Newbie Hello, and request for advice

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi all,

My first post here after lurking for a few weeks reading a lot of excellent advice from the experienced guys.

My background.
I have been in production engineering for the last 25 years ( now nearly 46 yrs old) and I am falling out of love with it.
Standing by a machine all day really does nothing for the motivation let alone job satisfaction.

I know that driving jobs can be stressful with time critical pressures, but that is just the same in engineering.

Anyway, I thought about moving into a driving job. First it will get me out of the same room I have been in for the last eleven years (the walls get boring to look at after the first six months ! ).
I do like driving and like the sound of a varied day where every day is different and meeting different people.

I passed my driving test back in 1987 and have the usual class B, BE, C1, C1E, D1, D1E, fklnp

Only driven cars (manual and auto) during all that time but have rode in large flatbeds and 7.5t’s as passenger a few times.

So I was thinking of taking training to obtain Class C whilst staying at my current job, then after qualifying I may start to look around for another job, this time in transport. I fancy seeing the countryside a bit more than a workshop.

I know whoever you ask regarding “I want to be a (driver, butcher, pilot, farmer) they will always say ‘you don’t want to do that’ but I would say that to anyone wanting to stand by a machine all day.

I am based in South Dorset and have researched companies local to me and have found about twenty within a 25 mile drive, so nothing to bad, I drive 8 mile to work now. So I have a few possibilities when qualified.

After researching a few LGV training companies I am leaning towards Wayside Transport in Ferndown as a primary candidate. I am thinking of contacting them this Friday in order to pay them a visit to chat about options.

Any advice, recommendations or even reviews on Wayside greatly appreciated.

2

i have seen there trucks but cant comment on there reputation im not far away from ferndown i used a1 roadcraft in salisbury and they good if you wanna ask me anything just ask away

3

Hi, and welcome to the forum. Sent you a pm.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

4

I say go for it!

Other than cars and the odd van hire I had never driven a HGV prior to taking lessons - I passed Cat C and Cat C+E this summer at 48 years of age and I have now been driving for a living for about 4 months… … and it’s best job I have had.

I am hoping the benefit of starting a career as a HGV driver at 48 is that I will be happily retired before the gloss has had the chance to wear off the job!!

5

Hi Rich, I’m Dorset based and recently decided on a career change. I have recently passed my class 2 and am currently undertaking my class 1 using a company called MSM Training Ltd in Wareham, they have been great in accommodating my needs, instructors are brilliant, very friendly and able to get the best out of you. They run a modern fleet of auto vehicles (why make it harder for yourself?). I find a good measure of a training company is if people go back for there class 1 and I had no hesitation in doing so.

Give Mark a call and he will be happy to go through your options, look them up on Facebook for reviews or feel free to ask if you require any more info.

Cheers and good luck

Kev

6

Thanks for the replies everyone, most interesting.

Kev, MSM Training Ltd was the first company that I found online, it is only about 35 mins up the road from me.

I guess they do not keep their wagons at their main office base in Wareham as its quite a small industrial estate.

You say " instructors " in plural, did you have one instructor for all your training or a different one each day?

But overall, after completing your Cat C (was this at MSM or another company) does the training you are receiving for your class 1 at MSM meet your expectations?

Oh and good luck with your class 1 training.

Rich.

7

If you Google Gregory Distribution ltd, they pay for your training on all types of vehicles.
Adr and Driver Cpc is paid for.

8

Hey Rich,

They have an office in poole but there yard where they keep there vehicles is on Wareham ind est and they have there own reversing area there too.

They keep you with the same instructor for the duration of the course 1 on 1 training, I used plural as I’ve had a different instructor for my cat 1…both equally good instructors.

I did complete my cat 2 and CPC (passed both first time) with MSM and couldn’t fault them, exceeded expectations and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them to friends and family.

Test on Friday so fingers crossed.

9

Hi all,

Just an update on where I am at.
I will not name training companies during this post but just ask for opinions on what sounds correct.

Company 1 says I need to;
Apply For Provisional Class 2 inc Medical Form
Book and take Mod 1 Theory & Hazard Perception
5 days of training + test Mod 3
Then take Mod 2 case studies followed by six hours training + test for Mod 4 practical test

I am told that this will provide me with Cat C (class 2) entitlement, and Driver CPC for 5 years ?

Company 2 says I need to;
Apply For Provisional Class 2 inc Medical Form
Book and take Mod 1 Theory & Hazard Perception
5 days of training + test Mod 3
Followed by 5 days of CPC to cover me for five years.
No requirement for me to do Mod 2 Case Studies & Mod 4 Practical Demonstration.

I could also go straight to them now and as I passed my car test in 1987 and gained the C1 entitlement just do the 5 days CPC and start driving from then on 7.5t’s professionally.

So, at the moment I am inclined to go with Company 2

Any thoughts on these two versions?

Rich.

10

Hi Rich,

I’m pretty sure you can do either, I choose to do mod 2 and mod 4 as it saved having to sit through 35 hours of training, it was cheaper and both tests were pretty straight forward.

I’d advise anyone to take that route if they have the choice.

11

Because you’ve got a pre 97 licence, you can do either the initial CPC which is the two tests or the 35 hours CPC training. This also works exactly the same for 7.5 tonne commercial driving.

Personally I would go for the 35 hours CPC training simply because for pre 97 licences only, the DVSA cause a lot of delays before you can even think about booking the CPC mod 2 test. I won’t bore you with the details, but it took me over a month just to be allowed to book the test after dealing with possibly the most incompetent government organisation in existence (aka DVSA).

I suspect Peter will be along to point out soon - if you pick the right company, you can get credits for your 35 hours CPC by doing your class 2 training. Most don’t seem to do this, but a few do.

12

I suspect Peter will be along to point out soon - if you pick the right company, you can get credits for your 35 hours CPC by doing your class 2 training. Most don’t seem to do this, but a few do.

Here I am!!

If these companies are local to you they are not DVSA Accredited. Your nearest, unfortunately, is in Essex with no-one bothering to become accredited in the SW. Great pity as it leaves you in the lap of the gods.

You don’t mention total costs with either. That would be interesting. Also is it 1:1 or 2? Registered instructors or licence holders sitting in the passenger seat? Anyone got a private driving test centre? How old are the trucks?

Very often, not enough questions asked to reach a proper decision.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

13

Hi all,

So, finding all this information out is driving me nuts, as most websites I look at are so out of date and their pages were written for the introduction of the compulsory CPC years ago and not updated since for new entrants.

From what I have read online I can;

Take Mod 1 Theory & Hazard
Take Mod 3 Tuition and Test
Take 35 hrs CPC training straight off to cover me for the five years ahead.

Company 2 above I believe hosts their own CPC in-house and is a provider of such.

Company 1 says they have “CPC periodic training in our classrooms throughout the South of England” which I am wary of.

So as I cannot find a definitive answer, even on the DVSA website I am going with the Mod 1, Mod 3, CPC 35 HRs route to professional driving?

Want to get things moving, so do you experienced guys agree?

Rich.

14

Yes. But look carefully at the cost.

Our offer is £1215 for full residential course with free cpc. Pay deposit before 23rd Dec and get entry into prize draw - - the prize is a free course.

You’ll struggle to get even close to that deal.

Pete :laughing: :laughing:

15

Rich - purely based on what each company has said, I would say the company 2 option would be the one I’d personally chose if I was doing it all again (would have saved me at least a month of waiting around).

However, as he also mentions you do need to check the companies carefully as not all are created equally and not all charge within sensible amounts. I’d say having looked into it prior to getting my class 2 recently that very few if any will charge less than Peter, especially when you factor in that CPC is around £500 on its own and it’s usually around £1300 for training without that elsewhere!

One thing that really worries me about company 1 is the “all over the south west” idea. Really not too sure how many companies have that many bases, so they sound like a broker and thus don’t actually provide the training themselves - essentially you’re going to pay them a fee, then the driving instructor gets a much smaller fee and well, it’s a race to the bottom then.

Purely based on recent experience I would say your best bet would be:

  • Do medical and send off for provisional
  • Mod 1a and 1b (theory and hazard)
  • Mod 3 (training and test)
  • Periodic 35 hours CPC.

Then you can look forward to when your DCPC and driving licence come back (like mine did today). :slight_smile:

16

Rich, having done my Class 2 with Peter Smythe Transport Training I would highly recommend this company, you also get free accommodation, free cpc and get entered into a prize draw. Trucks are new too.

17

Hi all,

Many thanks for the replies and advice, most appreciated.

I know this thread is dragging on, but I just want to do things right.

I read this earlier online regarding CPC;
“If you are a new driver taking a test in either Category C1 or C after the 10th September 2009 you will need to pass all 4 modules below to be able to drive commercially. All drivers that already hold a category C1, C1E, C or CE licence will have this qualification under “Acquired Rights”, however they will still need to have completed 35 hours periodic training before 10th of September 2014 to keep this entitlement.”

Just to clarify as Im a dumb newbie :blush:
It states “before 10th September 2014 to keep this entitlement”

Does that mean I would have just had to do the 35 hrs before this date and now its past that I have to do Mod 1-4 or was that for existing drivers to meet the new regulations?

And I am safe with the Mod 1, Mod 3 and 35hrs CPC.

Again, huge apologies but a change in industry requires a fair learning curve.

Also, for those following this thread, Company 2 has quoted me £1435 for 5 days (4 hrs/day mon-thur 1 to 1 training + 2 hrs Fri training then drive to test which is included in that price inc VAT)

Followed by £375 for the 35hrs CPC (5 days inc all downloads & refreshments :smiley: )

So all in £1810 exclusive of my Medical and revision books (got DVSA theory for large vehicles already) which would be down to me.

I do realise and appreciate the offer by Mr Smythe would be a lot cheaper, but i am 245 miles (4.5 hrs) away and yes I should be up for it going for a driving career so I am not complaining.

Just looking for something more local as my evenings are required for me doing my Open University Degree at the same time.

Thanks again,

Rich.

18

OK, I’ll accept defeat!!

My only comment, regardless of where you train, is that you need to sell your soul to the training and you’ll struggle to combine this training with an OU course. IMO big mistake.

All the best with it, Pete :laughing: :laughing:

19

Rich - I think I can see what they mean and it doesn’t affect you. You can still do either mod 2 & 4, or the 35 hours.

You don’t need to know anything below, but if you can get your head round this, driver hours will be a doddle!

Explanation of why it’s odd:

In essence to prevent tens of thousands of drivers all having to do CPC in a great panic and bringing the country to a halt, anyone who had the appropriate licence before 10th September 2009 was given their initial 5 year CPC (whats now known as mod 2 & mod 4). They still have to complete a further 35 hours every 5 years which expired on 10th September 2014 in their cases. This only affects long term drivers.

Now to confuse - anyone for doing their CPC for the first time after the 10th of September 2014 went into 2 groups.

  1. Pre 97 car drivers who hadn’t done any CPC stuff still have this grandfather rights for what’s known as mod 2 and 4. You just needed to complete the 35 hours training and it activates.

  2. Post Jan 97 drivers don’t have the C1 by default, thus have to do mod 2 and 4 as they have no grandfather rights. Just like everyone else, they have to complete 35 hours over the following 5 years to keep their CPC.

To utterly confuse…about a year ago, DVSA decided to throw a curve ball and say pre 97 drivers can actually do their mod 2 & 4 even though they technically have it under grandfather rights. In theory this is quicker, but in reality it generally isn’t.

But the main thing is you can still do either mod 2 & 4, or the 35 hours…entirely up to you. Right, now I need a brandy! lol

20

Nice work trev! :smiley:
And to add to what has already been said… If you choose the periodic CPC, you can do something called ADR to count as upto 28 hours.
For more info on that look here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=128053