started today and just home - knackered! Was happy with the amount of driving time I had. I am on a 2:1 but imagine if it was 1:1 it would be too intense. Im finding that I am checking mirrors and mentally doing the gear changes and braking when my fellow trainee is driving. We were driving test routes before lunchtime, so I am pleased that both of us are showing plenty promise.
I have done the reversing exercise in the box and found it to be far far easier than I was anticipating. I just need to work on getting the vehicle straight on the “bay” as I seem to be a bit squint each time even though I am in the zone.
In the morning, it felt as though we were travelling at warp speed and then i look down to find 22mph! I think its to do with the fact you are high up and the engine noise is much louder than a car. anyone else find this on day 1?
Overall, Im fairly happy with what I’ve taken in today and how im getting used to the vehicle. Point I need to work on so far are -
Slowing down at a junction/lights - i never realised how much i lift and coast in the car until today. Seems strange waiting for what feels like the vehicle will stall before engaging the clutch and stopping. I find myself banging it in neutral before putting the parking brake on but i know i am doing it everytime.
I would say mirrors… but Im sure that is EVERYONE’s big one on day one.
Staying in lane - not so bad at low speed but had some motorway stretches today that i found challenging to begin with purely due to positioning.
I’m altogether upbeat even if it does feel like my head is going to explode! Early night after the footy for me tonight!
Sounds like a perfectly normal start - well done. Don’t worry about being straight in the bay. Absolutely nothing to do with passing the test. It’s not marked if it’s not straight but it can be easier to judge the final stop if it’s straight.
Yeah, well done! you don’t mention bashing kerbs or any near misses, so sounds like an excellent start to me!
(In some trucks, what looks straight in the mirrors is not when you stick your head out, so maybe look out of the window behind you a bit more in the final stages)
Hang in there and keep us posted!
i kissed a few kerbs but as far as i know i wasnt ever up on any! but this wasnt a common thing of the day. maybe 2 or 3. No near misses, had some tight gaps between traffic lights and other trucks but under control
ill update each day - ive found other peoples similar threads helpful so its time to give some back for fellow newbies
Got the best part of 9 hours sleep last night which is much more than i normally do but im still knackered after today. i feel confident in with the overall control of the vehicle now. i missed 2nd on a tight corner and ended up selecting 4th and whilst i still went round the corner, the truck more drove me than me driving it! need to watch my left mirror more - still mega close to some kerbs and street furniture but ive still got 2 full days for that. happy again with my reversing today. i had one issue today that was deemed “dangerous”. i was going from 3 lanes to 4 on a left turn from the middle lane and a taxi came up my right. i didnt shut the taxi out and ended up crossing lanes on the right without using my mirror. there wasnt anything there, but thats not the point. im finding that the places i made mistakes yesterday, i wasnt today but was making silly new ones elsewhere.
got mod 4 tomorrow morning so ill watch the video (again) and head to bed!
did some final mod 4 practice with my instructor this morning and made a complete arse of my daily walk round as i tried to follow the laminated chart in my hand rather than complete it based on what i have learned and in that order. started again and was find though. also mastered my dolly knots (right and left handed!) and felt reasonably well prepared.
my fellow trainee was first and he got 100% - no pressure!
i got 100% too - delighted about that and the fact it is done and theres no need to worry about it on the same day as test day now.
so on with driving practice…
ive stopped getting too close to kerbs etc now which im happy about, but ive developed an obsession with trying to change down gear before braking as i prepare to slow down at junctions. this is different from yesterday, but im sure its because ive become aware of the size and manoeuvring of the vehicle properly now and my brain is trying to change something different! once i clear that up tomorrow, id say i feel prepared and happy about friday (minus nerves!)
No need to do a dolly knot on Mod 4 test. The question relates to securing palletised paper. Answer rope and you’ll need to do a dolly knot. Answer strap and you’ll use the strap.
To get the vehicle straight in the parking bay on the reverse exercise, remember that in the right hand mirror, the cones should NOT ‘look’ parallel to the truck. Due to perspective the furthest cone (nearest to the barrier) should look closer to your vehicle than the one near to your drivers door. If the vehicle is actually parallel, the cones should form a wedge shape with the side of the vehicle, narrowing towards the barrier. Hope that helps, it’s a very common issue with the Reverse Exercise. Good luck with it all.
i worked that out today and think ive pretty much mastered it now. did 3 full test routes today, couple of stupid things on my first run, great 2nd run and some stupids on my last but i think by that time i was too relaxed and in all honesty a bit tired from all the learning this week! test at 8.45 tomorrow so ill get a few reverses and a quick route and back for my test. my trainer wouldnt tell me if any of my runs were passes or fails, but im sure my middle run was an absolute blinder. just down to nerves and concentration now…
so i didnt want any unnecessary stress this morning so left the house extra early to avoid traffic. Arrived at 7.05 to the training centre for my 8.45 test!! A couple of bananas down the hatch and then did my vehicle checks. Got some time on the reversing box and a few runs around the block and back into the dreaded waiting room with 2 other candidates.
I managed to brake the ice with the examiner and we were having the odd dialogue between us throughout the route about work etc. it helped put my mind at ease. I missed my shoulder check on the hill start and ended up trying to dummy one as i had pulled off. i wasnt marked down so it seemed to have worked! we passed through some busy inner city streets in glasgow before heading back out to suburbs.
delighted to say i passed with 5 minors.
1 - use of speed - was heading along a road which was quite narrow lanes and pedestrians on both sides. 30mph limit and i was going close to the limit. examiner felt i should have dropped my speed to ensure the safety of pedestrians etc if someone was to step into the road. i felt that as fair and agreed.
2 - speed on approach - got a bit nervous at a mini roundabout - for those of you that know glasgow, i was under the m8 at blochairn heading to the mini roundabout that i can go right for the m80 or left for provanmill/royston. its not a roundabout i was familiar with and by the time i had had the internal debate about whether i need to give way to traffic on my left (yes, left as the road on right is motorway onramp) i realised i was coming in a bit hot. i got round the roundabout without issue but it was some quick steering! his words were “there was smoke coming from your hands on the wheel”. again, i felt this was fair.
3 - gears - i missed fourth gear twice when trying to change up going into a national speed in a rural area. its something ive struggled with a few times this week on this truck and its probably a combination of still getting used to how far back 4th really is and nerves. i didnt cause any danger to anyone and there was no vehicles directly behind me. given the marking criteria, i was happy enough to accept this as a minor.
4 - braking
5 - planning - these were linked - coming through auchinairn back towards balornock, there is what has been a 2 lanes dual carriageway which has been converted into cycle lane and one wide lane each way with the island intact in the middle. i was following a bus and when it first stopped i slowed in good time and felt it was too narrow to squeeze past. rather than dropping back from it for the next bus stop, i drove right up behind it and braked a bit heavy. i could have eased off and stayed well back given the road. happy with both of these minors and agree they were fair.
