Well…
Last week I went to the test centre to complete my Module 4 CPC. With a few hours traning that morning I was feeling relativly confident that if I just relaxed and stayed calm I would be ok. I knew everything anyway, its all common sense, just rememebr to say enough for him to tick all the boxes.
Firstly I made a complete fool of myself by sitting in the passanger seat when he asked me to get in the truck, he just looked at me, then i moved over in to the centre seat before he suggested that i come out and sit in the drivers seat. It sounds so silly to type it all here now, but i realised then just how nervous I was.
Licence check done the first question was about carrying role cages and demonstrate the use of the tensioner bar… Happy days I thought, nice and easy… not!!! The one we practiced on that morning was the first time id ever seen one of these bars up close or held one. Id seen their operation on youtube videos, and practiced successfully that morning; I walked confidently upto the trolley and selected the bar. I butted both ends of the bar up against both sides of the trolley and went to flick the bar over, it got just less than half way and wouldnt budge. cue a stream of four letter words running through my head!!! I readjusted my stance and position thinking it was a little stiff and needed more effort, that didn’t work, I checked the catch to ensure it wasnt preventing it from moving, i could not work out how to fully secure this bar in place, the examiner had to show me what to do… I needed to leave a small gap at one side for the bar to “expand” and fit into position, the way i had been doing it was effectivly pushing the sides of the trolley out. Unique to that particular bar or not I dont know, but I knew geting the examiner to show me how to do it was NOT a good thing.
The second lecture i got was about my seatbelt. I staretd the vehicle to check brakes and speedo etc etc and didn’t put my seatbelt on, he gave me this long speil about how importanrt it was to always have the seat belt on. I was going about 3yds at tick over speed, off the public highway… but I agreed and humbly put my seat belt on. Btw, I always wear my seatbelt when driving.
The next ■■■■ up was on the walk round check, I mentioned everything correctly about tyres except to check that they were properly inflated, he pressed me and pressed me on this and i couldnt think what else I had to say untill it came into my head at the last second. Also on the walk round check, I for some inexplicable reason took the keys with me, which meant that my headlights were not on, i was concentrating so much on my speech that i didnt even notice, and was prompted and guided once again by the examiner, and then rememember I had checked my brake lights.
I know all this stuff, I practice it daily in my van driving days, I positivly HATE having a vehicle with so much as a marker light out, and always check everything, but in this test enviroment I just fell too peices and made a complete and utter ■■■■ up of it. I even apologised to the examiner!!!
I passed… just with 85% he probably knew that I knew what i was talking about, but I think he just didnt wanna be subjected to that again!!!
So… if you’re an examiner reading this, and recognise it… sorry!!!
