So, last year my company decided to send all of us 12 lovely drivers on a DCPC course. We all groaned and moaned but the manager said ." It is at a skid pan or something !" So we all cheered !!
So we all piled in the mini the mini bus and Bruntingthorpe proving ground was our destination.
After coffee,bacon roll and our particulars checked it was off to the classroom.We all sat and watched videos of German trucks performing emergency stops with drivers that had huge mustaches and not a Hi Viz in site . We were then all lectured on the dangers of roll over and transfer weight difficulties,ABS, over-steer,under-steer and all sorts of other stuff.
We then went outside to the practical part of the courseâŚ
As there were 12 of us we were split into two groups ⌠one group started with trying to tip the tanker over and my group was left to what can only be described as âhooningâ down a wet piece of plastic at 30mph then slamming on the brakes !! Two of the trucks were of the newer type FH and FM models from Volvo all fitted with I-shift ABS,ASR and god knows what else âŚThe other truck was still a volvo but a LHD FM Volvo Manual with all the ABS features removed ⌠Great fun !!
Here are some pics of the day âŚ
I must say it was the best training i have ever received!! Next year we are doing a similar thing at Volvo in Warick ⌠cant wait !
Silver_Surfer:
Now, if all the CPC courses were like that rather than some blow hard telling you stuff you already know then itâd actually get a thumbs up from me.
1
I actually fell asleep in mine yesterday, only a nano second, but I did nod
That is what you call an investment, this country needs more business to do this
I have a photo of the rest of the drivers walking off the skidpan and every one of them is smiling. I it really was brilliant. I also took some in cab video but I feel the language will probably get this thread locked!!
We had a âseniorâ driver yesterday who runs (in a loose term) his own skip business. Everytime the trainer threw up a scenario, this olâ duffer had experienced it. Either one for an RDC waiting room or he ran Frank Spencer Waste Disposal. If it hadnât been for his âparticipationâ, weâdve gone home at 2pm. I didnât know whether this guy made it an enjoyable day, or wasted our time.
had a day doing the same course at Buntingthorpe a few years ago - and I have to say it opened my eyes especially on low speed turnovers- its a high value course and while not the cheapest if you have to have training- its one you should consider
That is what you call an investment, this country needs more business to do this
I have a photo of the rest of the drivers walking off the skidpan and every one of them is smiling. I it really was brilliant. I also took some in cab video but I feel the language will probably get this thread locked!!
Went through a similar course years ago when drove tankers in London.Got to say todayâs vehicles are a lot more stable and far better balanced.
Years later I trained military on skid vehicles using skid frames made in Sweden.The majority of the training was done on cars and land rovers but we also used Bedford TMs .
One of the videos we used to show during the theory lesson before the practical was presented by Chris Goffey from top gear and I always remember his advice.
The best way to control a skid is not to get into one in the first place.
Once that TM oversteered there was no way you could regain control.
The police also did skid training and they reckoned someone that had been skid trained was more likely to have an accident than someone who had not!
Silver_Surfer:
Now, if all the CPC courses were like that rather than some blow hard telling you stuff you already know then itâd actually get a thumbs up from me.
1
I actually fell asleep in mine yesterday, only a nano second, but I did nod
I would be asleep longer than thatâŚzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz maybe longerâŚ
