Just a Quick Hello To you all, Another Newbie here so am welcoming all the help & advice from you Truckers which I thank you all in advance. I’m 46 living in North Norfolk & currently working in Food Manufacturing but we are all getting made redundant April 30th 2015 so I have decided to pursue Driving which I admit I do enjoy the open road.
Just booked my medical for Jan 27th so hopefully get my license all sorted and start revising for the Theory etc.
I’m currently looking at going with East Coast Driver Training for my C then C+E if all goes well or any other that you guys may know around the Norwich area.
I’ve looked online and the websites look and sound great but thanks to your help on here they are all 3rd party companies.
Again thank you in advance for your help and apologies for any random questions I may ask 
All help / tips/ advice / criticism is welcome 
Thanks.
Scott
When you have your licence book at least two assessment drives. The standards of training vary widely (understatement!) as do the quality of vehicles together with admin support.
Make sure you’re perfectly happy with what you’re buying before parting with your cash.
You could consider a residential course with us. £1215 1:1 tuition, VAT, test fee and accommodation.
Just do your homework.
Fire away with any questions you may have, Pete
Peter = does that price include initial dcpc module 4?
OP - does the price you got include that?
No. The CAT C is £1350 but then take 10% off for Trucknet users and that is £1215. I don’t include either Mod 4 or periodic training as it causes confusion. But Mod 4 is £235 fully inclusive of training, vehicle for test and test fee. Once again, subject to 10% discount making it closer to £200. Looking at the OP he will probably need periodic - some of which can be credited from the practical driver training.
This is where it gets confusing which is why I prefer a conversation to get everything straightened out.
Pete
Will you get help funding this as you are being made redundant as sometimes this does happen
Dont be afraid to travel for a good instructor
Hi I used east coast driver training for my cpc course and my class c . See if you can get one of the autos much easier to drive and the instructors I’ve worked with are good . I will be doing my c+e with them on feb 9th and their price is pretty good as well .
Hi Scott, I’m on the same process
Where abouts in Norfolk are you? I’m in Downham Market
Same advice as always, have an assessment at as many local schools as you can, then just choose your favorite, as Peter has already said the quality of training, vehicles and admin varies greatly. We find a large number of our customers choose us because they approach local haulage companies and ask them where should I train? As they will be employing you, their advice to train with someone they trust will help you land a job.
As mentioned by a user above who has gone through the process themselves, best train in an automatic and learn the manual box on the job.
Peter Smythe:
When you have your licence book at least two assessment drives. The standards of training vary widely (understatement!) as do the quality of vehicles together with admin support.Make sure you’re perfectly happy with what you’re buying before parting with your cash.
You could consider a residential course with us. £1215 1:1 tuition, VAT, test fee and accommodation.
Just do your homework.
Fire away with any questions you may have, Pete
I recently passed my C and then CE with Peter Smythe training at their Connington airfield site near Peterborough. I would recommend the company and taking your test in Peterborough. For a start they use a wagon and drag set up so you only have to learn one truck, then for your class one you couple up a trailer to the back and it follows the lorry nicely round bends. You don’t really notice it’s on the back. The only negative is that it’s a manual where an automatic would probably be a bit easier. Peterborough is also quite a good city to take your test as there aren’t any hills as such, although on the flip side all the roundabouts are a pain. One roundabout in particular near the fire station was a nightmare to get onto from the fire station exit but the roadworks are now completed so this should have improved.
Anyway I passed my class 1 in December and start work for a general haulier local to me on Monday morning. Basically they are taking me on to cover runs for sickness and holidays so they don’t need to employ agency drivers. Im quite looking forward to this as I will then be able to see which runs I like and which I don’t for the future… For the first week someone will be going out with me which I will need as I haven’t got a clue about how to work the tacho in practice and I don’t fancy the idea of being dropped in at the deep end, not to mention the fact I haven’t actually driven a proper artic or coupled/uncoupled one.
As someone who has recently passed I’m probably in a good position to offer a bit of advice to anyone who hasn’t yet, as it’s all still pretty fresh in the mind. I won’t kid you, it’s not easy especially if you’ve been driving a car for a while as I have. Observation is one thing the examiners are really hot on. Mirror, signal, manoeuvre. Always check your mirror when you drive by a hazard I.e a parked car. Always look over your should when pulling off (and look over your shoulder again about as you are pulling off). Take your time especially when entering roundabouts - it might mean sitting there for ages but you can’t afford to cause a car on a roundabout to slow/stop as its a ‘serious’ tick and a fail. Don’t go up a curb on a bend/junction - ‘serious’ tick and fail. And make sure you always signal - especially concentrate on roundabout where you need to say signal right on entry and on it and then signal left on exit if you miss a signal it’s ‘serious’ and fail. So long as you can get around with decent observation, and without causing other road users to have to brake, and without hitting a curb, and being mindful of indicating correctly you should pass. Taking your time approaching and whilst on roundabouts will help as there’s a lot to do in a short period so if you’re steady it’s easier.
Just to add I personally found the reversing exercise easy. If you get a good trainer like I had in DH and a good training firm they will provide little ‘cheats’ like a cable tie on the body of the lorry that lines up with the barrier lines you reverse up to, and for the class 1 little markers on the wagon so you know how much to swing it before you straighten up. I witnessed some appalling reversing from other trainees while I was waiting for test from other training firms trainees so not sure they employed the same fool proof methods. Also try and keep fairly tight to the cones on the drivers side as you have a good view in your driver side mirrors so you can stay in control doing it this way and if you are tight on this side you know you’re going to have plenty of space on the other side so there is absolutely no need to worry about hitting a cone on the passenger side.
Also I found I preffered an 8 a.m test slot. Yeh the city is going to be busier, but because of that you aren’t going to be driving around so much and if you aren’t driving around so much you’ve got less chance of making a mistake. Most will probably disagree and prefer a test slot when the roads are quieter but I like to be different.
Hi Spunky i’m north Norfolk near cromer.
thanks guys for your advice and tips.