Hi Just thought I would pass on my thoughts on becoming a trucker.I spent 20 years as a driving instructor (cars) lost the plot one day and got a job at Royal mail driving 7.5 t cushy job after 2 years at this i thought try class 2 so this year I booked a course at Ritchies in Glasgow did 4 days then the test 2 minors (rush of blood to the head at the start of test almost tried to go thru a gap that was too small) . After a couple of months of hard saving did the class 1 same place 5 minors passed. The instuctors I had were top notch Davis and Raymond on class 2 and Pat on class 1 After watching the other drivers on the course none of them had prepared for it not a clue about highway code didnt listen to the instructor. The instructors expect you to have road sense and slag you if you make a mistake but if they see you are putting the effort in its not a problem I have worked a few days with an agency plenty class 2 no class 1 but with Christmas nearly here Royal Mail have given me a 4 week contract on class1 starting Tuesday . Passed the assesment for it took about 10 shunts to get in the loading bay but guy said practice makes perfect. Let yous know how it goes
Hello and welcome 
Look forward to hearing how the class 1 job goes.
Welcome to TrucknetUK snaed 
The instructors expect you to have road sense and slag you if you make a mistake but if they see you are putting the effort in its not a problem
Oh, how I wish they all had road sense before the course 
Welcome, and without wishing to be intrusive, what moved you away from your ADI work. I’m sure it wasn’t a failure to pass the HPT.
Whilst I haven’t followed the ADI forums for a couple of years (or so), the MSA and UKDIC forums. It was apparent even then, that there were, in many areas, an excess of ADI’s, and rates were being artificially held down. Together with, of course, social demographic changes that meant school leavers/university entrants were viewing the ‘need to drive’ as a luxury to be gained later in life.
We all see these adverts for ‘The Instructors College’ - earn £30 - 40,000 a year.
Even basic research suggests that that is only for the lucky.
I’d appreciate your thoughts on the subject.
welcome
as I was once told the reversing part You will find your own way of doing it, youve just gotta work it out for your self.
I still have my ADI licence to teach. The reason I gave it up as a full time job are that so many people thought it was an easy way to get rich were under cutting the going rate and did not have a real passion for the job. But more than anything else I became so frustrated with people that thought after 5 lessons they could sit a test and pass but were a danger on the road. The same problem will creep into hgv training : £ 2,000 and you will be a trucker
snaed:
I spent 20 years as a driving instructor (cars)After a couple of months of hard saving did the class 1 same place 5 minors passed.
congratulations on finally learning to drive
sorry but i DO NOT like driving instructors. all they do is contribute more morons into the road network who dont know what they are doing. from my observations, their driving standard is no better than the average car driving numpty. admittedly there are exceptions but there are exceptions to every rule
good luck with your proper driving job 
snaed:
I still have my ADI licence to teach. The reason I gave it up as a full time job are that so many people thought it was an easy way to get rich were under cutting the going rate and did not have a real passion for the job. But more than anything else I became so frustrated with people that thought after 5 lessons they could sit a test and pass but were a danger on the road. The same problem will creep into hgv training : £ 2,000 and you will be a trucker
Thats a valid point, unfortunately people are advertising that now. For a grand you can become a trucker.
hole and arses come to mind
Wheel Nut:
snaed:
I still have my ADI licence to teach. The reason I gave it up as a full time job are that so many people thought it was an easy way to get rich were under cutting the going rate and did not have a real passion for the job. But more than anything else I became so frustrated with people that thought after 5 lessons they could sit a test and pass but were a danger on the road. The same problem will creep into hgv training : £ 2,000 and you will be a truckerThats a valid point, unfortunately people are advertising that now. For a grand you can become a trucker.
hole and arses come to mind
I suppose it should say - For a grand there is a good possibility that you can pass the LGV test and MOVE a lorry without hitting anything - I think that would be more realistic
Expanding the discussion further, as an ADI, probaly using Industrial Estates, as many ADI’s do, did you utilise the opportunity to observe and explain the turning characteristics of HGV’s to your pupils?
Or is that something that you have since become more aware of?
‘Learners’ on Estates can become a PITA to some people. However, I have always adopted the attitude that if the ADI is also teaching them about larger vehicles, then, ultimately, we all beneifit.
I’ve been held up by pupils reverse parking. Normally it is only a minute or so.
TIR. The same. And if the pupil appears competent, then I’ll ‘tip the wink’ to the Instructor, rev the engine, and move a bit closer. After all. If it’s something likely to be encountered On Test, then why not replicate it beforehand.
Expanding the discussion further, as an ADI, probaly using Industrial Estates, as many ADI’s do, did you utilise the opportunity to observe and explain the turning characteristics of HGV’s to your pupils?
I normally only used ind estates to start people driving in a straight line and doing the first right and left turns, and at that stage in most peoples driving you can sit and explain what an hgv is doing and how much road it will take up but normally it goes in one ear and out the other. Every pupil I taught was told the same story about not trusting HGV expect the unexpected I had one of my cars written off when an artic decided to turn left from the right hand lane on a dual carriageway in a line of traffic queing at a roundabout we were in the left lane going straight he turned left and ripped the side of the car his reason was he was indicating left. Poor guy got done with it. TIR I would normally do this in a housing estate, too much hassle in ind estates