class c, 7 minors in & around cardiff. Was sure I’d failed but kept my head just in case, as I’ve heard on this site (so thankyou very much!)
Not sure where to go from here, whether to go for it and get the c+e done or have a go with the rigids first so, opinions welcome.
You might be hearing from me soon mothertrucker
I must say though, the instructor wasn’t great so I had to draw heavily on my experience AND the bits and pieces I’ve learned on here so, THANKYOU VERY MUCH!!
darkseeker:
Not sure where to go from here, whether to go for it and get the c+e done or have a go with the rigids first so, opinions welcome.
Two opinions posted before on this site.
Do CE ASAP after C as you are in ‘training mode’.
Get experience for a few months on C BUT do a few hours each week driving like you did on test to ‘keep DSA procedures fresh’
Look into the job market in your local area - are there CE vacancies and will employers take on a very fresh newbie on CE with very little LGV experience? - If no, then you could be paying for a licence that you may not be using for some time!!
RESEARCH and then make your decision
darkseeker:
I must say though, the instructor wasn’t great
If you think that the instructor was pretty bad and that others need to be warned then you can put the first name of that instructor and the company they work for on here to forewarn others BUT ‘be careful’ and ‘be certain’ that it was not just a personal thing between the two of you. There are two sides to every tale of this kind and if we only get your take on it, then be [zb] certain the instructor usually performs in they way you describe.
in all honesty he can’t’ve been that bad because I passed so no names mentioned, on a whole I was a little dissapointed with red dragon driving school, cardiff. That’s as much as would be fair to say.
the reason I wasn’t very happy with the instructor, well a few things really;
When I first met him, more or less the first thing he said was that three and a half days wasn’t enough and I had next to no chance.
Because of the latter, he seemed to favour the other trainee (more time driving etc) so I had to work even harder.
and when he was “instructing” a lot of the time he seemed uninterested for want of a better description. He spent a lot of time in a world of his own and whenever he got the chance he’d stop to chat to people. like on the reverse he’d just disappear and leave us to it luckily my time driving vans helped a lot here.
Anyways, looks like the general feeling’s to go for the c+e asap. which is fine by me, like rog said I’ll look into the local job market too. I’ll probably look into doing a bit of weekend driving to keep things in my mind but I need to know more about the wtd; I work 39hours a week, does that mean I can only do 17 hours once a fortnight? if I do that, would I be “over” by working 39hours the following week (not driving)?
darkseeker:
Anyways, looks like the general feeling’s to go for the c+e asap. which is fine by me, like rog said I’ll look into the local job market too. I’ll probably look into doing a bit of weekend driving to keep things in my mind but I need to know more about the wtd; I work 39hours a week, does that mean I can only do 17 hours once a fortnight? if I do that, would I be “over” by working 39hours the following week (not driving)?
darkseeker:
the reason I wasn’t very happy with the instructor, well a few things really;
and when he was “instructing” a lot of the time he seemed uninterested for want of a better description. He spent a lot of time in a world of his own and whenever he got the chance he’d stop to chat to people. like on the reverse he’d just disappear and leave us to it luckily my time driving vans helped a lot here.
Anyways, looks like the general feeling’s to go for the c+e asap.
To be fair mate I used to leave my pupils to it on the reverse once they had been shown how to do it, and I found that this was the best way.
lol, funny you should say that gardun, I lived there years ago but I was really worried he’d say “follow the signs for” and I’d not be able to work out where he wanted me to go!
I mentioned it to the examiner who said “sorry, everybody gets the same test” obviously I was ok anyway
been reading about this wtd thing and i’m still none the wiser, can someone put it simply for me please?
darkseeker:
lol, funny you should say that gardun, I lived there years ago but I was really worried he’d say “follow the signs for” and I’d not be able to work out where he wanted me to go!
Same here mate.
I was given phone directions to a place in Wales, but I had to get them to spell the Welsh names because they look so different when written on signs to how they do when spoken.
I suspect Welsh trickery is afoot here to ensure that the English get lost in Wales, so they can laugh at us.
been reading about this wtd thing and i’m still none the wiser, can someone put it simply for me please?
You could try putting a typical day senario on this site and asking if it is legal
As above then, my normal week’s 39hours (mostly non-driving), if I want to do a bit of agency work at the weekend, does that mean i can only work up to maximum of 56 hours (17 at weekend) and which would mean i’d be over my time by working 39 (over 34) the following week? Hope that makes sence?
been reading about this wtd thing and i’m still none the wiser, can someone put it simply for me please?
You could try putting a typical day senario on this site and asking if it is legal
As above then, my normal week’s 39hours (mostly non-driving), if I want to do a bit of agency work at the weekend, does that mean i can only work up to maximum of 56 hours (17 at weekend) and which would mean i’d be over my time by working 39 (over 34) the following week? Hope that makes sence?
The WTD works out averages of a working week over a 17 or 26 week period but for the purpose of your query I shall work it out over a 2 week period giving a max total of 96 hours actual working or driving time - rest and POA do not count as part of the average 48 per week (or 96 over 2 weeks in our case)
If your 'normal working week is 39 hours x2 = 78 hours then that leaves 9x2 =18 hours to play with.
Due to your weekend rest required under EU driving regs, you can only work for one day (sat or sun) every other weekend.
As the maximum working day for a driver is 15 hours (including breaks which do not count) and you have 18 to play with - no prob.
You must keep a record of any other work on a tacho card or inputted onto a digi tacho (dont know how - aint used one) for each day that you worked between Sunday midnight to Sunday midnight if you came under EU regs at any time in that period. On a tacho card, a seperate card must be used for each day and just requires your name with the start & finish time for that day on it. The purpose of this is so that VOSA can keep track of you rest periods for the week when you came under EU driving regs.
Hope this helped and that I have not made a hash of it
If I have then I will get shot - AGAIN
ROG:
If your 'normal working week is 39 hours x2 = 78 hours then that leaves 9x2 =18 hours to play with.
Not so. If his other job is not in this industry then the WTD does not come into play, the 39 hours would not count toward the 48 hour average and 60 hour maximum per week working time for the WTD as it applies to a mobile worker. Those hours will only apply for the EU Driver’s Hours Regulations.
It is likely that he will only be able to work one day every second weekend, although without knowing the start and finish times for his regular job I could not say for certain if this is the case or not.
CONGRATULATIONS darkseeker 
luckily my time driving vans helped a lot here.
obviously I was ok anyway 
