Hi All,
I’m a newbie to the site & from what I’ve read over the past few weeks sound useful & also a bit of a laugh at times.
Anyway, as I said, I’m currently planning taking my Cat 2 in about 12 months (long time you say) the reason I want to do this & tell me if I’m wrong.
I’ve got 6 dreaded points on my license & these will expire Dec 16, to go with this I don’t really have much disposable cash for the training, what I do have on my side is that I work at a small airport which allows my to drive 11,000 litre rigid bowser & 28,000 litre artic (as on the airport, I don’t need the Cat 1 or 2, the bonus is that when its quiet in the evenings, I can potter around driving & practicing as much as I want.
Now what I plan doing is taking it in small bits, what I’d like advice on is am I going down the right track & in the right order:
Medical - £50 ish
Provisional Cat C
Module 1a
Module 1b (am I right in thinking I only need to do these two as I got my driving lic back in 1994 ?)
Digital taco card (£32)
Finally the driver training & test.
I’ve been looking at a company called JLD in Oxfordshire, any advise/experience.
It’s true that 6 points aren’t handy so your timing is sensible IMO.
Normal advice to anyone is to have at least 2 assessment drives. These are often free. Gives you the opportunity to compare. Some trainers have their own test centre and this is a clear advantage. Some trainers are accredited by DVSA; the list is here dft.gov.uk/fyn/lgv.php
Ask questions about whether VAT is included, test fee included. Are the trainers qualified and on the DVSA register? (most aren’t as it’s not a legal requirement). Take a good look at the vehicles. Many are well past their best. You learn on a newish car. Why should it be made harder on a truck?
Thanks Pete for coming back so swift.
Agree about checking out the providers is important as to most people it’s quite a big investment to part with so getting it right is key.
My interest really is about the stages before the driving, modules etc, its really confusing on different sites.
Also most trainers out there offer “packages”, where I only want to do a bit at a time, so would only need the driving lessons & test.
I see you offer tacho training, good move as a lot of new drivers don’t really now how & why these are used.
Think the " packages" are from brokers which you should avoid like the plague
You will need
Medical
Theory & HPT
Practical driving & test
35 hours cpc training ( so you can drive on the roads for hire & reward )
Digi card ( this can be applied for at any time )
To expand on what animal said, technically there are two ways you can do it, if you passed your car test in 1994.
Medical
Theory & Hazard Perception (aka. CPC mod 1a and mod1b)
Practical driving & test (aka CPC part 3)
35 hours cpc training
Digi tacho card
…or…
Medical
Theory & Hazard Perception (aka. CPC module 1a and module 1b)
Theory case studies (aka CPC module 2)
Practical driving & test (aka CPC part 3)
Practical demo test (aka CPC part 4)
Digi tacho card
The difference is that you either do 2 extra tests (one similar to theory test and one short practical) which give you the initial CPC qualifications, or you do the 35 hours in the classroom which means you can skip these two extra tests. This choice ONLY applies because you’ve got a pre '97 licence.
Personally I’d go with the first one which although it takes a little longer is an awful lot less hassle and you can’t fail the 35 hours. OK, you can fall asleep in the classroom, but there are no exams which is always good.
Guys, thanks for the help, I think I will be going down the route of :
Medical
Theory & Hazard Perception (aka. CPC mod 1a and mod1b)
Practical driving & test (aka CPC part 3)
35 hours cpc training
Digi tacho card
Pete - I’ve had a look at your site, very good, I might take you up & be in touch soon.
One final thing that I’m not sure about; I intend to do some C1 work via an agency whilst saving up, these all seem to be advertising “digi card & cpc required” so am I able to get my digi card & do the 35 hrs CPC before I do the class 2 medical & road training ?
OK so taco card application & medical forms arrived today, card applied for & medical is going to wait till next month.
About a couple of weeks to wait for the card to return.
Meantime I’ve got to try & sort out 35 hrs CPC as want to do some 7.5t or C1 work.
Am I right in thinking there all about 50-80 quid per subject as on a budget.
The reason for the 7.5t or C1 work is to save for my C training.
Anyone done CPC hours in the Oxfordshire area ?
wilky423:
OK so taco card application & medical forms arrived today, card applied for & medical is going to wait till next month.
About a couple of weeks to wait for the card to return.
Turn around time about a week IIRC
Meantime I’ve got to try & sort out 35 hrs CPC as want to do some 7.5t or C1 work.
Am I right in thinking there all about 50-80 quid per subject as on a budget.
Sound about rightish
The reason for the 7.5t or C1 work is to save for my C training.
Anyone done CPC hours in the Oxfordshire area ?
Festivities over, tachocard back & medical booked for 13th Jan, hopefully get this out of the way & a provisional in my hand for the start of Feb.
Am I right in thinking that I need the provisional before booking a slot for module 1a ?
Put out some feelers with the agencies, to hopefully get some van work whilst the paperwork & tests go through.
One interesting email I got from a local haulier is that they sent me some paperwork to apply for there driver development scheme.
Basically you drive the local jobs in a 7.5 until & they put you through the C class & take the cost from your wages a month at a time, from what I can see once the cost of the training & test is done, that is the only “tie-in”.
Only downside to that scheme is if you take them up on the offer then find that the job is gash, you’ll either have to ■■■■ it up for however long it takes to pay them back or pay it back in one lump sum. Or, you could love the job and it was the best thing for you.
Have my provisional back now from DVLA & have been for an interview for the development driver scheme, it seems they give you the C1 jobs & CPC training for upto 1 year, thus giving you time with one of the C drivers to get some experience & take your test within the 12 months.
They provide the training & two attempts at the test.
The C1 pay is around the 8.00ph mark but with a couple of quid extra for after 6pm etc or before 6am starts, they were upfront about the C1 work saying its a lot of handballing on/off the tail lift etc & ■■■■■■■ around can happen.
I’m not worried about hard work as it will pay off in the end.
They seem a decent firm to work for, about 100 trucks in the fleet.
Fingers crossed something comes back soon, otherwise I’m gonna have to shell out for my CPC stuff.
I’ve got a quote from Scania MK at £75.00 per session (5x £75 = £375) but its about 25 mls each way, will it look any better on my CV if its done by Scania rather than Joe Bloggs ?
Fingers crossed something comes back soon, otherwise I’m gonna have to shell out for my CPC stuff.
I’ve got a quote from Scania MK at £75.00 per session (5x £75 = £375) but its about 25 mls each way, will it look any better on my CV if its done by Scania rather than Joe Bloggs ?
Cheers
Steve.
Nope as all they will see it that you have CPC
I paid a lot less than £75 for mine & was less than 25min each way
Cheers Animal, I cant find much locally, but all around that mark.
To be honest as I’m going to be doing my C eventually, I think I’ll do the initial way.
wilky423:
Have my provisional back now from DVLA & have been for an interview for the development driver scheme, it seems they give you the C1 jobs & CPC training for upto 1 year, thus giving you time with one of the C drivers to get some experience & take your test within the 12 months.
They provide the training & two attempts at the test.
The C1 pay is around the 8.00ph mark but with a couple of quid extra for after 6pm etc or before 6am starts, they were upfront about the C1 work saying its a lot of handballing on/off the tail lift etc & ■■■■■■■ around can happen.
I’m not worried about hard work as it will pay off in the end.
They seem a decent firm to work for, about 100 trucks in the fleet.
Fingers crossed something comes back soon, otherwise I’m gonna have to shell out for my CPC stuff.
I’ve got a quote from Scania MK at £75.00 per session (5x £75 = £375) but its about 25 mls each way, will it look any better on my CV if its done by Scania rather than Joe Bloggs ?
Cheers
Steve.
I know its irrelevant, but i live in mk and i never hear or see much of scania, every one round here seems to use ctt in Leighton Buzzard…( myself included) . Let us know how you’re experience goes with them,just curious ( and nosey hahaha)
Development driver thing going downhill, I called them up about my application.
The lady who interviewed me has now left the company, followed by a quick email from them to say that as I’ve got 9 on my license until May 16 (3 come off) then call us back then.
So without haste, I’ve decided to knuckle down, start saving & get my C before looking for any further work.
Module 1b is now booked for 18/2/16, I’ve narrowed my training down to two companies, JLD Abingdon or Scania Milton Keynes.
