On the DSA test it is an instant fail to put the trailer wheels onto a kerb unless deliberately planned due to extreme tight circumstances. We all know that in ‘real life’ there are the occasional mishaps so I was wondering… "how many artic drivers on here misjudge slightly when, perhaps, they over relax and go over the kerb edge "
I would imagine that if it did happen then it would be more likely in an area of few hazards rather than, say, in the middle of town.
The only reason I ask is that I was trying to gauge how realistic the DSA LGV test is on this kerbing issue. As one poster said recently that they failed for going over one kerb (I’m assuming that it was just over the edge and not taking out 3 feet of the pavement or grass verge) but got very little minors.
I do realise that the on road drive for the artic only lasts about 50 mins and a driver on test should be able to avoid the kerbs for that time but with nerves playing a large part in most tests then these things do happen as the driver, although alert, is not in a relaxed driving frame of mind as most of us are when we are driving.
Ah, but on the test the trainees are not experienced enough to convince the examiner that " I meant to do that" that skill comes with years of practice, like I meant to have 3 shunts to get on that bay, we can make it look natural
But apart from that there are quite a few deliveries that need you to mount kerbs.
Wheel Nut:
Ah, but on the test the trainees are not experienced enough to convince the examiner that " I meant to do that" that skill comes with years of practice, like I meant to have 3 shunts to get on that bay, we can make it look natural
But apart from that there are quite a few deliveries that need you to mount kerbs.
I should have made it clear that I was not talking about a ‘deliberate’ action but a very slight misjudgement on the trainees part.
There have been instances on test where the trainee has told the examiner in advance that the wheels will go over the kerb due to the tightness of the turn because, say, there are roadworks which have over tightened it and in such cases the examiner has not marked any fault.
i was in newport, isle of wight last year with a low loader and 22ton machine on its back when i caught a kerb 2 50p wheels and 2 knackerd tyres, boss wasnt to impressed when i rang him to get ATS out
Anyone that comes on here and posts saying they never kerb are liars.
As you say Rog, a momentary lapse in concentration, complacency, call it what you want, IT HAPPENS
For me it’s mostly in town centres where I haven’t delivered to before where the map shows you to turn left. No matter how well you think you’ve set yourself up on approach, the unexpected is always literally just round the corner. e.g. parked car, skip etc. Although I do admit the odd r/about catches me out a bit
Examiner at Derby used to have a special test route for anyone he wanted a special excuse to fail (cocky type).
At one island, you were told to take the first exit, however, it was impossible not to clip the kerb unless you did a lap of the island and attacked it more ‘straight on’.
Know a couple that failed it and one that had the foresight to do a full lap.
Although sometimes unavoidible I really try not to clip kerbs, because the truck has belly lockers and covers over the trailer wheels and clipping a kerb can result in more than damaging the tyres.
i was told on my lessons (a while back ) that if you stop and inform the examiner that you are going to mount/kiss the kurb they look and with their cocky arrogance say ok continue it isnt a failure
When I started driving in this country after 20 years on the continent, I was amazed at the tightness of some of the roads.
Some of them appear to be designed for nothing larger than a 7.5 tonner.
OK, so towns are a different matter, but the tightness of some roundabouts on dual carriageways, for example, is laughable.
It is sometimes impossible to avoid putting the axles over the kerb when driving an artic onto a roundabout, if you want to avoid kissing Mondeo Man steaming along on the offside.
The road planners in this country seem to have no concept of the amount of room required by a LGV. As a consequence, they continue to design roads with ridiculously tight corners, misplaced traffic islands, etc.
These are then promptly trashed due to LGVs being unable to negotiate the road satisfactorily.
The resulting mess is then either left as it is, as a shining example of British highways engineering, or some remedial work will be carried out, at the taxpayers’ expense, to rectify a problem that should never have occurred in the first place with proper planning.
One road round here is a ‘designated wide/long load route’. They have just put two islands on it that are bloody hard work in a normal 13.6 trailer. I rang the council and asked why they were so tight and the guy didn’t even know it was a long load route.
DoYouMeanMe?:
Examiner at Derby used to have a special test route for anyone he wanted a special excuse to fail (cocky type).
At one island, you were told to take the first exit, however, it was impossible not to clip the kerb unless you did a lap of the island and attacked it more ‘straight on’.
Know a couple that failed it and one that had the foresight to do a full lap.
They’ve got something similar on the Wakefield test route out of Paddy Green. If you get Phil Grundy he takes you through the centre of the Wakefield via Ings Road, left at the ■■■■■ up Denby Dale Road, and then a sharp left on the 1:4 hill onto George Street which is “slip” road no wider than a Transit van and a 110 degree turn. Apparently it’s the single most failure point on that Paddy Green test route and only about 5% of testees make it.
I think the examiners should use their common sense though instead of adopting the zero tolerance approach. There’s a big difference between going over the kerb with the trailer wheels because you can’t be arsed waiting for the traffic to move, and going over the kerb because no matter how much road you take, you physically can’t get round without either the unit haven’t to mount the kerb or the trailer.
I drive a 16ft high double deck trailer and the last thing you want to do is kerb that.
I can’t actually remember the last time I have clipped a kerb TBH. There’s the odd time where a corner has been so tight or restrictions have meant a blatant mounting of the kerb to get round but not clipping one by accident - it’s been a deliberate act.
There was a street where I did my training where you had to take a bit of the pavement every time you went round it.
It was a pretty narrow street to start with then you had cars parked in akward places as well.
There was a VW Polo always parked on the tightest corner.
Got trapped against it a couple of times,got told by the trainer if I did it on test I would fail.
Easy enough to correct,just reverse back a bit,couldn’t see why it was an instant fail.
theres a good example of this on the A6096 going into ilkeston from the south, i came across it after I ran from the TDG place at west Hallam.
up hill, Left hand bend, and a massively kerbed island in the middle
I didn’t cross any kerbs when I took my HGV1, but I did hit another vehicle… and passed the test
I was ascending a hill and another HGV was coming down the hill, I slowed down to a crawl (excellent demonstration of gear changing ), I kept as close to the verge as possible, but the other HGV hit my mirror and slammed it in through the window (which was fortunately open). I kept going and pulled in at the top of the hill, adjusted the mirror, and carried on being careful not to look at the examiner.
At the end of the test, after being told I had passed I asked the examiner why he didn’t fail me for striking another vehicle. He said I did exactly what he would have expected of a professional driver
Rob K:
They’ve got something similar on the Wakefield test route out of Paddy Green. If you get Phil Grundy he takes you through the centre of the Wakefield via Ings Road, left at the ■■■■■ up Denby Dale Road, and then a sharp left on the 1:4 hill onto George Street which is “slip” road no wider than a Transit van and a 110 degree turn. Apparently it’s the single most failure point on that Paddy Green test route and only about 5% of testees make it.
TBF it’s part of a published test route (route 2 - click here) so an instructor is neglecting his duty to the pupil if he hasn’t taken them round the particularly difficult portions of the test time and time again to drill them in it.
If he has, and they fail, then tough luck aint it.
If so many fail on that route for the same reason there’s good reason for the instructors to lobby the DSA to have it removed or reviewed, or circumnavigated.
The routes CAN be changed - the grimsby ones were after local resident complaints of trucks going past a school at chucking out time (it was flippin dangerous, I had to do it on mine - but my instructor had me practicing that road at tipping out time every day to make sure I didn’t get fazed by it).
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