If you want to voice an opinion on taking tests in an auto etc etc this is the consultation paper from the govt. You have till the 26th aug to have some input.
I notice that if you take a test in an auto, you will be given a manual licence, to me that is wrong, should be like a car, a licence should be given for the type of vehicle you take your test in. One of the reasons for auto transmission in a truck, was to help the industry with its driver shortage. As you know there have been so many different gearbox characteristics, people would often play tunes on them ( didnt we all ) so with the introduction of the auto box, it solved many issues. There are still a great deal of manual boxes, so theres no reason why a driver cannot take his test in one, and just like the car industry, there is a choice ( £1000 difference on average ) a lot more i believe for a truck.
truckyboy:
I notice that if you take a test in an auto, you will be given a manual licence, to me that is wrong, should be like a car, a licence should be given for the type of vehicle you take your test in. One of the reasons for auto transmission in a truck, was to help the industry with its driver shortage.
Disagree. Most driving a truck drive a manual car so using a clutch isn’t a problem. The last wagon I drove with a crash box was 10 years ago so double clutching isn’t really a requirement and given that many HGV driving schools use 6 speed boxes on rigids with no split or range change, gear changing is not much different to driving a car.
The reasons for auto boxes was more to do with fuel economy and emissions than helping an industry with driver shortages. Many drivers simply changed gear way too late thus turning diesel into smoke instead of using it the most effeciently.
Conor:
given that many HGV driving schools use 6 speed boxes on rigids with no split or range change, gear changing is not much different to driving a car.
Could be wrong, but I believe the rules changed a few years back and vehicles for a cat C test have to have a minimum of 8 forward gears now.
The test should be took in an eaton TWINSPLITTER with no singing or dancing on the gearbox! 
any crunch = failure 
then truck drivers pay = £25 an hour! 
ENDEX
Most new drivers take their test with a manual gearbox since that allows them to drive all available types. This means that when they turn up on their first job, they have little or no idea how to drive the truck properly and get the best out of the auto box.
The alternative would be to have a separate test for auto boxes, so I think that this is a step in the right direction.
AJF3011:
Conor:
given that many HGV driving schools use 6 speed boxes on rigids with no split or range change, gear changing is not much different to driving a car.Could be wrong, but I believe the rules changed a few years back and vehicles for a cat C test have to have a minimum of 8 forward gears now.
Yep, that was the case last time I checked up on it.
Even the schools that use 12 tonners that look like 7.5’s, still have to have a split box on them, daft really, as there’s no requirement for the driver to use every ratio. They just leave them in high range, as they’ll pull away in 5th.
Farcical really
I think it would be fair to bring rigids down to 6 gears as they must be bloody hard to get hold of with and split but artics should definitely be range change and split.
Although saying that i believe they should get rid of the class 2 test and people should be able to go straight to class 1 but spend a minimum of say 25hours driving in one before being able to take the test.
Conor:
truckyboy:
I notice that if you take a test in an auto, you will be given a manual licence, to me that is wrong, should be like a car, a licence should be given for the type of vehicle you take your test in. One of the reasons for auto transmission in a truck, was to help the industry with its driver shortage.Disagree. Most driving a truck drive a manual car so using a clutch isn’t a problem. The last wagon I drove with a crash box was 10 years ago so double clutching isn’t really a requirement and given that many HGV driving schools use 6 speed boxes on rigids with no split or range change, gear changing is not much different to driving a car.
The reasons for auto boxes was more to do with fuel economy and emissions than helping an industry with driver shortages. Many drivers simply changed gear way too late thus turning diesel into smoke instead of using it the most effeciently.
Conor I think you will find it is a requirement for training schools to have a minimum of 8 speed.
some may find this interesting…