HI everyone
A little update. Had my class one retest today and managed to fail before I even got out the yard. Hit the offside cone on reverse. My nerves were completely shot to hell. I had been worrying about the uncouple/recouple as I had a shorter trailer than I had before and I found it difficult to get the right position to put the airlines in as the fifth wheel was positioned quite far back I also had the fear of falling through the gap daft as it may sound. I had a days training yesterday and this morning and my driving was spot on, a few moments of gear crunching but not too bad, mirrors spot on too. My reversing was good too, was getting it in yesterday no shunts. The examiner reminded me of a head teacher, and I think that added to the nervousness. I decided not to continue out on the road, and now I’m beginning to wonder if I can actually get myself through this. I know I can drive the truck but when it comes to test I’m a nervous wreck. I tried the rescue remedy and bananas but they never worked for me. 
In a dilemma now, I want to pass but can’t overcome my nerves.
Dear KittyKat,
I am very sorry to hear your news. I know from personal experience just how nerves can totally ruin something that you KNOW you CAN do!!
I think that the best thing you could have done was to have continued with the on road part of the test. After all, how could it have got any worse for you? You knew that you had failed, but you could have had the experience of doing a 1 hour drive with the examiner again and got some more vital experience under your belt. There wsould have been no more pressure on you, 'cos you can’t be failed twice on one test 
Yes, nerves will get to you and frighten you, but try to just grit your teeth and FORCE yourself to to go through with it. You WILL get better at every attempt you try. You WON’T get your licence by withdrawing yourself from the race before the starter’s gun goes off.
I am saying this with a lot of sympathy for your situation. When you take your next test, think of all of us here on this forum cheering you on to success and sending you our full support.
You CAN do this. Trust yourself.
Best of luck,
LandyLad
Bad luck there KittyKat, sorry to hear about it.
I know where you are coming from - I went to pieces with my nerves on my class 2 and, if I am honest, I think my rapport with the examiner on my class 1 helped me to pass it.
I suspect that, if you had continued with your test knowing that you did not ‘have to pass’, you would have become less nervous as the test progressed.
Remember, the examiner is only looking for a good safe drive and his paperwork for a fail is about six times the paperwork for a pass.
Decide to enjoy your test next time, pass or fail. A nice steady drive around and nothing more.
Good luck
Alan
KittyKat:
… Had my class one retest today and managed to fail before I even got out the yard. Hit the offside cone on reverse.
Hi KK,
I’m very sorry to hear that you failed your test today, but I can tell you that I beat you to hitting a cone and failing a C+E test as far back as 1979. 
KittyKat:
My nerves were completely shot to hell.
It was the exact opposite for me, cos I was young and massively over-confident and so I stupidly thought that I could rescue a lost situation when all that was needed was a shunt.
Clipping the cone was inevitable for me. 
KittyKat:
I had been worrying about the uncouple/recouple as I had a shorter trailer than I had before and I found it difficult to get the right position to put the airlines in as the fifth wheel was positioned quite far back I also had the fear of falling through the gap daft as it may sound.
The gap should be properly covered for obvious H&S reasons, and it’s not an expensive job either.
KittyKat:
… now I’m beginning to wonder if I can actually get myself through this.
Yes you can, and it’s proven by the fact that you passed Cat “C” but you then said this:
KittyKat:
I know I can drive the truck …
So that’s good enough for me to know that you will prevail, it’s just that today wasn’t to be your day.
However, your day WILL come, but that’ll only happen if you get back in the saddle. 
KittyKat:
… but when it comes to test I’m a nervous wreck. I tried the rescue remedy and bananas but they never worked for me. In a dilemma now, I want to pass but can’t overcome my nerves.
I get the feeling that you’ll manage. I did and I’ve still got the ‘grin.’
kittykat im gutted for you and know how your feeling , look I passed 3rd time and only 2 minors on that so please dont feel that you cant do this , you will nail it next time , id even bought a yorkie today to give to you next sat but ill keep it in me bag and it can be a condolence treat instead, go and get that test booked and dont give up , it was nerves this time not your ability , your gonna do it just dont give up ,
jenx
KittyKat, Firstly im sorry, but !!!
What the hell are you playing at, you know you can do it so get your arse in gear and go back there and get this licked !
Forget the examiner and picture him sitting on the bog with his trousers round his ankles and a screwed up face, at the end of the day he is no better than anyone else, remember “people that can DO, people that can’t test the people that can”
A trailer is a trailer and if you remember that you will be fine !
Sorry if this sounds harsh but im not the kind of person to show sympathy when YOU can do something about it.
YOU KNOW YOU CAN DO IT SO GO DO IT !!
Madguy 
Can’t really add much to what’s previously been said.
If it was easy everyone would be doing it.
It took me a few goes and buckets of nerves to get through it. You will get there.
I know exactly how you feel. I was there back in October thinking I’d never get through it
Just bite the bullet and give it your best shot 
Thanks everyone for your comments. I will be booking a re-test again as I am determined to pass. I am also going to the pdf training day next week so will hopefully get some more practice in.
Jennie:
id even bought a yorkie today to give to you next sat but ill keep it in me bag and it can be a condolence treat instead
Aww thanks Jen. Im looking forward to next week.
Sorry to hear that K gutted for you.
Like other’s said, I can’t really add to what’s already been said. You know it’s up to yourself now but what ever you do please don’t give up, we all know that once that examiner is gone we relax and sometimes I wonder if they often train to to have an examiner sit beside you as well as the test.
Please please please don’t give up, it will all be worth it in the end. Believe me, when you first get that call…!! To cheer you up a bit, on my first artic shift I nearly fell out the cab because I forgot I wasn’t in a rigid anymore and forgot there was another 2 steps down out of the cab to the 1 i’m used to pmsl. 
Gutted for you kittykat you’ve got the determination you’ll get it .
Hi Kittykat,
Get a good nights sleep before the test, and try not to do anything that will get you nervous in the morning, I didn’t go over everything in my head just so I didn’t have the worry of have I remembered everything. Concentrate on only what you are doing at the time and not on what you’ve not doing yet.
P.s and don’t beat yourself up if you make a silly mistake, move on and and don’t dwell on it. At the end of the day your examiner knows your learning your trade and expects you to be nervous…show him what you can do and take him out for a smooth and safe drive then you’ll be rewarded with the blue piece of paper.
Hi Kittykat,
I agree with all the above, especially Daddyp…I nearly put the examiner through the windscreen whilst last minute braking at a roundabout, I went on for the remaining 20 mins of my test believing i’d failed…he never even mentioned it on my post test debrief 
Put it behind you, get out there and show them what you already know you are more than capable of
Best of wishes
Tazbug
Daddy P:
Hi Kittykat,
Get a good nights sleep before the test, and try not to do anything that will get you nervous in the morning, I didn’t go over everything in my head just so I didn’t have the worry of have I remembered everything. Concentrate on only what you are doing at the time and not on what you’ve not doing yet.
P.s and don’t beat yourself up if you make a silly mistake, move on and and don’t dwell on it. At the end of the day your examiner knows your learning your trade and expects you to be nervous…show him what you can do and take him out for a smooth and safe drive then you’ll be rewarded with the blue piece of paper.
Daddy P. I think that’s what I was doing. Because I had struggled with the airlines this time I was worrying about looking stupid in front of the examiner and him shaking his head, and that part would have been at the end of the drive. My instructor said they can’t fail you if you don’t get the airline in first time, as long as you don’t give up and say I can’t do this. I know I can, just couldn’t get a great position for it because of the gap at the end of the cat walk. I still feel rather deflated. I know I should have passed. Hopefully next time.
Gutted for you KK, can’t really add to what others have said, but don’t worry about what the examiner thinks. I had to have another go at pushing back into the pin because the the first attempt didn’t sound or feel right, in reality it was probably my nerves and over analysis that got the better of me, I saw the examiner frowning but he couldn’t fail me for it. The first time I failed I hit the offside cone in the ‘garage’ like you and DD, and that was down to over-confidence, nerves and a bit of big-headiness that said I can get this back, when all I needed was a shunt .
As for the nerves, I find that it helps to take 2 or 3 deep slow breaths before the task, this slows things down and clears your head, it only takes a few seconds. I also found talking myself through a task helped, such as the un/coupling, I’d have forgot the number plate otherwise . As for the lines, I struggle to get the red line on first time most days, I’ve found that as above a brief pause with a deep breath helps, and then I wonder why I struggled the first time .
I’m sure that next time we’ll congratulating you on joining the bendy club.
Regards
Brian