the POLICE turn up, oh [zb], points on my licence big fine, all the usual’s stuff going through my mind, anyway they stopped all the traffic backed me down this road, as i am reversing i notice a sign saying 14 foot and 12 foot, wheres that for? Any way got to the bottom and the officer says “how tall is your truck?” 14 foot 9 i replied, as the rigid i was previously driving was that tall and i thought they were all the same height. The officer informs me the bridge is 14 foot, [zb]! He says lets give it a try, did he know something i didnt ? anyway, he did, just managed to get under it, expecting him to say pull over now and give me a ticket, he says on your way driver, did i just hear that, i love the scottish police.
Then next time, i went to a farm with xmas trees from dundee to york, pitch black in the farm yard, tight as hell, got the load off the farmer says ill watch you back, great, spins it left starts backing up, CRUNCH, gets out the cab bloody log pile at the side of me with a great big tree stuck in my wheel arch, oh and the step missing,Great!
Then, next i am backing onto a dock at the pop factory at Leeming, nothing to tie the back doors back with, in the darkness feels a thud, great backed up to the dock, gets out and the guy says pull it out, i had only gone and squashed the side of the canopy, oop! They took photos and made me make a statement. Oh dear.
Then Thursday night send me for a back load out of some manure bagging plant, got near so put the sat nav on to guide me to the yard, takes me down this narrow country lane, it must open up to a farm, perhaps, NO!, 90 degree turn in a village full of million pound houses, all the side verges immaculate, not anymore, got around the corner and i could see the trees and bushes narrowing the lane toward the top of the truck, i rang up the office, asking what to do, he said, “i can see where you need to be on the tracker”, so can i! what bloody help is that, doesn’t he have some words of encouragement. Any way, went for it, got through, with a few trees stuck in the top of the truck. Apparently they pick up there at least once a week, and there is only one way in, could of told me that.
Oh, and i keep leaving the trailer reg on the trailer, i keep cardboard and a marker on me all the time.
And does the reversing get easier, if you see a T J Smith truck making a ■■■■ of the reversing dont watch and laugh, help me?!!!

Moneys great stress is not.
Happy trucking, i persiver :confused: