I’m currently preparing myself to take my LGV C test sometime in September after driving cars and vans for years. This may be a help in picking up the handling of a lorry more quickly than a less experienced driver - but over the years bad habits have crept into my driving. These include driving with one hand on the wheel, crossing my arms on the steering and sometimes steering with only one hand in vehicles with a flat steering wheel. I won’t mention anything about mirrors… oops:
I suppose this is to be expected but I know that this will have my instructor jumping - not to mention a huge collection of minors on the test.
Have tried over the last few weeks driving in a much more disciplined manner - but I soon forget after a few minutes.
How do I knock these habits on the head until I pass?
SuperLez:
This is perhaps an unusual problem on this forum.
I’m currently preparing myself to take my LGV C test sometime in September after driving cars and vans for years. This may be a help in picking up the handling of a lorry more quickly than a less experienced driver - but over the years bad habits have crept into my driving. These include driving with one hand on the wheel, crossing my arms on the steering and sometimes steering with only one hand in vehicles with a flat steering wheel. I won’t mention anything about mirrors… oops:
I suppose this is to be expected but I know that this will have my instructor jumping - not to mention a huge collection of minors on the test.
Have tried over the last few weeks driving in a much more disciplined manner - but I soon forget after a few minutes.
How do I knock these habits on the head until I pass?
By constantly practicing them on every drive you do - it is down to your own self discipline. Try commentating out loud on what you should be doing.
Your instructor will keep reminding you as to what you should be doing but you can progress faster if you have less bad habits at the start of your training.
MIRRORS (both of them) before you do anything
try looking at this post trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=23857
GETTING RID OF BAD HABITS especially before LGV or any other driver training for a licence upgrade.
Fairly cheap and takes about 6 months mainly practiced in your own time in all the vehicles you drive - an advanced driving course with ROSPA or the IAM or similar.
SuperLez:
This is perhaps an unusual problem on this forum.
I’m currently preparing myself to take my LGV C test sometime in September after driving cars and vans for years. This may be a help in picking up the handling of a lorry more quickly than a less experienced driver - but over the years bad habits have crept into my driving. These include driving with one hand on the wheel, crossing my arms on the steering and sometimes steering with only one hand in vehicles with a flat steering wheel. I won’t mention anything about mirrors… oops:
I suppose this is to be expected but I know that this will have my instructor jumping - not to mention a huge collection of minors on the test.
Have tried over the last few weeks driving in a much more disciplined manner - but I soon forget after a few minutes.
How do I knock these habits on the head until I pass?
By constantly practicing them on every drive you do - it is down to your own self discipline. Try commentating out loud on what you should be doing.
Your instructor will keep reminding you as to what you should be doing but you can progress faster if you have less bad habits at the start of your training.
MIRRORS (both of them) before you do anything
try looking at this post trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=23857
A tremendous thread! Will set my internal mirror to night setting first thing tomorrow!
Amazing that most of this can be practiced in your car. But I do realise that taking LGV positions at roundabouts and junctions may just be going a little bit too far!
Thanks for this! Hopefully my instructor will be able to focus on teaching me how to drive LGVs as opposed to rapping me on the knuckles every two seconds about some silly mistake brought on by years of bad habit forming!
ROG:
GETTING RID OF BAD HABITS especially before LGV or any other driver training for a licence upgrade.
Fairly cheap and takes about 6 months mainly practiced in your own time in all the vehicles you drive - an advanced driving course with ROSPA or the IAM or similar.
Will view this as preparation for an advanced driving test sometime next year. I don’t think that I’m a bad driver - it’s just all the sloppy habits I’ve picked up over time that are a matter of concern.
Amazing that most of this can be practiced in your car. But I do realise that taking LGV positions at roundabouts and junctions may just be going a little bit too far!
This is designed to get you looking at lane markings which you will need to plan for when driving LGV.
ROG:
This is designed to get you looking at lane markings which you will need to plan for when driving LGV.
This is a good point - but of course I’ll only really appreciate this fully when I actually start my training. This is of course the type of thing that a trainee LGV driver has to be taught - and why LGV instructors exist. Until I see this for myself from the driver’s seat I cannot really comment on this.
Most of what your excellent thread applies to car driving as much as it does to the handling of LGVs however - this I do know from experience.
tobytyke:
I found it fairly difficult but managed it in the end, get yer speed off, push/pull, miror mirror mirror - cracked it
The push pull part is going to be a problem for me. Most of my poor habits seem to be steering related.
I imagine that it would be much harder to avoid crossing hands on LGVs though - the steering would surely be far heavier than that of a car and the push pull method may well not give full control, especially on the reversing exercise.
Will start serious MSM work from the LGV perspective tomorrow in my car.
The steering isn’t that heavy generally, some are heavier than a modern car certainly but often they are just as light…it’s the amount of steering you have to do that makes it a bit harder.
Without wanting to subvert the whole purpose of the thread I often reverse one of our lorries (fairly big rigid) with my left hand (which is my weak hand) and my right arm on the open window. Now that’s a bad habit.
I dont think the examiner is studying your steering methods whilst reversing is he? I mean, I had head out of window and back in again checking mirrors etc and never gave a thought to my steering. The rigid I learnt in didnt have remotely heavy steering. My car is out of action, I borrowed a corsa without PAS from work today, thats far heavier!
Andyroo:
The steering isn’t that heavy generally, some are heavier than a modern car certainly but often they are just as light…it’s the amount of steering you have to do that makes it a bit harder.
Without wanting to subvert the whole purpose of the thread I often reverse one of our lorries (fairly big rigid) with my left hand (which is my weak hand) and my right arm on the open window. Now that’s a bad habit.
As with any slow maneouvering, backwards or forwards, the way you steer is not the priority - it is the ability to stop quickly under control.
At higher speeds, both hands should be on the wheel when braking and steering. Gear selection should be done before the hazard and the left hand moved to the gearstick WHEN the gear needs changing and not resting on the stick in anticipation of the change.
The PULL/push method at speed is the safest way of steering and is easy if you use ALL the wheel, keeping the hands level at all times. If you put an imaginary line vertically down the centre of the wheel and keep the left hand on the left side and right hand to the right, starting each move with a PULL then it is easier. Keep the hands level at all times and let them meet at the 12 o clock & 6 o clock positions - this utilises the whole of the steering wheel.
Whilst one hand has the grip on the wheel, the other is level and sliding along the wheel to meet it at the aforesaid positions.
This method of steering is as quick as rotational steering (crossing the hands) once mastered, and will always leave you the option to steer more to the way you are going or reverse the steering at any time under safe control.
It is what you learnt to do once before when you took your car test.
i have a 1990 ford ■■■■■■ xr3i and i found by accident that when practicing the push pull it was easier to drive (no power steering) I now always drive like that. even after passing my test i found it easier.
i was told by my instructor that i had to maintain the push pull throughout the reversing manuver.
I ripped out the middle mirror and chucked it on the back seat where it remained until i passed.
One of the posts above suggests doing a commentary as you drive along, this helps a lot and allows your brain to remember.
You wont be able to practice everything until you start lessons but i will say one thing. the more you practice, the less time your instructor will have to spend trying to get you to do basics, and the more time he can dedicate to getting your head around the more difficult aspects of driving a truck.
