It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.
So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.
Anyway as I say loads better today. Scuffed one kerb with the trailer tyres but I was told the examiner would let that slip because it’s a horrifically tight exit in a route they hardly use because it’s extremely tight.
Found out I have the 1330 test out of Garretts Green on Monday. Not sure if waiting around all day is a good thing or not lol
Hi There
Just curious if the tight roundabout you on about is the one at Tile Cross shops? I live near there and watch many CAT C+E clip/scrub the kerb, hopefully i will not be one of them
I start my C+E on Saturday, where as i am nervous I am excited to.
When i done my Cat C the roundabout by the test centre with the McDonalds on near the test centre is mad as they seem to appear so fast as with the one at the NEC.
Anyway, good luck with your test and all the best.
Yeah mate. Well I think so anyway lol
You need to hug the island on the right, put the unit past the exit then hard turn left using all the paint and just missing the bollard in the middle of the road on the exit road.
Acocks Green is a laugh aswell but I’ve been told the examiners don’t use that test route so much. You watch though, today will be the day lol
It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.
So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.
Anyway as I say loads better today. Scuffed one kerb with the trailer tyres but I was told the examiner would let that slip because it’s a horrifically tight exit in a route they hardly use because it’s extremely tight.
Found out I have the 1330 test out of Garretts Green on Monday. Not sure if waiting around all day is a good thing or not lol
I feel your pain I did my C test at Garrets Green. I hated it round brum on my test.
I did my C+E at Peter Smythe around Mansfield and it was so much better and easier round a nicer smaller town than a city.
I’d recommend anyone doing HGV tests to do it somewhere like Petes as it takes a fair bit of stress out of the equation.
It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.
So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.
Anyway as I say loads better today. Scuffed one kerb with the trailer tyres but I was told the examiner would let that slip because it’s a horrifically tight exit in a route they hardly use because it’s extremely tight.
Found out I have the 1330 test out of Garretts Green on Monday. Not sure if waiting around all day is a good thing or not lol
I feel your pain I did my C test at Garrets Green. I hated it round brum on my test.
I did my C+E at Peter Smythe around Mansfield and it was so much better and easier round a nicer smaller town than a city.
I’d recommend anyone doing HGV tests to do it somewhere like Petes as it takes a fair bit of stress out of the equation.
I think there’s defo an element of truth in the location. I did my Class 2 at Featherstone andveven though it was ten years ago now I still don’t recall it be8ng as busy as it is around Garretts which dies take some stress away.
I feel the pain of Garretts Green having driven artics for a local firm .Bloody tight island’s and Brum for a test is stressful .I used Pete’s deals aswell superb !
Well chaps I failed. Got to within half a mile of the test centre and a car chopped the island as I was coming out on to the island. As predicted doing breakneck speed, zero indication etc so got a serious for that. The rest of the test I got two minors on.
Undue hesitation is a minor, pulling out and causing someone to have to brake for you is a major. After your test you’ll soon learn that if your waiting for cars to signal correctly you’ll be sat there all day so you end up pulling out and upsetting people who are signalling. But for test definitely wait as long as you need to for a big enough gap.
Clipped kerbs - just start giving yourself more room on approach. Get your wheels on the white line or if you have to over the line. If you take too much space and realise you then don’t actually need it it’s easier to give the space back than it is to not allow enough room, realise at the last second and try and get some space when you’ve got traffic in the other lane. Always just take more than you think you need until you get the experience to judge it better.
Cheers chaps. Kerbs were fine, handling and everything was fine. It was literally just this roundabout.
Still I’m rebooked for next Wednesday now and i can guarantee I’ll be waiting lol
Question… at that roundabout say I didn’t go and got a minor for hesitation because there was a gap but I didn’t judge I could get out… If there was another gap and i didn’t go would that be another minor?
It’s roundabouts. It’s not the roundabouts as such, it’s the car drivers using them with no indication or inkling as to what they’re doing and if they don’t know how am I supposed to know lol so it’s the whole you convince yourself that a car is leaving the roundabout because or their position/the way they look etc only to have them nip round on you at the last minute.
So then you stay put and that’s when they decide to leave the roundabout and turns out you could’ve gone.
Anyway as I say loads better today. Scuffed one kerb with the trailer tyres but I was told the examiner would let that slip because it’s a horrifically tight exit in a route they hardly use because it’s extremely tight.
Found out I have the 1330 test out of Garretts Green on Monday. Not sure if waiting around all day is a good thing or not lol
I feel your pain I did my C test at Garrets Green. I hated it round brum on my test.
I did my C+E at Peter Smythe around Mansfield and it was so much better and easier round a nicer smaller town than a city.
I’d recommend anyone doing HGV tests to do it somewhere like Petes as it takes a fair bit of stress out of the equation.
As I resident of Birmingham who’s off to PSTT next week I’m quite pleased by your comment.
Think I did my medical over in Garrets green with doctors on wheels. Didn’t love driving round their in the car. Everyone that side if the city seems to drive like a knob.
Question… at that roundabout say I didn’t go and got a minor for hesitation because there was a gap but I didn’t judge I could get out… If there was another gap and i didn’t go would that be another minor?
An examiner can only mark a fault once. But you are talking about repeating the fault. I’m not an examiner so I wouldn’t like to call that one. But, more importantly, why do you want to know? What difference will it make to your judgement? The fact is that if you pull out on someone who was visible when you committed, you’re almost certainly looking at a serious fault (fail).
The art of driving properly relies on judgement to a large extent. Is it really that difficult to go through the logic of “there’s someone there so I’ll wait”. Because that’s all it is. The danger is often from folks on your immediate right. If there’s someone coming from your immediate right, wait. If they’re not coming, ask yourself why? There may well be a vehicle coming from their immediate right. Unless the roundabout is huge and you are still rolling, it’s highly unlikely you can emerge. But check for signals. If the traffic coming from their immediate right applies a left signal prior to your junction, then they’re leaving the roundabout. Have you now got a space?
Don’t complicate the issue and certainly don’t try and second guess the examiners take on your decision. You must decide based on your competence - cos that’s whats being tested. But the most basic rule of all : “if you’re going to make anyone slow down or stop, you’re wrong”. Stick to that and you really cant go wrong.
The issue is they’re all small roundabouts so it’s not just stuff on your immediate right as also traffic emerging from the road ahead will also be forced to slow if they’re turning right (as was the case on my fail) because a car will whip around a lot quicker.
The undue hesitation thing is the one thing that i found really difficult during training and test, by nature i’m a cautious and considerate and safe driver and that means i would probably wait longer at a roundabout than some others would, but then get marked down for it ! Now i know you have to keep going and not try to hold others up but on your test you are going to be nervous and probably more cautious when it come to that sort of thing and it is a natural reaction. After passing my c+e i brought the subject up with my examiner and he said " its natural to be nervous and be more cautious during a test and that is taken into consideration but not to the point that it compromises road safety" which is fair enough ! According to my instructor he said you cant be nervous and just get on with it! Which is bo@@cks ! Passed with 5 minors none for hesitation ! Its the sort of thing your dammed if you do and dammed if you dont sometimes !
Thanks everyone. Just to update I passed my C+E with two minors - one for taking a safety shunt on the reverse (I could’ve got it in first time but why risk it) and one for not overtaking a lorry on a dual carriageway which was doing about 20mph in a 40mph (lost I think) but I held back because I knew there was a roundabout coming up bit in hindsight I could’ve got around it in time.
All in all though a good drive, well chuffed with myself.
but I’ve been told the examiners don’t use that test route so much. You watch though, today will be the day lol
