Took my 1 hour assessment for HGV and i want to be clear myself because it was hard to understand him as most of you know am Deaf. i hope you can correct me if am wrong, want to get myself clear
I asked him if i must put the handbrake on at every time i stop at red light or giveaway just like i i had to for my driving test in 2009
A: No dont need to use handbrake at all and i can even put the gear in 3 even at red light waiting to move off. no handbrake at all?
He said to move off i need to put the gear in 3 and then high gear 5, 6 7 and 8 just like car but when slow down like giveaway, roundabout put the gear in 5 or 3 if i had to stop, Is this correct? Its like Gear 3 is gear 1 for cars and 5 is 2, etc?
Question is What gear low gear 1 and 2 for?? because i start with gear 3
1st gear would rarely be used at all. That’s for a fully loaded truck pulling away on a steep gradient. 2nd gear would generally be used most when loaded. Depending on the setup and ratio for.the truck your training in then 3rd could well.be the appropriate gear for the weight you are carrying. 3rd to 5th is normal (block changing) just the same as you might go 2nd to 4th if you pull away in second.
With regards the handbrake - my instructor always told me that of you have time to wonder if you should put the handbrake on then it should be on. You may not fail for not using it but if you roll because you don’t use it that would be a serous fault and a fail. It’s not a bad practice to get in the habit of either. With regard keeping it in gear at a red light - if your 1st at the lights then yes. If you have other vehicles in front of you then you have plenty of time to select a gear before you start moving. It’s also good to rest your legs.
Hi mzeros. My trainer always told me put handbrake on at lights. And on up hill start .traffic Lights etc where i had drove. Gears i never used 1st or 2nd. As explained above only for full loads. Hill starts 3rd. Straights 4th. Downhill start 5th. I always stuck with what i was told an it stuck with me… you will get use to it ive my c+e now 4 months and still havent no work . Any how hope that helped bud. Good luck
General rule - if a stop is more than 2 or 3 seconds then apply hand brake
I am not sure that communication between you and your instructor is quite there because it seems very odd that an instructor would say not to bother using it
I teach this pretty much the same as Paul at Elmet. When stopping at traffic lights I like the candidate to engage the moving away gear before applying the parking brake. In fact even before fully stopping. This way he is more ready to proceed if the lights change to green in the middle of gear changing and applying parking brake. It also eliminates the possibility of applying the handbrake while still rolling and locking the brakes dead.
As Paul says the delay on the parking brake releasing is useful for hill starts but a pain if trying to get away sharply into a gap at a roundabout or road junctions. Unless the roundabout has an uphill approach and we stop we never use it.
Different trainers will have slight variations on this method but it doesn’t mean they are wrong, just slightly different.
I am partly deaf ( totally in left ear ) I cant wear a hearing aid or anything so know a bit how you feel
I was taught alway apply hand break when stopped at red lights this will help you stop rolling back ( that will fail you test ) 3rd or 4th to move off then up to high for 5 6 7 8 when slowing then back down gears although you can now block change
But as has already been said above
IIRC there is a post on here about gears cant remember who dont it mind
i onto my 2 day off class 2 training and hes wanting me to pull off at 2nd to 4th into 5th 6th and 7th then 8th yesterday i done reversing he sed thats no worry for your test then came the road my arse just dropped some was ok others was just bad going over kerbs the lot hopefully better today,…
I teach virtually the same as Paul and John. The only extra I put in is to apply the park brake if there is a pedestrian in front of you eg on a crossing or a junction. That secures the vehicle totally and nothing can really happen to the person no matter what mistake you might make.
There is little need to use the park brake unless you’re stood for a good length of time; the argument for it is to stop the brake lights glaring at the guy behind. Remember, it’s called a PARK brake not a "STOP FOR A LITTLE WHILE brake.
The advanced driving organisations which LGV virtually is in all but name also state that blazing brake lights when stopped for more than a few seconds is not deemed to be good practice - generally its down to drivers being lazy
ROG:
The advanced driving organisations which LGV virtually is in all but name also state that blazing brake lights when stopped for more than a few seconds is not deemed to be good practice - generally its down to drivers being lazy
being mainly a night driver I have to admit that pulling behind someone at lights on a hill and they have foot on brake until ready to go at lights does get a bit on my nerves as nothing worse than driving with red lights seared into ya retainers , especially with the amount of red lights on rear vehs these days got to admit tho is mainly car drivers that do this but does annoy me a bit as takes seconds to release a brake not gonna lose any time
. Any how hope that helped bud. Good luck 
